Chinese people need a dietary revolution
At present, the main problems existing in the dietary structure of our country's residents are: first, urban residents consume too much livestock meat and oils, and their consumption of cereals is too high. Second, urban and rural residents generally have insufficient intake of calcium, iron, vitamin A, and trace elements. Third, urban residents’ vegetable intake has significantly reduced, and the vast majority of residents still have not formed the habit of regularly eating fruits. The main problem with the amount of food consumed is that the intake of calories greatly exceeds the daily metabolism of the body, resulting in a rapid increase in the number of overweight and obese people. Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health Wang Longde proposed the "eight-character policy" for scientific diet. The first is "adjustment", that is, adjusting the order of eating, changing the eating of fruits after meals to eating fruits before meals; the second is "maintenance", that is: maintaining high fiber intake , Maintain food diversity; the third is "control", that is: control the intake of meat, oil, and salt; the fourth is "increase", that is: increase fruits, milk, cereals and potato foods. The following is the full text of an article signed by Vice Minister Wang Longde published in the People's Daily.
Problem - Some residents have unscientific dietary patterns
Research shows that the overweight rate and obesity rate among adults in my country are 22.8% and 7.1%, respectively, with estimated numbers of 200 million and more than 6,000 million; the adult overweight and obesity rates in big cities are as high as 30% and 12.3% respectively, and the childhood obesity rate has reached 8.1%.
The prevalence of dyslipidemia is 18.6%, and the number of patients is estimated to be 160 million. It is similar among middle-aged and elderly people, with little difference between urban and rural areas. The prevalence of hypertension is 18.8%. The prevalence in rural areas is rising rapidly, and the gap between urban and rural areas is no longer obvious. The prevalence of diabetes is 2.6%. It is estimated that more than 20 million people are currently suffering from diabetes, and nearly 20 million people have abnormal fasting blood sugar.
Iron deficiency is the main cause of anemia in our country. The prevalence rate of anemia is 15.2%, and the prevalence rate of infants and young children under 2 years old is as high as 24.2%. That is, on average, one in four infants and young children suffers from anemia. The vitamin A deficiency rate among children aged 3 to 12 years old in my country is 9.3%. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to damage to the immune system, make children more sick, and increase child mortality by 1/3.
Dietary factors play a vital role in the formation of the above health problems. At present, the main problem in the diet of our country's residents is that they cannot scientifically and rationally grasp the structure and quantity of food intake.
The main structural problems are: first, urban residents consume too much livestock meat and oils and consume too little cereals. In 2002, the average daily fat consumption per person increased from 37 grams in 1992 to 44 grams, and the energy supply ratio of fat reached 35%, exceeding the upper limit of 30% recommended by the World Health Organization; the energy supply ratio of cereals was only 47%, which is obviously Below the reasonable range of 55%-65%. Second, urban and rural residents generally have insufficient intake of calcium, iron, vitamin A and other trace elements. For example, the average daily calcium intake per person is 391 mg, which is only equivalent to 41% of the recommended intake. Third, the intake of vegetables by urban residents has decreased significantly, and the vast majority of residents still have not formed the habit of regularly eating fruits. The daily vegetable intake per person of urban residents dropped from 319 grams in 1992 to 252 grams in 2002; the per capita daily fruit intake in 2002 was 45 grams, which was slightly higher than the 37 grams in 1982. But the average person per day is still less than one tael.
The main problem with the amount of food consumed is that the intake of calories greatly exceeds the calories required for daily metabolism of the body. The excess calories are converted into fat by the body and stored, resulting in overweight and obesity. The number of people increased rapidly.
Impact - leading to an increase in patients with chronic diseases year by year
To maintain good health, a key factor that needs to be grasped is to master the balance between intake and consumption. Strengthening physical exercise, increasing muscle activity and physical energy consumption are certainly a very important factor in health care. However, it is impossible to maintain good health without eating scientifically. If you drink one more can of Coke (355 ml), you will consume about 144 kcal, which is equivalent to eating one or two more steamed buns, which can offset the calories consumed by walking for 40 minutes. The main factors currently affecting the health of our residents are, first, lack of exercise, and second, excessive caloric intake. Only issues related to meals are discussed here.
