Mrs Nutritionist

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DOST-FNRI pushes for rice alternatives amidst rice price surge

Around 9 out of 10 or 95.3% of Filipino households consume rice, with each household member consuming an average of 4 cups of well-milled or polished cooked rice daily.

This is according to the 2018-2019 Food Consumption Survey component of the Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS) of the Department of Science and Technology– Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI).

The same survey revealed that the Filipino diet remains a combination of rice, vegetables, and fish over the past decades.

According to the National Nutrition Council (NNC), rice is considered a staple food for Filipinos that provides half of their daily caloric needs.

Despite the availability of other carbohydrate-rich foods such as corns and root crops like potatoes, kamote, ube, and gabi, rice remains to be the predominant source of carbohydrates for Filipinos.

Carbohydrate-rich or Go foods are the body’s main source of energy to fuel one’s daily activities.

According to the 2018-2019 ENNS, a typical Filipino household spends around Php 253.64 for meals daily and around Php 50.00 of this is spent on rice and rice products.

However, the prevailing rice price surge due to increasing production costs, market forces, decreasing local supply, among other factors, affects the usual budget and diet of Filipinos.

Despite this, DOST-FNRI encourages every household to continue choosing healthy and nutritious foods even on a tight budget.

The Institute recommends different rice alternatives that are also rich in carbohydrates that can meet one’s daily calorie needs.

According to the Food Exchange List for Meal Planning of the DOST-FNRI, cereals such as corn, brown rice, and wheat are considered as the major sources of carbohydrates. These whole grain products are better sources of dietary fiber compared to refined grain products.

Root crops that are commonly served as snacks and often found in sinigang and nilaga, like potatoes, cassava, kamote, ube, and gabi, are also good sources of carbohydrates.

The Institute cautions that excessive carbohydrate intake may result in diabetes, poor metabolic health, and increased risk of heart disease.

Moreso, it is best to avoid or limit refined carbohydrates like potato chips, refined sugar-laden foods such as candies, cakes, cookies, doughnuts, sweet beverages such as soft drinks, energy drinks, and juice drinks as well as processed foods like french fries and pizza with little to no nutritional value.

Thus, the DOST-FNRI encourages everyone to visit the DOST-FNRI’s website and check the Menu Guide Calendars for nutritious and affordable recipes as well as the Pinggang Pinoy for a healthy and balanced diet.

The Pinggang Pinoy shows the recommended proportion of Go, Grow, and Glow foods on a per-meal basis to get an adequate intake of nutrients.
It also provides a list of go foods, such as rice, bread, noodles, and root crops that are good sources of carbohydrates.

DOST-FNRI S&T Media Services: Media Release - FRANZIS JAYKE P. BATALLANTES

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Iloilo City achieved a remarkable milestone by being named UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, becoming the first city in the country to receive this distinction.

READ: https://mb.com.ph/2023/11/2/iloilo-city-named-unesco-creative-city-of-gastronomy

Excited na ba kayong ipakita ang pagiging RICEponsible?

Makilahok sa pagbubukas ng National Rice Awareness Month mamayang hapon, alas tres, dito sa ating page!

Manood, matuto, manalo!

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It's ! Before you get carving, here's why pumpkins are orange, the compounds behind their vegetal smell, and more in C&EN: https://cen.acs.org/articles/93/i40/Periodic-Graphics-Chemistry-Pumpkins.html

Bread week in The Great British Bake Off? Time to share a refresh of this baking chemistry graphic, then! https://wp.me/s4aPLT-bread

A new wave of UP Diliman freshmen arrives this upcoming semester. For some, it might be an overwhelming experience getting to know the various buildings in the sprawling campus. However, aside from getting lost in campus grounds and figuring out where TBA is located, trying the different food stalls and canteens in the campus is also something to add to their bucket lists. Spread throughout the campus are food stalls which sell snacks like kwek kwek also (un)pop**arly known as an Isko’s go-to meal. In this Kuya Chem installment, let’s talk about the chemistry trivias about this merienda staple!

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The Chemistry of Kwek-Kwek 🍡🍡

Kwek kwek is a common Filipino street food made up of hard-boiled quail eggs coated with crispy fried orange batter. A variation of kwek kwek is tokneneng which differs only by the use of chicken eggs instead of quail eggs. Nonetheless, both are typically served with vinegar or a sweet and sour sauce.

Annatto seeds, also known as atsuete, are added to the batter used to coat the quail eggs, giving its distinct orange color. The seed coat of annatto seeds contain bixin, a tasteless apocarotenoid responsible for the seed’s pigmentation properties.[1]

Another interesting feature observed from kwek kwek and tokneneng is the appearance of a greenish-gray ring around the hard-boiled egg yolk. Despite the rather nerve wracking appearance and slightly peculiar texture of the yolk, this is harmless and caused by the formation of ferrous sulfide from the reaction between sulfur found in the egg white and iron from the egg yolk. Avoiding overcooking the egg can prevent the formation of such ring.[2]

[1] Cuttriss, A. J.; Cazzonelli, C. I.; Wurtzel, E. T.; Pogson, B. J. Carotenoids. In Advances in Botanical Research; Academic Press Inc., 2011; Vol. 58, pp 1–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-386479-6.00005-6.

