Basic Introduction to Food Hygiene

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ඇමයිලේස් බහුල ආහාර වලින් දරුවන්ට වඩාත් ගුණාත්මක අතිරේක ආහාර.....| Amylase Rich Food (ARF) |

සාමාන්‍යයෙන් ළදරුවනට අතිරේක ආහාර ලබා දීම ආරම්භ කරන විට පළමුව බත් කැද දීමට පුරුදුව ඇත. මෙම කැද බොහෝවිට පිළියෙළ කරුණු ලබන්නේ බත් හෝ වෙනත් ධාන්‍ය වර්ගයක් යොදාගෙනය. නමුත් මෙම ආහාරයේ ශක්ති ජනක අගය අඩු වන අතර දියරමය ස්වභාවය ද වැඩි වේ.එනිසා මෙය ළදරුවාගේ දිනක ශක්ති අවශ්‍යතාව සපුරලිඉමට අපොහොසත් වේ. මෙයට හොදම විසදුම වන්නේ ඇමයිලේස් බහුල ආහාරයක් මෙයට එකතු කිරීමයි.එමගින් ආහාරයේ මුළු පරිමාව අඩු වන අතර එහි ශක්ති ප්‍රමානය ද වැඩි වේ.එනිසා එය ළදරුවාට පහසුවෙන් ආහාරයට ගත හකිවේ. මෙම ඇමයිලේස් බහුල ආහාර ඔබට නිවසේදීම පිළියෙළ කර ගත හැකි වේ.ඒ සදහා පහත ක්‍රමය යොදාගත හැක.

1. මුං , කවුපි , උඳු යන ඕනෑම ධාන්‍ය වර්ගයක් තෝරා ගන්න.

2. එය මුල් අදින තුරු වතුරේ පොඟවා ගන්න;පැය 48 ක් පමණ තැබීම ප්‍රමාණවත් වේ.

3. පසුව එය හිරු එළියේ හෝ උදුනක අඩු උෂ්ණත්වයක් යටතේ වියලා ගන්න.

4.වියලුනු පසුව එය කුඩු කර ගන්න

5.එම කුඩු පියන හොදින් වැසිය හැකි බෝතලයක බහා තබන්න.

6. ළදරුවාට ආහාර පිළියෙළ කරන විට මෙම කුඩු තේ හැදි 1 ක් ඊට එකතු කරන්න

මෙය ඔබට නිවසේදී සාදා ගත හැකි සුළු මුදලක් වැයවන ආහාරයේ ගන ස්වභාවය වැඩි කර එහි ශක්ති ප්‍රමාණය ද වැඩි කරන පෝෂණ අතිරේකයකි. ඔබත් ළදරුවකු සිටින මවක නම් මෙය අත්හදා බලන්න.


For the English version of this article Click Here | ๧මම ල๢ප๢๧ය๞ ඉංග්‍රීසි ප໱ව໮තනය සඳහ๟ ๧මත๠නට යන๞න

Do you know about nutritious Drumstick Leaves? | මුරුංගා කොළ වල ගුණ ගැන දන්නවාද?

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Drumsticks are popular among Sri Lankans because of the pods those we are using as a delicious vegetable. But the unknown fact about the Drumsticks is that nutritious value of their leaves. Though these leaves are added to enhance the taste of curries, rarely used itself as a vegetable.

These leaves are rich in β carotene (Vitamin A), Calcium, Phosphorus, Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and moderate amount of Iron. They have higher levels of β-carotene seven times than the spinach. Recent studies have found that both β - carotene and ascorbic acids are anti-oxidants which help to protect the body from infections, heart attacks and cancers. They are a very good source of calcium and phosphorus with low levels of oxalate, making the calcium potentially better absorbed. Calcium and phosphorus are important for bone growth in children. Although the iron content in drumstick leaves is moderate, the iron absorption is higher as they have higher levels of ascorbic acids which enhance iron absorption. The nutrient composition of Drumstick leaves is given below with comparison with daily requirement of children aged 1-2 years.

