Abstract
BackgroundMeasurement of dietary intake of spices is gaining significance because of recognition of their health promoting benefits as well as its use for risk assessment of contaminant exposures. Estimating intake of spices at the individual level, presents several challenges since various spices are used as an integrated part of a prepared food and consumed in amounts much smaller than other dietary components. The objective of the present study is to assess intake of spices at the household and individual level on the basis of pattern of spice use and portion size of spice consumed from routinely prepared dishes in Hyderabad city in Southern India.MethodsThe study was conducted in 100 households in urban areas of Hyderabad city in India with the help of a spice intake questionnaire that was prepared to collect information on the pattern of spice use, frequency, and quantity of spice consumption of 17 spices routinely used in Indian cuisine. The quantity of spice intake was assessed by measuring portion size of spice consumed from the quantity of i) spices added in routinely prepared dishes and ii) the prepared dish consumed by an individual.ResultsBased on the type of dish prepared and frequency of preparing the dishes, 11 out of 17 spices were found to be consumed by more than 50% of the households. Maximum number of spices was consumed at weekly frequencies. Red chillies and turmeric were the most frequently consumed spices by 100% of the households. The mean total intake of spices was observed to be higher through dishes consumed daily (10.4 g/portion) than from those consumed at weekly or monthly frequencies. Highest portion size intake was observed for chillies (mean 3.0 g; range 0.05-20.2 g) and lowest for nutmeg (mean 0.14 g; range 0.02-0.64 g) and mace (mean 0.21 g; range: 0.02-0.6 g).ConclusionsThe study suggested that assessment of intake of spices varies with frequency of use of spices and type of dish consumed. Portion size estimations of spices consumed and the frequency of consumption of the spice containing dishes facilitates in quantifying spice intake at the individual level.
Highlights
Measurement of dietary intake of spices is gaining significance because of recognition of their health promoting benefits as well as its use for risk assessment of contaminant exposures
Type and frequency of spices used and consumed Spice intake survey in 100 HHs showed that more than 50% consumed spices listed from 1–11 in Table 1, with 99 and 100% of the HHs consuming red chillies, and turmeric daily respectively (Table 2)
Salad, and sweets were the other preparations that involved a variety of spices including red chillies, black pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, and mace
Summary
Measurement of dietary intake of spices is gaining significance because of recognition of their health promoting benefits as well as its use for risk assessment of contaminant exposures. The objective of the present study is to assess intake of spices at the household and individual level on the basis of pattern of spice use and portion size of spice consumed from routinely prepared dishes in Hyderabad city in Southern India. In recent times measurement of dietary intake of spices is gaining much significance as various phytochemicals present in spices have been recognized to have health promoting benefits and preventive role in chronic diseases [4,5]. Measurement of spice intake as part of total diet studies or risk assessment for estimating contaminant intakes is assuming considerable importance [6]
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