Compendium of dietary sources of vitamin A in the Thar desert

The undisputed long term solution to prevent nutritional blindness lies in changing the dietary habits of a given population through nutritional education, nutritional supplementation, and nutritional rehabilitation. Before such strategies can be successfully implemented, it becomes necessary to study the existing dietary pattern of the population and to identify locally grown foods rich in vitamin A. Seventy eight rural women were interviewed to determine the common dietary items in western Rajasthan. These items were then matched with their B-carotene contents, only to discover that, 100 grams of any of them would not provide the RDA for a 1-3 year old child, with the exception of Suva (Peucedanum graveolens) and Bathua (Chenopodium album) leaves. The B-Carotene contents of several food items is unknown at present and there is an urgent need to evaluate them.