NUTRITION AND DIET

THERAPY
Dietary Guidelines and Food
Guides
Food guides are graphic
representations of all or some of
the messages of the dietary
guidelines. They typically
represent the recommended food
groups in the suggested
proportions for a good diet.
adapted their food guide for
Messages about lifestyle, such as
recommendations of regular
physical activity and warnings
related to alcohol consumption
may also be displayed. The most
common example of food guides is
in the shape of a food pyramid
and food plate. However, many
countries choose a food guide that
is culturally specific for the
population of each country and
may become an important symbol
in a nation's nutrition
communication and education
strategy. Some countries have

different population groups, such

as indigenous peoples.
 Science and Technology (DOST) to
guide on how much 1) fats and
oils, 2) sugar, 3) meat and poultry,
4) milk and milk products, 5)
vegetables, 6) fruits, 7) rice and
rice products and 8) water or

Daily Nutritional Guide Pyramid

beverages should a Filipino eat in
Nutritional Guide Pyramid by the
one day. Aside from that, this guide
Food and Nutrition Research
encourages Filipinos to exercise
Institute (FNRI) of Department of
and practice personal and
environmental hygiene for a
healthy living. Note that pyramids
differ in seven population groups --
toddlers, kids, teens, adults, elderly,
pregnant women and lactating
women.
 population groups namely, kids,
teens, adults, elderly, pregnant and
Pinggang Pinoy lactating women vary from each
other.
Pinggang Pinoy developed by the
Food and Nutrition Research
Institute (FNRI) of Department of

Science and Technology (DOST) is

a new, easy to understand food
guide that uses a familiar food
plate model to convey the right
food group proportions on a per
meal basis to meet the body’s
energy and nutrient needs of an
adult. This is a visual tool to guide
Filipinos in consuming the right
amount of food in every meal.
Also, Pinggang Pinoy of five

Food Labels
Understanding the Nutrition Facts
label on food items can help you
make healthier choices. The label
breaks down the amount of calories,
carbs, fat, fiber, protein, and
vitamins per serving of the food,
making it easier to compare the
nutrition of similar products. Be sure
to look at different brands of the
same foods—nutrition information
can differ a lot. For example, one
brand of tomato sauce may have
more calories and sugar than another
brand for the same serving size. weight, and whether you’re trying to
lose or maintain your weight.
In general, eat more foods that are
higher in vitamins, minerals (such as
calcium and iron), and fiber. Eat
fewer foods that are higher in added
sugars, saturated fat, and sodium
(salt), and avoid trans fat. Keep in
mind that the % Daily Value of each
nutrient, such as total fat of 10%, is
based on eating 2,000 calories a day.
You may eat fewer or more calories
a day depending on your age,
gender, activity level, current