A large number of scientific studies have shown that obesity is an important risk factor for chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hyperlipidemia. Excessive intake of high-calorie foods is the basic factor in the formation of obesity. Therefore, excessive calorie intake is one of the direct causes of the above chronic diseases. Today's medical technology cannot completely cure these chronic diseases. It can only control its risk factors as early as possible to avoid suffering from these diseases. In controlling risk factors, controlling excessive caloric intake is an important aspect. Once you suffer from these diseases, it is very important to control the progression of the disease and prevent and treat disability. To control the progression of the disease, medical technology and drugs alone have limited effects. Living habits must be adjusted so that medical measures can play a better role. If a diabetic patient does not control his or her diet, it is impossible to control blood sugar levels satisfactorily. If these diseases are not well controlled, late complications and disabilities will seriously affect the quality of life.
In recent years, the dietary structure of Chinese residents is transforming into an unreasonable and unhealthy direction. If this change is not corrected and guided in time, it will have an extremely serious impact on the health status of our residents.
In addition, chronic diseases will also have a huge negative impact on the economic living standards of families and the economic development of the country. The direct medical costs of diabetes in the United States in 1997 were US$41.1 billion, and the indirect costs caused by disability and death were US$54 billion; the direct costs of obesity and related problems in 1998 were US$99.2 billion. Experts estimate that the annual treatment cost for patients with diabetes in my country is about 4,000 yuan; based on current treatment costs and average annual growth rates of chronic diseases, by 2010, the cost of treatment for chronic diseases in my country will be as high as 588 billion yuan. Such a huge cost burden will put heavy pressure on macroeconomic development. Therefore, actions to prevent and control chronic diseases must be launched as soon as possible.
Countermeasures—Scientific Diet "Eight-Character Policy"
Adjustment: Adjust the order of eating
In recent years, a routine has quietly formed in Chinese people's dietary consumption , that is to eat fruit after meals. This is true whether it is the serving procedures of banquets or the living habits of most people. This habit is undoubtedly worse for the health of Chinese people. One of the most important problems currently affecting people's health is excessive calorie intake. Eating fruit after a meal is often done after you are full or overeated, and then add food. Therefore, almost all of these calories are stored, exacerbating the problem of overweight and obesity.
Based on the analysis of the composition of the fruit itself and the digestion and absorption characteristics of the body, it is recommended that adults eat fruit before each meal (except for fruits such as persimmons that should not be eaten before meals). Eating fruit before meals has many benefits. First of all, many ingredients in fruits are water-soluble, such as vitamin C and soluble plant fiber-pectin, which can reduce blood cholesterol levels. Its digestion and absorption do not require the mixing of complicated digestive juices, and can be quickly passed through the stomach and into the small intestine for absorption. The absorption rate on an empty stomach is much higher than that after a full meal. Therefore, eating fruits before meals is beneficial to the body’s absorption of essential nutrients. Secondly, eating fruit before meals is helpful for ensuring that you are "eight times full" in a healthy diet. Fruit is a low-calorie food, and its average calories are only 1/4 of the same weight of pasta, and about 1/10 of the same weight of meat. If you eat low-calorie foods first, it will be easier to keep track of your total intake. Third, many fruits themselves are easily oxidized and spoiled. Apples and pears, which change color quickly after being cut, are an obvious example. Eating fruit first can shorten its residence time in the stomach, reduce its degree of oxidation and corruption, and reduce possible adverse effects on the body.
Children are in the period of growing up, and some women have a constitution called "spleen and stomach deficiency and cold" according to traditional Chinese medicine, and are not suitable or adaptable to eating fruit before meals. This group of people can eat fruit once between two meals instead of eating fruit immediately after the meal.
Two maintenance: maintain high fiber intake and maintain food diversity
High fiber intake is an obvious feature of the traditional Chinese diet. This is a very healthy lifestyle that we need to continue to adhere to. Cellulose comes from plants and cannot be digested or absorbed, so it contains no calories.
The analysis of the relationship between dietary nutrition and chronic diseases and risk factors in this survey shows that the higher the energy supply ratio of carbohydrates, the lower the risk of overweight, obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol in the population. However, in the past 10 years, the amount of vegetables consumed in the diet of urban residents in my country has continued to decline, and the energy supply ratio of grains has also been significantly lower than the reasonable level. This adverse trend needs to be intervened and blocked as soon as possible. The current carbohydrate energy supply ratio of rural residents is 61%; it is still within a reasonable range, but early publicity, education and reminders are needed to avoid making the same mistakes as urban residents. Food diversity is another distinctive feature of traditional Chinese diet, which is very consistent with the requirements of maintaining health. The first factor in maintaining a healthy diet proposed by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization is food diversity. A person with normal absorption and digestion functions will absolutely not need supplements such as dietary supplements or health products as long as he diversifies his food. Food is the best supplement of essential nutrients for the body. Compared with artificial or artificially synthesized or extracted health products, the absorption of nutrients from natural foods is far better than the former. Therefore, the Chinese people's experience summary is that "medicinal supplements are not as good as dietary supplements." The World Health Organization and the FAO also particularly recommend the intake of plant-based foods and put forward the slogan "Five per Day", that is, strive to eat enough five fruits and five vegetables every day. This is also one of the important measures to promote food diversification and maintain physical health. For people who cannot diversify their food due to objective conditions, special nutritional supplements or food fortification can be used to solve the problem of nutrient deficiency according to local characteristics.
