Micronutrient Malnutrition – A Glimpse on the Current Strategies and Future Prospects

Author Info

Prashant Dahal Srinivas  Janaswamy

Corresponding Author

Srinivas  Janaswamy
Department of Dairy and Food Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota, USA

A B S T R A C T

The inadequacy of micronutrients, namely essential vitamins and minerals in the human diet, manifests a wide range of moderate to serious health concerns collectively known as micronutrient malnutrition. It affects half of the global population, and food-based strategies such as balanced diet, supplementation and food fortification are effective. The balanced diet and dietary supplementation are desirable and sustainable; however, their efficacy is uncertain due to the required demands to improve dietary habits. Interestingly, food fortification – addition of micronutrients to processed foods - supplies micronutrients without the need to alter eating habits and unquestionably stands out as a systematic approach to moderate the statistical rise in micronutrient malnutrition. On the other hand, biofortification - plant breeding and/or genetic engineering - is a convenient and sustainable strategy with myriad possibilities to augment micronutrients status that could endure through generations. These approaches coupled with meticulously organized innovative policies and a competent food value chain will indeed aid in addressing the micronutrient deficiency toward building a productive and efficient generation.

Article Info

Article Type

Research Article

Publication history

Received: Thu 08, Jul 2021
Accepted: Sat 24, Jul 2021
Published: Fri 06, Aug 2021

Copyright

© 2023 Srinivas  Janaswamy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hosting by Science Repository.
DOI: 10.31487/j.JFNM.2021.02.02