Small Packages of Health


Feeling tired, have dry skin, or having trouble sleeping? These might be because you’re lacking in some vitamins and minerals. Micronutrients, despite being taken in small amounts, play distinctive roles in the body. Based on the latest nutrition surveys, Vitamin A, Iron and Iodine are found to be the most common micronutrient deficiencies in the country. While one may think a lack on these micronutrients won’t affect them for a long time, it has been proven that micronutrient deficiencies can cause inter-generational consequences particularly on vulnerable groups. It may also have considerable impact on national productivity and development.  

To aid in this continuing problem on micronutrient deficiency, a mandate on food fortification has been implemented. Food fortification is a practice of adding vitamins and/or minerals to food and condiments to increase their nutritional content for overall improvement of health. These nutrients might be micronutrients lost during processing and were added back to food such as in food enrichment or completely new nutrients not initially present in food but added for nutritional value such as in food fortification. 

As of now, the law has mandated that common household items such as oil, flour and sugar be fortified with Vitamin A while rice and flour are fortified with iron. Fortification of other processed food apart from these is voluntary for manufacturers. While the practice of fortification does not directly solve the problem on micronutrient deficiency, it is one helpful way in making sure we’re getting or at least getting close to meeting our daily nutritional needs.     

  Gardenia, with the same goal of bringing health closer to the Filipino family, continues to make its products healthier for everyone.  Our breads are fortified with different vitamins and minerals. In particular, our Gardenia High Fiber Whole Wheat Bread has Nutri+Plus Advantage. It is a good source of Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, Calcium, Iron and Folate on top of providing you 20% of your daily fiber requirement just from 2 slices alone. You can easily have it on its own or create a healthy recipe with food items you already have in your kitchen. 

Micronutrients may be seen as small packages but they bring such good health. As we observe National Food Fortification Day this month, let’s rally that mandates on fortification be continuously implemented while also remember that no matter what, poor nutrition can’t be covered by adding extra vitamins and minerals. While fortified and enriched foods can certainly add to a healthy diet, they aren’t enough to meet our nutrition needs by themselves.  Let us campaign for healthy food that is accessible and affordable for everybody so that deficiencies whether on macro and micro terms won’t be a problem at all.

Try out our Gardenia Tuna Apple Delight Sandwich for a sweet & savory treat that is healthy for you.  Check out the full recipe below.

Gardenia Tuna Apple Delight Sandwich

 Ingredients:

  • 26 slices Gardenia High Fiber Whole Wheat Bread
  • 1 can tuna chunks in water
  • 1/2 cup appled, diced
  • 1/2 cup celery, chopped
  • 1 pack plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

  1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl except bread. Mix until well blended. Add in salt and ground black pepper to taste.
  2. Spread mixture on one side of the bread. Cover with another slice of bread. Cut the sandwich diagonally.
  3. Serve with iced green tea.

Sources:

National Nutrition Council. 2020. Micronutrient Deficiency: Philippines in Focus. Accessed via https://nnc.gov.ph/regional-offices/luzon/region-iv-b-mimaropa/4442-micronutrient-deficiency-philippines-in-focus 

National Nutrition Council. 2021. November 7 is National Food Fortification Day. Accessed via https://www.nnc.gov.ph/regional-offices/mindanao/region-xi-davao-region/6367-november-7-is-national-food-fortification-day 

Jennifer Doley. 2017. Nutrition and Functional Foods for Healthy Aging. Chapter 14 – Vitamins and Minerals in Older Adults: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Deficiency. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-805376-8.00014-9.