The nation’s favorite vegetables are Taiwanese cabbage, yam leaves and bok choy, while raw garlic is the least popular, a poll showed.
Results of the “Stars of Taiwanese dishes and cooking” online poll was released in Taipei on Wednesday. The survey, which collected opinions on the six major food categories, was organized by the Taiwan Millennium Health Foundation, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) and the Council of Agriculture.
Taiwan’s most popular fruits were bananas, dragon fruit and Asian pear; while tofu, salmon and eggs topped the list in the “Meat, Fish, Eggs and Legumes” category.
Photo: Chan Shih-hung, Taipei Times
White rice, noodles and multi-grain rice topped the “Cereals and Whole Grains” category, while the “Dairy Products” category was led by milk, followed by yogurt drinks and yogurt.
The favorites in the “Nuts” category were walnut, pine nut and pistachio.
Garlic was the least favorite in the “Vegetables” group, followed by brown-cap white mushrooms (Hypsizygus marmoreus) and Okinawa spinach, while Durian was the least popular fruit.
Photo: Liu Yu-ching, Liberty Times
Fried dough sticks (youtiao, 油條), mock ham, evaporated milk and flaxseed were the least favorite foods in the “Cereals and Whole Grains,” “Meat, Fish, Eggs and Legumes,” “Dairy Products,” and “Nuts” categories respectively.
The survey collected responses from 172,000 people. Respondents in the 30-to-39 age bracket made up the largest group, accounting for 34.2 percent of all respondents, followed by the 40-to-49 age bracket.
Pan Wen-han (潘文涵), a researcher at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences, said garlic was the least popular vegetable because Taiwanese do not like eating it raw, as it is usually sliced and sauteed to lend its aromatic flavor to Taiwanese dishes.
Most Taiwanese still prefer eating white rice and noodles, but they should consume more whole rice and multigrains, which can protect from cardiovascular disease, Pan said.
Pan said people should limit consumption of deep-sea fish to twice a week, due to possible high heavy metal content, which could affect coagulation and other blood functions.
People should check the glycemic index of fruits, Pan said, adding that, for example, banana is among the favorites in the poll, but elderly or diabetic people should for not eat too much of the fruit in one sitting.
“Studies in other countries have shown that vitamin D deficiency could increase the risk of COVID-19 infection by 77 percent, which is likely due to enhanced immunity gained from vitamin D and of its function to diminish inflammation in the body,” she said. “Drying mushrooms under the sun can boost their vitamin D levels. So people can boost vitamin D intake by eating more sun-dried mushrooms and fungus.”
Taiwan Millennium Health Foundation chairman Hsu Huei-heng (許惠恒), an expert in diabetes treatment, said the poll provides opportunities for public nutrition awareness, for example by introducing people to the six major food groups, and presenting charts and graphics to educate the public on daily recommended allowances.
Poll results, alongside data from the HPA, could help people create daily meal plans, for example two portions of dairy products, three portions of vegetables and two portions of fruit, and more whole grains to remain healthy and protect against metabolic syndromes, Hsu said.
HPA Director Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) said people should consume a variety of food products to maintain proper nutrient intake, which is necessary for a healthy body, as the nation faces a surge in COVID-19 infections.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times
RSS