Oops ... Malaysians are just not eating enough fruits

Healthy move: Visitors buying fruits during the launching of ‘Eat More Local Fruits’ campaign at Tapak Ekspo, Seberang Jaya.

BUTTERWORTH: Please look away from the roti canai and nasi lemak, and focus on the bananas and papayas!

A local survey has shown that Malaysians eat less than half the amount of fruits recommended by World Health Organisation (WHO) which should be at least 146kg a year, or 400gm daily.

The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) revealed that the average Malaysian only consumed 120gm of fruits daily.

Fama chairman Datuk Ishak Ismail said as such, the body aims to promote the healthy eating habit in schools.

“We want children to eat more fruits. Fama is holding direct sale of fruits from farmers in 380 locations nationwide to help with the effort,” he said after launching a campaign to encourage consumption of local fruits in Seberang Jaya on Friday.

The event at the Seberang Jaya Expo Site saw farmers selling fruits such as durians, cempedak, mangosteen and rambutan at lowered pri­ces. The campaign will close today.Also present was State Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin.

Island Hospital dietician Lim Fei Ai said women were encouraged to take two to three servings of fruit daily, with men needing three to four servings.

Those with hypertension are advised to eat four to five servings daily, she added.

“I don’t recommend juicing. You might need a few minutes to eat a fruit, but you only need 10 seconds to swallow a glass of fruit juice.

“This increases your rate of fructose ingestion. Chew your fruit. But if you must juice, then include the pulp instead of filtering it out,” she said, adding that people should eat a wide variety of local fruits and not be picky.