Therefore, in order to resist the invasion of chronic diseases, we must try our best to maintain the good habits of high carbohydrate proportion and food diversity in the traditional Chinese diet structure.
Three controls: Control the intake of meat, oil, and salt
With the development of the economy and the improvement of people’s living standards, the amount of meat and oil in the diet of Chinese residents and the proportion increased significantly. The proportion of calories provided by this type of food has greatly exceeded the reasonable structure. The traditional Chinese diet also uses too much salt. There is a Chinese saying that "a good cook has a pinch of salt", which is an obvious example. Many people already know that meat is a high-calorie food, but most people don’t know that fats and oils have higher calories per unit weight.
The calories provided by each 100 grams of pork are 395 kcal, while the calories provided by 100 grams of fat are 899 kcal, which is more than double. The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends 25 grams of fat intake per person per day, while the average daily intake per person in the national survey is 44 grams, and the daily intake per person in Beijing is 83 grams, far exceeding the reasonable intake.
Many scientific studies have clearly shown that excessive salt intake causes water and sodium retention in the body, which is one of the most important risk factors for hypertension. The average daily salt intake recommended by the Chinese Nutrition Society is 6 grams per person (approximately equivalent to a small spoon the size of an adult's thumb), while the average daily intake of Chinese residents is 12 grams, which is fully double.
Four Increases: Increase fruits, milk, cereals and potato foods
A large number of scientific studies have shown that regular consumption of fruits can significantly reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as tumors; fruits contain Many antioxidant ingredients can delay the aging process of cells; a large number of vitamins can maintain the normal differentiation of cells. Americans have a saying, "Eat an apple a day and you won't need to see a doctor." However, Chinese people, especially male compatriots, generally believe that fruits are snacks and rarely eat them. To make scientific adjustments to dietary ingredients, we must first increase the intake of fruits and make them an essential component of every meal.
Milk contains a large amount of nutrients necessary for the human body and is easily absorbed by the body. This can be proved by the fact that milk is used as the only food or supplementary food for babies under four months. Milk not only contains high-quality protein, fat and carbohydrates, but also contains 104 mg of calcium, 24 mg of vitamin A and other trace elements necessary for the body per 100 grams of milk. Residents in developed countries drink milk every day from birth to old age, but in my country only children and the elderly drink it, and the vast majority of adults never drink milk. This survey shows that although the daily per capita intake of milk and its products has increased compared with the previous period, it is still 26.3 grams, which is at a very low level. At present, the calcium intake of residents in our country is insufficient. For example, if we supplement 300 ml of milk every day, it will just meet the daily calcium requirement. Many people only know how to supplement calcium by taking calcium tablets, but they do not know that milk is a natural and easily absorbed source of calcium. Therefore, Chinese people should supplement 300 ml of milk every day, which should be an important part of the dietary revolution.
Cereals contain higher amounts of plant protein, B vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids and cellulose. Potatoes are low-fat, high-fiber, and mineral-rich foods. These ingredients are indispensable substances for human muscle and nerve activity. At the same time, the intake of a variety of grains and potatoes can also complement the nutrients and better meet the needs of the body. In recent years, the amount of cereals and potatoes other than rice and wheat in the diet of Chinese residents has decreased significantly. Cereals have dropped from 103.5 grams per person per day in 1982 to 23.3 grams in 2002; potatoes have dropped from 179.9 grams to 49.5 grams. This changing trend is very detrimental to maintaining physical health and should be reversed as soon as possible. The daily diet should not only consist of rice and white flour, but should include as many other cereals and potatoes as possible.
In short, the current eating habits of the Chinese people must undergo a thorough change as soon as possible, restore the original healthy dietary structure, increase the types of food necessary for the body, and grasp the balance between daily food intake and consumption. . Only in this way can we eliminate the basis for the occurrence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and coronary heart disease, significantly reduce their incidence, and improve the health level of the entire nation.