News

Dietary recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Statement of the Committee of Human Nutrition Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences

We are pleased to share with you our newly developed statement on nutritional recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
During the COVID-19 pandemic, care must be taken to achieve and maintain optimal nutritional status of the body, including a normal body weight, by providing with the diet all the nutrients needed by the body in amounts appropriate to the age, sex, physiological condition and physical activity, in accordance with the dietary standards, if the individual needs of the body are not known. The general principle of balanced nutrition is to consume a varied diet based on available foods. A key nutritional strategy for supporting the body and immune system functions should be a diet containing an adequate amount of water, a high proportion of plant-based foods (vegetables, fruit, whole-grain cereal products, legumes, nuts, and seeds), and an adequate amount of foods of animal origin (fish, dairy products, eggs and meat products). Every day, a variety of fresh and non-processed or minimally processed food products that provide vitamins, nutrients, dietary fibre, protein, polyunsaturated n-3 and n-6 fatty acids and antioxidant components (e.g. polyphenols, carotenoids) should be consumed. Sugar, salt and saturated fatty acids to significantly reduce the risk of overweight, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and certain types of cancer should be avoided.
 
Two separate nutritional guidelines were prepared  - addressed to the general population and to children.
The full statement is available here. 
Infographic available here. 
 
Publications:
  • Annals of the National Institute of Hygiene, 2021, 72(2): 209-220 (here)

  • Pediatrics Medical Standards (here)

The 22nd IUNS-ICN International Congress of Nutrition IUNS-ICN 2022 in Tokyo

tokyo conference

 

The 22nd IUNS-ICN International Congress of Nutrition IUNS-ICN 2022, organized by the International Union of Nutritional Sciences, took place on December 6-11, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. Facing the problems of feeding the world's ever-growing population, including food shortages, malnutrition, overconsumption, diverse dietary habits, food security threats, and aging populations, the theme of the congress was "The Power of Nutrition: For the Smiles of 10 Billion People". The congress was attended by 3344 researchers from all continents, 44 lectures were given and 1810 oral reports or posters were presented in 9 thematic panels.

On the 75th anniversary of the International Union of Nutrition Sciences, a book presenting the IUNS mission and key moments in its history has been published. link here

The Human Nutrition Science Committee acts as a national committee, representing Poland on the international forum and cooperating with the International Union of Nutritional Sciences. On this occasion, we would like to mention Professor Stanisław Berger, the former chairman of the Committee, and currently, its Honorary Chairman, who in 2009 during the 19th IUNS-ICN Congress in Bangkok, Thailand was awarded the title of Living Legend (link to publication)

Statement of the Committee of Human Nutrition Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences on the use of dietary supplements containing vitamins and minerals by adults

We are pleased to share with you our newly developed statement on the use of dietary supplements by adults. 

The use of dietary supplements (supplementation) is the individual enrichment of the diet with ingredients naturally occurring in food. As a rule, dietary supplements should be used periodically. In nutritional practice, there are many indications for dietary supplementation, but the decision to take dietary supplements should be made by consumers wisely and only in justified situations when there is a risk that the usual diet does not provide vitamins and minerals in an amount adequate to meet dietary recommendations. However, we should remember about the real dangers of taking too large doses of vitamins and minerals. Many people using dietary supplements, especially several types at the same time, may experience undesirable side effects and deterioration of health, and in addition, people taking medicines may seriously disrupt or weaken the effect of the drug, or even lack the therapeutic effect of the drug. The document presents 10 steps and rules for the use of dietary supplements available on the market, which are addressed to the general population.
 
Full statement available here 
 
Publications:
  • Annals of the National Institute of Hygiene (here)

  • Pediatrics Medical Standards (here)