What should you look for on a
food label to determine how
healthy or unhealthy it is?
No added sugar – products must
not contain added sugar, but may
contain natural sugars.
Reduced fat or salt – should be at
least a 25% reduction from the
original product.
Low fat – must contain less than
3% fat for solid foods (1.5% for
liquid foods).
Fat free – must be less than 0.15%
fat.
The Nutritional Guidelines for
Filipinos (NGF) is a set of dietary
guidelines based on the eating
pattern, lifestyle, and health status
of Filipinos.
The NGF contains all the nutrition
messages to healthy living for all
age groups from infants to adults,
pregnant and lactating women, and
the elderly.
The first NGF released in 1990
was composed of five messages
called “Dietary Guidelines for
Filipinos.”
In 2000, a revised nutritional
guideline composed of ten
messages was released and it was
called the Nutritional Guidelines
for Filipinos.
In 2012, the Technical Working
Group (TWG) for the revision of
the NGF, led by the Food and
Nutrition Research Institute of the
Department of Science and
Technology (FNRI-DOST)
developed a new set of the NGF,
based on the 2000 edition.
The 2012 NGF now includes the
basis and justification for each of
the ten nutritional and health
messages.
Below are the new messages of
the 2012 NGF:
1. Eat a variety of foods every day
to get the nutrients needed by the
body.
2. Breastfeed infants exclusively
from birth up to six months and
then give appropriate
complementary foods while
continuing breastfeeding for two
years and beyond for optimum
growth and development.
3. Eat more vegetables and fruits
to get the essential vitamins,
minerals, and fiber for regulation
of body processes.
4. Consume fish, lean meat,
poultry, egg, dried beans or nuts
daily for growth and repair of body
tissues.
5. Consume milk, milk products,
and other calcium-rich food such
as small fish and shellfish, every
day for healthy bones and teeth.
6. Consume safe foods and water
to prevent diarrhea and other food-
and water-borne diseases.
7. Use iodized salt to prevent
Iodine Deficiency Disorders.
8. Limit intake of salty, fried, fatty,
and sugar-rich foods to prevent
cardiovascular diseases.
9. Attain normal body weight
through proper diet and moderate
physical activity to maintain good
health and help prevent obesity.
10. Be physically active, make
healthy food choices, manage
stress, avoid alcoholic beverage,
and do not smoke to help prevent
lifestyle-related non-
communicable disease.
The revisions were made based on
the results of the 2008 National
Nutrition Survey (NNS) conducted
by FNRI-DOST.
Based on the said survey, the
Filipino household diet fell below
the recommended levels except for
niacin, which is above the
recommended.
Furthermore, all nutrients and
energy were below the 100 percent
adequacy levels. This was the
basis of NGF messages no. 1, 3,
and 4.
There is no single food that
contains all the nutrients that our
body needs so eating a variety of
food ensures that daily nutritional
needs are met.
There was also a decrease in
consumption of fruits from 77
grams in 2005 to 54 grams in 2008
and also a decrease in milk
consumption from 44 grams to 42
grams. These results were the
basis of message no. 3 and 5,
respectively.
Vegetables and fruits are the main
sources of vitamins, minerals, and
fiber, while milk is a good source
of calcium.
Low urinary iodine excretion is
still a prevalent problem among
pregnant and lactating mothers,
indicating to low iodine intake.
Iodine is important during
pregnancy because it is needed for
the brain development of the infant
while lactating mothers must have
adequate supply of iodine in their
breastmilk. This is the message of
NGF no. 7.
The total cholesterol level among
Filipino adults increased from 8.5
(mg/dL) in 2003 to 10.2 (mg/dL)
in 2008.
High cholesterol level may be
attributed to the high consumption
of sodium rich foods by Filipinos.
Salt and soy sauce were among the
top 10 widely used miscellaneous
food items used by Filipinos.
In addition, heart diseases ranked
first among the causes of death
based on the 2005 Department of
Health survey. This is the reason
behind no. 8 of NGF.
Excessive intake of salt and soy
sauce can result to high blood
pressure especially to salt-sensitive
individuals. Persistent high blood
pressure can result to
cardiovascular diseases.
There is also a decreasing trend of
physical inactivity among Filipinos
and also a large percentage of
Filipino smokers at 31.0% and
drinkers at 26.9%. These
situations were the basis of
messages no. 9 and 10 of the
NGF.
People are always encouraged to
exercise at least thirty minutes a
day, three to five times a week.
Limit alcohol drinking to one drink
per day for women and two drinks
for men is also advised. One
alcoholic drink is equivalent to one
and half ounce distilled beverage
such as gin or 12 ounces or a bottle
of beer or four ounces wine or half
glass wine or an ounce of 100
proof whiskey.
10 Kumainments
The “10 Kumainments” — a
campaign to promote the
Nutritional Guidelines for
Filipinos — was launched by the
NNC at the “3rd National
Conference of Nutrition Action
Officers” held at the SMX
Convention Center in Pasay City
on October 23, 2014.
The 10 Kumainments are the
popularized versions of the
Nutritional Guidelines for
Filipinos (NGF) approved by the
NNC Governing Board to promote
a healthy lifestyle among Pinoys.
The Kumainments are simple and
easy to remember guidelines that
can be easily followed by ordinary
citizens to improve their nutritional