Nutrient	Drumstick leaves	Requirement of 1-2yr children	%RDA fulfilled by 5g(1 Tablespoon)
β - Carotene µg/g	192	2400µg	120%
Ascorbic acid mg/g	6.6	30mg	330%
Iron mg/g	0.26	9mg	8.7%
Calcium mg/g	22.4	500mg	13.4%
Phosphorus mg/g	6.3	800mg	2.4%
Oxalate mg/g	11.2

5g of Drumstick leave is equivalent to 1 Table spoon of leaves                              

 It is worth to see the possibilities of using this valuable local leaves in enhancing the nutritious value of Sri Lankan diet, especially for children. In India they have done a study comparing biscuits made from dehydrated Drumstick leaves with synthetic vitamin A in childhood feeding programme. The results revealed that leaves are as effective as synthetic vitamin A. Drumsticks leaves are commonly found in Sri Lanka. So why can’t we use this to prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies in our country? Now MRI is up to study the possible ways of using it as a powder to be added to diet of young children (complementary food).

*above values are according to standard literature; await our laboratory analysis data soon...



Written by - Dr. Malsha Gunathilake
Facts by -  Dr. Renuka Jayatissa

For the Sinhalese version of this article Click Here | ๧මම ල๢ප๢๧ය๞ ස๢๜හල ප໱ව໮තනය සඳහ๟ ๧මත๠නට යන๞න. 

Life Saving Pumpkin Seeds | දිවි දිගු කරන වට්ටක්කා ඇට

Source: avlazra.wordpress.com

In this day and age, many Sri Lankans are facing more and more health problems. Amidst this, high cholesterol levels are a priority problem amongst the South Asian population. The type of food consumed plays a vital role in determining ones low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). As you know, high LDL levels are known to cause coronary heart disease ,while HDL prevents it; hence the recommended diet constitutes  with low LDL and high HDL.

Fat is a concentrated source of energy. Dietary fat is in the form of triglycerides, consisting of three fatty acids and one glycerol unit. Fatty acids can be classified into saturated (known as “bad fat”) and unsaturated fat (known as “relatively good fat”). High levels of saturated fatty acid consumption can give rise to high LDL levels, whereas unsaturated fatty acid consumption can give rise to high HDL levels in the body. Unsaturated fatty acids can be categorised in to monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). MUFA contains one double bond between the carbon atoms of the fatty acid chain, whereas PUFA contains more than one double bond. PUFA can be further classified as omega-3 (EPA, DHA and DPA) and omega-6 (AA and GLA).Some  omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are called ‘essential fatty acids’ as they cannot be synthesised in the body, thus can only be provided from the diet.

Sources of omega-6 include soybean, corn oil, green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, organ meats and egg yolk. Sources of omega-3 include canola oil, nuts and seeds, fish oils, oily fish (canned tuna, mackerel and sardines). Sources of MUFA include various nuts and seeds. Around 10 cashew nuts will suffice for your recommended daily intake of MUFA.

Pumpkin seeds are a very good source of MUFA and PUFA. The composition of pumpkin seeds can be seen below:

Total Fat		46.7 %
PUFA 70%	Alpha linolenic acid	47 %
	Linoleic acid	23.4 %
MUFA 30%	ῳ -9 fatty acid	15.9 %
	ῳ- 6 fatty acid	4.2 %

Some consume supplements("fish oil capsules") to gain their recommended daily intake of omega-3 and -6. However, consuming pumpkin instead is not a difficult task. After cooking pumpkin, instead of throwing the seeds away; wash them and dry it in the sun/roast it in the oven in low heat. You may consume it with, or without the coat (coat contains fibre), but do not add salt. Pumpkin seeds are sold around the world and can be found in shops in Sri Lanka too. However, preparing pumpkin seeds at home is an easy and inexpensive way to increase your HDL levels and dodge high cholesterol.

Written by Chavindi Uduwaka

For the Sinhalese version of this article Click Here | ๧මම ල๢ප๢๧ය๞ ස๢๜හල ප໱ව໮තනය සඳහ๟ ๧මත๠නට යන๞න. 

කෑම රස කරන තෙල් නිසි පරිදි පාවිච්චි කරමු.|Do I have to avoid all oils?

අද බොහෝ දෙනෙක් තෙල් කෑමට බිය වෙති.එයට හේතුව වී ඇත්තේ අධික තෙල් පරිභෝජනය හදවත් රෝග ,අංශභාග වෑනි දිගු කාලීන රෝග වලට හේතුවීමයි.

