Taiwan dietary guidelines to call for lots of water, more fruit and veg

Taipei, March 5 (CNA) Taiwan's new daily dietary guidelines will encourage the public to drink lots of water, eat more fruit and vegetables, and have one cup of liquid dairy per day, according to the Health Promotion Administration (HPA).

The HPA sent a summary of the draft guidelines out to Taiwanese media on Thursday, pending the final review and official publication of the document as early as next month.

According to the HPA, the guidelines, which offer varying nutritional advice based on a person's gender, age, height and weight, will recommend consuming a maximum of 3,500 calories per day, up from 2,700 in the 2018 edition.

The guidelines will suggest eating between 3 and 8 servings of vegetables per day, up from 3-5, with one serving defined as a cooked portion that fills a 15-centimeter plate, or half of a small rice bowl.

The daily recommendation for fruit, meanwhile, will be raised from 2-4 servings per day to 2-6 servings per day.

The updated guidelines will also include a chapter on water consumption for the first time ever, the HPA said.

Males aged 19 and above will be encouraged to drink around 2,400 milliliters per day, along with 2,000 ml for females, while accounting for adjustments based on body type, activity level, health condition and the weather.

Dairy, protein recommendations

On the question of liquid dairy, the HPA said it will lower the official recommendation from two cups per day to one cup.

However, as studies show Taiwanese on average consume only 0.5 cups of liquid dairy per day, most people may actually need to increase their consumption, the agency said.

The HPA also noted that calcium can be supplemented through a range of other food sources, including black sesame, traditional tofu, dried small fish, and dark leafy greens, along with sufficient vitamin D to promote absorption.

As for protein, the guidelines' recommendation for the tofu-fish-egg-meat category will be raised from 3-8 servings per day to 3-13 servings, the HPA said.

The suggestion for the nuts and seeds category will also be adjusted from one daily serving to 1-2 servings, it added.

Meanwhile, the HPA also said on Thursday that it is considering promoting front-of-package nutrition labeling on food sold in restaurants, possibly using a green-yellow-red light system, with green representing food that is low in salt and sugar.

A committee of experts has reached an initial consensus on the proposal, and plans to have the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration discuss the idea with industry representatives, the HPA said.