Nguyen Mai Ha, a
mother of two, said she didn’t know that children need plenty of vitamin E for
proper growth, and was only advised to give them supplements of essential
nutrients vitamin A and D.
At a periodic medical examination by HCM City Society of Clinical Nutrition
(SCN), Ha, a 30-year-old banking official, said she had been feeding her two
children according to the advice of her mother and elderly friends.
Doctor Luu Ngan Tam, SCN chairwoman, explains that vitamin E plays a role in
gene expression and helps children convert the foods they eat into energy.
“The nutrient also
acts an antioxidant to protect a child’s cells from damage that can increase
lifetime risk of heart disease and cancer,” she says.
The Hanoi-based National Institute of Nutrition surveys have revealed more than
50 percent of Vietnamese children fail to get enough vitamins, including vitamin
E or iron in their daily meals.
Institute surveys have shown the rate of Vietnamese children lacking different
kinds of vitamins, namely A, B1, C and D, was higher than that of the other
three countries in the region, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
A recent study of the International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research
showed vitamin E content of Vietnamese people was at the lowest level in the
Asia-Pacific region and in the world.
Vietnamese children under 12 have an average blood level of vitamin E under
12umol/l, compared to a standard vitamin E level of 30umol/l.
Doctor Tam says Vietnamese people eat much starch in the rice of their daily
meals, but not wheat germ, nuts, and whole grains that contain vitamin E.
She recommended diversification of food sources in daily meals, saying it’s
fairly simple to ensure that children get plenty of Vitamin E.
Broccoli, tomatoes, spinach and kiwi each supply a small amount of Vitamin E,
the nutrition expert said, and many children enjoy sweet potatoes and avocado,
which are rich in vitamin E.
Increased
awareness
The director of the National Institute of Nutrition, Assoc. Prof. Le Danh Tuyen,
says 70 percent of Vietnamese kids aged 1-2 lack two kinds of necessary
vitamins, A and E, both essential to the growth of a child.
The cause is not only lack of money but also lack of knowledge.
The institute is coordinating with a Japanese healthcare organisation to teach
nutrition for kids aged 6 months-24 months to rural women in four northern
provinces - Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang, Ha Giang and Ninh Binh.
The three-year project, started in April 2014, is helping Vietnamese mothers
change supplemental foods to provide adequate amounts of key vitamins and
minerals for children.
Nguyen Thi Hien, a project coordinator, says rural mothers don’t believe in
using cooking oils or fat in processing food for infants because it causes
constipation.
“It is wrong thinking. Cook your child’s food with cold-pressed oils, such as
olive or canola, because they contain between 2 and 5 milligrams of vitamin E
per tablespoon,” Hien says.
The healthtipsfromtheprofessor.com website says 83% of US children and 91% of US adults do not consume the recommended 12 mg/day of vitamin E.
In Asia, residents of Vietnam, the Republic of Korea, Nepal and Bangladesh are listed as deficient in Vitamin E.
VNA