Why do many Vietnamese people lack calcium even though they eat shrimp and crab?
Calcium content in 100g of field crab is 5,040mg, 100g of small shrimp is 910mg. However, the condition is that shrimp eat the shell, fish eat the bones or like field crab, calcium is mainly in the shell and plastron.
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Bach Mai, former Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, said that in recent years our meals have changed a lot in the direction of being more balanced and complete, meeting the needs of Vietnamese people.
In which, increase consumption of meat, fat-related products, reduce consumption of rice, tubers... However, the diet tends to increase protein along with increasing phosphorus but not increasing calcium, mainly increasing animal protein.
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Bach Mai, former Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition. Photo: BTC
In fact, besides the problem of malnutrition and overweight and obesity, our country also faces a third problem: micronutrient deficiency, including low calcium intake.
"The average milk intake of Vietnamese people has increased, even for adults, but it is not worthy of its position in providing calcium in daily meals. Providing enough calcium directly affects bone structure, bone health, and height growth of children during growth age," Associate Professor Mai analyzed.
The calcium intake of Vietnamese people only meets 50% of the recommended calcium requirement. Meanwhile, the low calcium/phosphorus ratio of the diet (<0.8) reduces absorption and affects calcium metabolism.
According to Associate Professor Mai, currently, on average, each Vietnamese person consumes about 74ml of milk per day, while the recommended level for adults is 3 units of milk and dairy products per day. In which, 1 unit of milk is equivalent to 15gr of cheese (1 piece of cheese) or 100ml of yogurt (1 box of yogurt) or 100ml of liquid milk (1 small glass of milk).
"We eat small shrimps that have calcium, but we have to eat the shells, and we have to eat small fishes that have bones. Or with crabs, calcium is mainly in the shell and plastron, if we remove them, the calcium content is much lower. Meanwhile, milk is not considered a real food in the daily diet of Vietnamese people, resulting in calcium deficiency," Associate Professor Mai analyzed.
In addition, when providing calcium, we should note to have vitamin D by sunbathing and increasing exercise.
Associate Professor Dr. Tran Quang Trung, Chairman of the Vietnam Dairy Association, added that before the Covid-19 pandemic, the dairy industry had grown by double digits. In 2023 alone, the country's fresh milk output will stagnate somewhat due to the post-Covid-19 economic impact, estimated at more than 1,800 million liters, up 7.5%, and powdered milk will reach 154,800 tons, up slightly by 0.1% compared to 2022.
Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quang Trung, Chairman of the Vietnam Dairy Association. Photo: Organizing Committee
However, according to Mr. Trung, domestic raw milk sources only meet about 40% of consumption demand. Meanwhile, Vietnamese milk consumption is still very low compared to neighboring countries.
Statistics show that, on average, each Vietnamese person only consumes about 26-28 liters per year, while in Thailand it is 35 liters/person, Singapore is 45 liters/person, European countries are up to 80-100 liters/person, the Netherlands is 300 liters/person...
"That shows that the dairy industry in Vietnam still has a lot of potential for development. Milk consumption will continue to increase in the next few years. We are also proud that Vietnamese dairy products have been exported to nearly 60 countries and territories.
This is thanks to our improvement of modern technology, sustainable development, green economy, having farms and factories that meet standards, and long-term orientation towards recycling packaging and waste...", Mr. Trung said./.