ඔබ දන්නවාද? දිනකට එක් අයෙකුට අවශය වනුයේ තෙල් මේස හැඳි 3-5 ක් පමණි.වෙලඳපොලේ ඈති තෙල් වර්ග අතර සූර්යකාන්ත තෙල්, කෑනෝලා තෙල්, තල තෙල්, ඉරිඟු තෙල්,ඔලිව් තෙල් ඒ අතරින් වඩාත් හිතකර වේ.පාම් තෙල් හා මාජරින් ආහාර පිසීමට සුදුසු නැති අතර ;පොල් තෙල් ඒවාට වඩා සුදුසුය.

තෙල් යොදා ගෙන ගෑඹුරු තෙලේ බැදීම ඉතාමත් අහිතකරය.කලු දුම පිටවන තෙක් තෙල් රත් වු විට ට්‍රාන්ස් මේද අම්ල සෑදීම නිසා එහි සංයුතිය ශරීරයට අහිතකර තත්වයට පත්වේ.ඊට සුදුසුම පිළියම වන්නේ තෙල් දැමීමට පෙර හාජනයට වතුර ස්වල්පයක් දමා පසුව තෙල් දැමීමයි.එවිට තෙල් අධික ලෙස රත් වීම වැළකේ. කෙසේ වුවද ඉහත කිසිදු තෙල් වර්ගයක් ගැඹුරු තෙලේ බෑදීමට සුදුසු නැත, අවශ්‍යම විට ඒ සඳහා පොල්තෙල් භාවිතා කරන්න.

written by Dr.Malsha Gunathilake

For the English version of this article Click Here | ๧මම ල๢ප๢๧ය๞ ඉංග්‍රීසි ප໱ව໮තනය සඳහ๟ ๧මත๠නට යන๞න. 

Do I have to avoid all oils? | කෑම රස කරන තෙල් නිසි පරිදි පාවිච්චි කරමු.

No oil !!!!

Now people are scared of using oil. In Sri Lanka, we have been using coconut oil for years in cooking. I think Sri Lankan women always try to make food taste better by adding coconut oil. But, it is proven that oil has a major role in increasing risk of heart attacks and strokes. When we eat oil, they get absorbed in our gut, and then it increases fat levels in our blood. When there is an increase in fat in the blood it tends to deposit in our blood vessels as cholesterol plaques.

We need 20-30% of daily energy intake from fat. This means around three to five table spoons of oil can be consumed by a person daily. So I am sure you are looking for a safe oil to add to your food while keeping your heart healthy. Out of the types of oil available in Sri Lankan market Canola oil, Sun flower oil, Corn oil, Sesame oil and olive oil are safe to use. Next safer thing is our coconut oil. Coconut oil is better than palm oil or Margarine for cooking.

The way we use the oil is important as well as the type. Deep frying is the worst thing. In that case when oil gets over-heated its composition changes into bad fatty acids (Trans fatty acids) which make more cholesterol plaque inside our blood vessels. When adding oil to food, don’t let it heat till the dark smoke comes out. You can do it by adding little amount of water in to the pan before adding oil, so oil will get heated without overheating. None of the above oil is good for deep frying.

facts by - Dr.Renuka Jayatissa

written by Dr.Malsha Gunathilake

For the Sinhalese version of this article Click Here | ๧මම ල๢ප๢๧ය๞ ස๢๜හල ප໱ව໮තනය සඳහ๟ ๧මත๠නට යන๞න. 

Amylase Rich Food (ARF)

Preparation of ARF at the MRI laboratory

During complementary feeding (after 6 months of age), traditionally; the first food introduced to a child is porridge. This is usually prepared from a cereal or cereal flour such as mung, cowpea or ulundu. These porridges tend to have a high viscosity and a low energy content, which may not meet the daily energy requirements of the child.

The addition of ARF lowers the dietary bulk and increased the energy content, thus making the porridge easier to consume as well as increasing the calorie content per unit volume of food consumed.

ARF can be easily produced inexpensively at home. The preparatory method can be seen below:

1. Select whole, unbroken grains (i.e. mung, cowpea, ulundu) 


2. Soak the grains in water until sprouting takes place (around 48 hours)

3. Dry in the sun / roast lightly on low flame

4. Powder by hand pounding or in an electric grinder

5. Store in a wide mouthed screw cap bottle

6. Add one teaspoonful powder to the cereal during the preparation of feeding

Homemade ARF is both easy and inexpensive to help prepare a low-bulk, high-energy dense meal for your child.

Teaching mothers the easy and inexpensive method of preparing ARF at the household level

Source: Gopaldas T, Deshpande S, Chinnamma J. Studies on a wheat-based amylase-rich food. The United Nations University.