title: Mineral decline due to modernization of food habits.
abstract: Calcium and other micronutrients are essential for health and well-being. Dairy products are the main sources of calcium in western countries. In most regions of Asia, the consumption of these products is limited due to the lactose intolerance and costs. A major contributor to the micronutrients intake in this region is the consumption of small fish, such as anchovies. Traditionally, dried anchovies are consumed as a whole body. Recently, an increasingly popular method of eating anchovies has been to eat it in a cleaned, eviscerated form. This brief communication highlights how "modernization" of food habits may have unintentional nutritional consequences. A minor change in the dietary habits of eating cleaned anchovies may lead to a reduction in micronutrients intake. This reinforces the need for caution when we modernize our traditional eating habits.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, 14 Medical Drive #07-02, MD 6 Building, Singapore 117599, Singapore; Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117599, Singapore. Electronic address: jeya_henry@sics.a-star.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Christiani Jeyakumar
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.affiliation: Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, 14 Medical Drive #07-02, MD 6 Building, Singapore 117599, Singapore.
authors.forename: Xinyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, 14 Medical Drive #07-02, MD 6 Building, Singapore 117599, Singapore.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, 14 Medical Drive #07-02, MD 6 Building, Singapore 117599, Singapore.
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000737:chemistry*; D008903:Minerals / Q000737:chemistry*; D012922:Social Change
chemical_list: D018977:Micronutrients; D008903:Minerals
keywords: Anchovy; Food consumption; Mineral decline; Modernization