The goals were to document sales over a 10 year period and describe the nutrient contributions and flavanoid content of the 30 vegetables and 16 fruits eaten in Taiwan to provided more specific data on types of these produts than are possible from existing consumption data to faciliatate studies of diet and chronic disease risk. The 5 most popular vegetables in terms of tons sold in Taiwan over the period 1989-98 were cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, radish and sweet corn; none of which were good sources of problem nutrients in Taiwan diets, such as vitamin A, B-2, calcium or iron. However, they all provided one family of flavanoids, the flavanols. The five most popular fruits were two kinds of watermelons , canteloupe, tangerine, and pineapple. None were high in any of the problem micronutrients in Taiwan diets except tangerines, which were high in vitamin C. With respect to their flavanoid content, all provided flavanols, and tangerines also provided flavanones and flavones. Among the other fruits,mango,rank 9, and papaya rank 8 in terms of tons sold were high in vitamin A value and mango provided some flavanol; among the vegetables, onion, ranking 26th in sales was rich in flavonols. We conclude that more specific data will be needed in the future in food consumption surveys to complement the market data and establish better estimates of intakes of nutrients and phytochemicals such as flavanoids.
Learning Objectives: Describe nutrient and flavanoid content of major fruits and vegetables consumed in Taiwan to facilitate design and implementation of case-control studies of Chinese in different countires
Keywords: Dietary Assessment, Food and Nutrition
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.