status.
Nutrition Tools, Standards and
Guidelines Nutrient
Recommendations (Philippine
Dietary Reference Intake 2015)
Good Health starts with Good
Nutrition
Good Nutrition starts with a diet
that provides the necessary levels
of energy and essential nutrients
Diets based on the reference
values for energy and nutrient
levels of intake
The Food and Nutrition
Research Institute of the
Department of Science and
Technology (FNRI-DOST)
launches the PDRI 2015 during the
opening ceremony of the 41st
FNRI Seminar Series on July 1,
2015 at the FNRI Auditorium. The
2015 PDRI adopts the multi-level
approach for setting nutrient
reference values to meet the needs
of various stakeholders for
appropriate nutrient reference
values.
PDRI is the collective term
comprising reference value for
energy and nutrient levels of
intakes.
Philippine Dietary Reference
Intake 2015
From a single reference standard,
Recommended Energy and
Nutrient intake (RENI) to a new
set of multi-level standards
- meet the need of various
stakeholders for appropriate
nutrient reference values for
planning and assessing diets for
healthy groups and individuals
- endpoints of the DRI are to
ensure nutrient adequacy,
prevent nutrient deficiency and
avoid excess
- based on reference weight (0-18
yrs.) reflecting WHO-Child
Growth Standard (WHO-CGS),
and for adult BMI of 22 kg/m2
using 2013 NNS median height at
19y/o
Components of PDRI
1. Estimated Average Requirement
(EAR)
2. Recommended Energy/Nutrient
(REI/RNI)
3. Adequate Intake (AI)
4. Tolerable Upper Intake Level or
Upper Limit (UL)
The components of PDRI are:
Estimated Average Requirement
(EAR): daily nutrient intake level
that meets the median or average
requirement of healthy individuals
in particular life stage and sex
group, corrected for incomplete
utilization or dietary nutrient
bioavailability.
Note: EAR is not useful as an
estimate of nutrient adequacy in
individuals, because it is a mean
requirement for a group, and the
variation around this number is
considerable.
Recommended Energy/Nutrient
Intake (REI/RNI): level of intake
of energy or nutrient which is
considered adequate for the
maintenance of health and well-
being of healthy persons in the
population.
RNI = EAR for nutrients,
translated into dietary
recommendation to cover the
needs of almost all individuals in
the population (EAR+2SD).
REI = the computed average
requirement of the individuals in
that group.
Adequate Intake (AI): daily
nutrient intake level that is based
on observed or experimentally-
determined approximation of the
average nutrient intake by a group
(groups) of apparently healthy
people that are assumed to sustain
a defined nutritional state. It is
used when there is insufficient data
to establish the EAR.
Tolerable Upper Intake Level or
Upper Limit (UL): highest
average daily nutrient intake level
likely to pose no adverse health
effects to almost all individuals in
the general population.
Lack of suitable data could not
establish ULs for other nutrients,
but this does not mean that there is
no potential adverse effects
resulting from high intake.
When data about adverse effects
are extremely limited, extra
caution may be warranted.
Uses and Applications of PDRI
For assessing and planning dietary
intakes for an individual /
group/population
Appropriate DRI to use is hinged
on the concept that requirements
represent a distribution
Assessment – determining
adequacy and inadequacy of
individuals and prevalence of
adequate or inadequate intakes of
the group or population. (National
Nutrition Survey result compared
with DRI)
Planning – setting intake targets
for individuals and determining
desirable intake distributions for
groups or population. (Meal
planning for individuals and
groups, like in hospitals, prisons) Criterion – prevention of nutrient
and development of dietary deficiency or prevention of chronic
guidelines, feeding programs diseases for certain life stage (e.g.,
dental caries for fluoride)
Individual consumers - as
reference as to what foods to eat Recommendation for infants 0-5
and how much months was based on AIs
Food and beverage industry – for - Estimated from nutritional
fortification and marketing of composition and average volume
foods of breastmilk (BM) of 780 ml
consumed daily by exclusively
Government, NGO, private
breastfeed babies
institutions– to design, implement
and evaluate food and nutrition - For protein, Vitamin D,
assistance programs Vitamin K, selenium, iodine and
electrolytes –estimation done by
Scientific and regulatory bodies
using factorial mode
– to formulate standards and
regulations Recommendation for older
infants
Nutrition and health
professionals – to educate and - BM (650ml) and
counsel public health complementary foods (CF).
Estimating Recommended - In the absence of CF data,
Intakes requirements for most nutrients
were extrapolated from either
Review process –assessment of
younger infants or adults.
published foreign and local studies
and unpublished important local
studies
Review/adoption of
recommendations by expert
scientific bodies
Requirement is defined – lowest
nutrient that maintain level of
nutriture among apparently healthy
individuals.
 - For protein, requirements for docosahexaenoic acids) – play key
infants were estimated using a roles in CNS
linear regression model

Infants and Early Childhood

Adolescence and Adulthood
Requirements for macronutrients
Adolescent – higher intake of
and micronutrients are higher on a
protein and energy for growth
per-kilogram basis during infancy
and childhood compared to later Most micronutrients, same as for
life cycle. adults except for calcium and
phosphorus for bone growth.
Energy – breastmilk sole source
until 6 months when Iron requirements higher in
complementary foods will be given menstruating females
for optimal growth and
development
Protein – Provides amino acids for
the synthesis of membranes,
hormones, antibodies, other
proteins, and peptides.
Requirements per kilogram
decrease rapidly after the first year.
Essential Fatty Acids - through
desaturation and elongation,
linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids
are converted to long-chain fatty
acids (arachidonic and