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Executive Order 382 declares November 7 as the National Food Fortification Day. The term “Fortification” as defined by Codex Alimentarius, it is the addition of one or more essential nutrients to food, whether or not it is normally contained in the food, for the purpose of preventing or correcting a demonstrated deficiency of one or more nutrients in the population or specific population groups. Henceforth, Republic Act No. 8976 declares that the State shall protect and promote the right of health of the people and instill health consciousness among them. State recognizes that nutritional deficiency problems in the Philippines, based on nutrition surveys, include deficiency in energy, iron, vitamin A, iodine, thiamin and riboflavin. To a minor extent, the Filipino diet is also deficient in ascorbic acid, calcium and folate.
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Mechanical Soft Diet (MSD), also known as the Geriatric Diet or Dental Soft Diet, is a variation of the regular diet, wherein the texture is modified, especially for individuals who are unable to chew or swallow properly. This type of diet can be made through many different cooking processes such as grinding, pureeing, liquefying, chopping, or tender cooking. Other processes may be possible as long as the food items used must have a soft texture and should be easy to swallow. MSD is similar to Soft Diet, but what makes the former different from the latter is that MSD allows the consumption of fried foods, seasonings, spices, and fibrous foods.
MSD is recommended for individuals experiencing cases such as:
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Newborn screening can detect conditions that can affect a child’s long-term health or survival. It is an essential public health approach that enables the early detection and management of several congenital disorders. Through early detection, diagnosis, and intervention can prevent death or disability and enable children to reach their full potential. Yearly, millions of babies around the world are routinely screened, by using a few drops of blood from the newborn’s heel, for certain genetic, endocrine, and metabolic disorders, and are also tested for hearing loss and critical congenital heart defects (CCHDs) prior to discharge from a hospital or in a birthing center. These have been an integral part of routine newborn care in most developed countries for five decades, either as a health directive or mandated by law.
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Nutrition is the process of eating healthy foods and having a balanced diet to obtain the nutrients that our body needs to sustain bodily functions. Whatever age group you belong, keeping a healthy body is vital to be less susceptible to infections and diseases that may affect our way of living.
It is inevitable that as we get old, a lot of changes may occur. As what they say, change is the only constant in life. Nutritional requirements of elderly are different from adults. Younger adults need more calories to sustain energy for their active lifestyle, while the elder adults require few calories but more protein. However maintaining good health is difficult for elder adults as they have to face changes that make it harder for them to eat healthy. The following are the factors that makes staying healthy difficult for elder adults; living alone all of a sudden, body weakness which makes it harder for them to cook, income, deterioration in sense of smell and taste, problems with mastication and swallowing. Listed below are the Nutri-tips for your beloved Lolo’t lola:
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Newborn screening is an important public health method that provides for the early detection and treatment of a number of congenital diseases that, if untreated, may cause mental incapacity and mortality. In the Philippines, this became one of the necessary newborn care routines mandated by law— Republic Act 9288 or mostly known as the Newborn Screening Act of 2004.
This law was passed to uphold and advance everyone's right to health, including children's rights to life and to an entire and healthy childhood that allows them to grow into responsible, contributing members of society. To carry out this policy, the government legitimizes a national newborn screening program that is thorough, integrative, and sustainable. This ensures that every infant born in the country will have access to newborn screening through the National Newborn Screening System, protecting them from congenital disorders that can cause mental impairment and even death if left undiagnosed and untreated.
Within one hundred eight (180) days of the passage of this Act, the Department of Health (DOH) had established the Advisory Committee on Newborn Screening; established the implementing regulations and guidelines for the immediate implementation of a national newborn screening program; collaborated with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for the implementation of the newborn screening program; and integrated with the NIH Newborn Screening Reference Center for the certification of newborn screening facilities as the lead agency in the implementation of this Act.
Read more: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Newborn Screening Act of 2004
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Immediately following birth, newborns are screened as part of a public health initiative for disorders that are treatable but not yet clinically visible. How newborn screening is done? A small amount of blood drawn from the infant's heel is tested. Before the infant leaves the hospital, this occurs, typically at 1 or 2 days of age. After the first 24 hours of life, the blood sample should be taken. However, because some mothers and newborns are released from the hospital within a day, some babies are tested within the first 24 hours. If this occurs, doctors advise taking another sample after the infant has been born for more than 24 hours.
By state, screening differs. As technology develops and therapies advance, tests may improve. Although there are national standards for newborn screening, each state or country is free to choose which tests to use. The Philippine Newborn Screening System consists of the following five (5) parts:
