THE lowly kalabasa (squash) may have (undeservedly) gained a reputation among elementary pupils as a ?zero? because of its shape, thus a pupil who gets a failing grade gets a ?kalabasa award? of sorts.

But ask the grownups, particularly the experts at the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology. The squash turns out to actually belong to the A-list of superfoods?containing pro-vitamin A that can help those fond of consuming it gain better eyesight, healthier hair, smoother and clearer skin, as well as for better overall growth.

Priority food

This is also the reason the FNRI is promoting the squash among the dietary musts of Filipino youths. FNRI director Mario Capanzana?s reply was short and direct, in fact, when Inquirer Health asked him what priority food the agency was promoting as of late.

?Squash? was his SMS reply, to which he added, ?we are (also) studying the benefit of yacon and coconut flour.?

The FNRI is promoting snack foods with its main ingredient squash as needed most by pre-schoolers, schoolchildren and adolescents. Samples of such snacks are the ?squash halaya,? ?squash kutsinta? and ?squash maja? (the ingredients of which could be found at http://www.fnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1058).

The FNRI stated that squash contains minerals like calcium, phosphorous and iron. Calcium and phosphorous help keep bones and teeth strong. Iron is needed in building healthy red blood cells.

The food values of kalabasa?its fruits, flowers and tops?are widely used as vegetables in the country, according to the ?Medicinal Fruits and Vegetables? book of Dr. Jaime Z. Galvez Tan and Ma. Rebecca Marana Galvez Tan. Its young shoots are an excellent source of calcium, phosphorus, iron and Vitamin B. The flowers contain Vitamin A and calcium. The fruit is rich in iron, phosphorus, calcium and Vitamin A.

The FNRI grabbed headlines last year when it presented the yellow pan de sal?a roll made from dough that is ?35-percent squash puree? instead of 100 percent wheat flour. It unveiled its reinvention of the traditional breakfast staple following reports that the price of imported flour would rise by 5 to 10 percent in April 2008.

The vegetable-enriched bread retains the taste, shape and texture of the original. The only obvious difference is the color: it comes out of the oven yellowish rather than brown. It was as though the bread had been dipped in margarine, one partaker observed.

Fortified with Vitamin A

FNRI also noted that the yellow pan de sal comes fortified with Vitamin A, owing to the puree. A 52-gram serving could already provide 24 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamin A and 10 percent of the daily energy requirement of a child aged 7 to 9, the agency said.

If properly processed, the squash-enriched pan de sal can be mass-produced free from pathogenic microorganisms such as E.Coli and salmonella. Under ambient temperature conditions, it can have a shelf life of up to three days.

The FNRI completed its study of squash-enhanced pan de sal in 2007. It has since piloted the sale of the new bread through a bakery in Zambales province.

Another squash-induced headline was when Sagada offered canton noodles fortified with squash last year. The Montañosa Research and Development Center, a nongovernment organization, launched the Sagada Squash Canton Noodles, the very first variety of squash canton to hit the market in Mountain Province and the Cordillera region.