[2] Henneman, A. How to Avoid a Green Ring on Hard-Boiled Egg Yolks. https://food.unl.edu/how-avoid-green-ring-hard-boiled-egg-yolks (accessed 2023-09-06).

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Check out UP ACME’s socials for recurring Kuya Chem installments, your periodic dose of chemistry trivia!

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Content by Shua Geraldino
Layout by Hannah Tecson

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This week is Folic Acid Awareness Week. Why is folic acid important during pregnancy? This graphic explains: https://wp.me/p4aPLT-8my

Mesherep yern? 🤤

Yummy 🤤
Seasia.co

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Cooking is chemistry, so the latest edition of Periodic Graphics in C&EN highlights the science behind four practical kitchen hacks, from quicker browned onions to smooth nacho sauce: https://cen.acs.org/food/food-science/Periodic-Graphics-Kitchen-chemistry-hacks-explained/101/i27

DA-BFAR 9 Public Advisory - The source of this information (material) is attributed to DA-BFAR Regional Office No. I .

Today is International Tea Day! Spice up your milk tea treat with this turmeric milk tea that’s high in calcium and iron.

[UPDATED - FILIPINO TRANSLATION INCLUDED]

Recently, there has been a circulating Facebook post about the lethality of a certain grilled egg delicacy (i.e., grilled balut or inihaw na balut) due to its production of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Although this post was meant to inform consumers about the associated health risk, it seems to be misleading. While the explained science in the post is true, the conclusion was taken out of context.

The proteins of the egg whites contain sulfur that reacts with hydrogen during the heating of eggs, resulting in the formation of H2S.[1,2] Although a known toxic gas, especially during exposure at moderate to high concentrations,[3] H2S is released in such small amounts that it cannot pose any health risks.[1,2,4] For additional context, the highest H2S concentration that can be produced by an egg is around 0.2 ppm which happens when the egg is already rotten.[5] Meanwhile, the allowable exposure limit for H2S is 20 ppm and must reach a concentration of 100 ppm in order to cause dangerous effects on health and life.[6]

Additionally, as the heating prolongs, H2S goes inwards towards the egg yolk due to the decreased solubility of the egg white.[1,2] This gas reacts with the iron subsequently released from the yolk during heating, forming iron sulfide.[7,8] This dark-greenish tinge observed on the surface of the yolk due to overcooking may taste and appear unappealing, but it is not considered detrimental to human health.[9,10,11]




Content by: Carl Baluyut, GD Canapi, and Jomi Rodriguez
Pub by: Carl Baluyut

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TL;DR: Ligtas kainin ang inihaw na balut. Kapag niluluto ang itlog, nabubuo ang hydrogen sulfide (H2S) ngunit hindi ito sapat upang magdulot ng panganib sa kalusugan.[1,2,4]

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Kamakailan lamang ay may kumakalat na Facebook post ukol sa hindi ligtas na pagkonsumo ng inihaw na balut dahil umano sa nakalalasong kemikal na hydrogen sulfide (H2S) na nagmumula sa pag-iihaw nito.
Bagaman hangad lamang ng naturang post na magbahagi ng kaalaman patungkol sa panganib na kaugnay rito, naiba ang interpretasyon o nawala sa wastong konteksto ang ipinahayag na siyentipikong eksplanasyon.

Ang puti ng itlog ay mayroong natural na sulfur na kapag naiinit buhat ng pagluto ay nagre-react sa hydrogen na nagiging dahilan ng pagkabuo ng H2S.[1,2] Tunay ngang nakalalason ang H2S lalo na kung mataas ang lebel nito.[3] Subalit, ang nabubuong H2S tuwing nagluluto ng itlog ay kalimitang kakaunti lamang at hindi makapagdudulot ng negatibong epekto sa kalusugan.[1,2,4] Sa katunayan, ang pinakamataas na konsentrasyon ng H2S na maaaring makuha sa itlog ay 0.2 ppm na nangyayari lamang kapag ito ay bulok na.[5] Ayon sa mga eksperto, walang nakaambang panganib ang exposure ng tao sa 20 ppm ng H2S at kinakailangan muna nitong makaabot ng 100 ppm bago magdulot ng direktang panganib sa kalusugan at buhay.[6] Kung susumahin, katumbas nito ang minsanang pagkain ng 500 na bulok na itlog bago magdulot ng panganib sa buhay ang H2S.

Dagdag pa rito, habang tumatagal ang pagluto ng itlog, bumababa ang solubility ng puti ng itlog kaya naman puwersahang naililipat ang H2S patungo sa p**a ng itlog.[1.2] Ito ngayon ay nagre-react sa iron na mula sa p**a ng itlog upang mabuo ang iron sulfide na maaring matukoy mula sa dark-green na kulay sa paligid ng p**a ng itlog.[7,8,9,11] Ang iron sulfide ay indikasyon ng overcooked na itlog na posibleng sanhi ng kakaibang itsura at lasa ng itlog ngunit kadalasan, hindi ito nagdudulot ng panganib sa kalusugan ng tao.[9,10,11]

Translation by: Edward De Guzman