If someone is underweight, it means he/she is not healthy because of either harmful or improper balanced diet consumption, which cannot reach the essential nutrients (Micro-nutrients + Macro-nutrients) to their body like Proteins, Carbohydrate, Vitamins, Iodine, Iron and other types of heavy minerals which can lead the problems of malnutrition, especially in developing countries. So there are some tips to maintain your underweight nutritional status.
Consume healthy calorie foods in your daily diet, but you don’t need to drastically change your diet. You can increase calories by adding wheat, oats, sugars, honey, brown rice, and other whole grains that are locally available in your household.
Avoid junk food with empty calories and eat foods that are densely rich in nutrients like; fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables to obtain the vitamins and minerals. For protein and fats, you can take; meat, fish, oil, whole milk, legumes, oatmeal, grains, wheat, eggs, nuts, peanut butter, popcorn, and seeds but always prioritize the locally available foods and take them regularly.
In the condition of struggling with poor health and appetite, due to medical or emotional problems, eating large amounts of food is not necessary. You can take smaller meals frequently throughout the day to increase your calorie intake. Eating smaller meals more frequently may help cut down the volume of your meals.
If, in the case of deficiency of Iron, Iodine, and Vit-A, you can take the Iron tablet, and increase the supplement of Vit-A and Iodine salt during the pregnancy if needed.
Your water intake volume should have 11-15 cups per day. Water is the best fluid, but you can take other fluids in the form of Juice, Soup, Tea, Iced tea, Coffee with milk, Popsicles, Coconut water, Milk, etc. Also adding regular exercise can help to digest the foods and which increases the rate of absorption of the stomach and also help to build the muscles.
Undergraduate Student
National Academy for Medical Sciences (NAMS)
Purbanchal University, Kathmandu, Nepal
Email: krishnasharma.pha@gmail.com
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