A recent article entitled "Eat too much staple food and die quickly? The Lancet magazine's latest research "How many doctors and nutritionists have been slapped" has gone viral on the Internet.

Some people who advocate "low-carbon diet" and "ketogenic diet" take this opportunity to publicize the concept that "eating too much staple food will lead to faster death and eating fat will be healthier".

Is eating staple food really harmful? Should fat be used instead of staple food? Can you believe the dietary guidelines?

Don't worry, Dr. Laila invited Mr. Fan Zhihong, a nutritionist, who will tell you the problems in this study.

1. Is this a popular study?

In fact, the main research object of this study is low-income manual workers.

This study included the dietary survey data of five continents 135338 countries 135335 people aged 35-70, with an average follow-up time of 7.4 years.

Among them, South Asia and Southeast Asia together have more than 40,000 respondents, and China also has more than 40,000 respondents. Among them, 8 1% is primary and secondary school culture, and 82% is moderate and severe manual labor.

In other words, the study was conducted among low-income people, with almost no other ingredients except food, malnutrition and moderate to high physical activity.

Please think about it, are you a mental worker or a manual worker? Is the analysis result of this study really suitable for your dietary reference?

Second, eat more carbohydrates and die young?

In fact, the data of this study is biased. Most people in China don't eat much carbohydrate!

In this study, the dietary composition of China people is as follows:

The data of energy ratio of carbohydrate, protein and fat in China were 67.0%, 17.7% and 15.3% respectively. In the group with the highest carbohydrate and mortality, the carbohydrate energy supply ratio was as high as 77.2%.

However, according to the Report on Nutrition and Chronic Diseases of China Residents released in 20 15, the energy supply ratios of the three nutrients in the average diet of China residents in 20 12 were 55.0%,1%and 32.9% respectively.

The vast majority of people in China, carbohydrate energy ratio? Below 60%, you can't reach the research at all? 77.2%。

The difference between these two data is too big, which shows that the survey results in this paper can not reflect the real diet situation of most people in China at present.

Third, eating more fat and meat is healthier?

In fact: this study just shows that eating too much fat and meat is not good.

The study found that:

The population with the lowest fat energy supply ratio has the highest total mortality, non-cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease mortality and stroke risk. When the energy supply ratio is between 24% and 35%, the risk is relatively low.

The population with the lowest proportion of energy supply in protein has the highest proportion of total mortality and non-cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases mortality. When the energy supply ratio is between 15%-20%, the risk is relatively low.

This result shows that you can't eat too little fat and protein. Only eat rice porridge, steamed bread, noodles and side dishes every day, and rarely eat fish, eggs, milk and bean products, which is very unfavorable for health and longevity.

But at present, the average dietary fat energy supply ratio of Chinese residents is as high as 32.9%, and that of urban residents even reaches 36. 1%, which is enough.

There is no evidence that eating more fat will have any additional benefits to the body.

Fourth, saturated fat is particularly good?

In fact: this study only shows that saturated fat is not so terrible that you can't eat it casually.

The results show that the energy supply ratio of saturated fat is more than 6.5%, which is beneficial to reduce the mortality rate until 15% has no adverse effect on the total mortality rate.

This means that saturated fat is not terrible under the premise of moderate and high physical activity intensity. Too little saturated fat is not conducive to reducing the mortality rate of various causes, and even increases the risk of stroke.

However, this does not mean that everyone can relax the restrictions on saturated fat, nor does it mean that we can advocate cooking with lard or eating a lot of red meat every day.

Don't forget, the respondents in this survey are mainly manual workers, not people who sit in the office and face the computer every day.

5. Will you live longer by replacing staple food with fat?

In fact, this is only beneficial to some people and not suitable for most people in China.

The data analysis of this study shows that if fat replaces 5% carbohydrate energy supply ratio, many death risks will be reduced to some extent.

If the energy supply ratio of carbohydrate in your diet is very high (the highest is 77.2%, or above 67.7%) and the energy supply ratio of fat is very low (the lowest is 10.6%, or below 18.0%), then replacing some staple foods with fat meat, eggs and milk is really beneficial to health.

But in real life, the carbohydrate energy supply ratio of most people in China is only? 55%, and the fat energy supply ratio is as high as? 32.9%, there is no benefit in replacing staple food with fat.

Therefore, this study does not prove that the vast majority of China people eat less staple food, or use fat instead of staple food, which will be more conducive to health.

Sixth, study subversive dietary guidelines?

In fact, the research results are more in line with the recommendations of dietary guidelines.

In general, the study found that the diet with the lowest total mortality rate is:

The proportion of carbohydrate energy supply is 50% ~ 60%; The energy supply ratio of fat is above 20%, and it is still beneficial until 40%; The energy supply ratio in protein is15% ~ 20%; The energy supply ratio of saturated fatty acids is above 6%.

The recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for China Residents are as follows:

The range of carbohydrate energy supply is 50% ~ 65%; Fat can supply 20% ~ 30% energy; Protein is10% ~15%; Saturated fat is less than 10%.

Comparing the two, we can see that although there are some differences in the recommended scope, the difference is not big, and most people do not need to replace the staple food with fat.

Eat according to the pagoda first, don't make excuses for eating meat (Source: China Nutrition Society official website)

Therefore, this study did not hit the nutritionist in the face, nor did it talk about the "subversion" guide, nor did it prove that low-carbon diet and ketogenic diet are healthier. Instead, it sounded the alarm for everyone:

Even with reliable reference, it is possible to write rumors that mislead the public!

Final suggestion

Although this study is not in line with the reality of most people in China, there are still many conclusions that need further study, but it does have some contents worthy of our reference:

Refined sugar, candy, biscuits, snacks and other foods are best tasted only occasionally, and edible oil should still be controlled;

For fatty animal foods such as fish, eggs and milk, you don't have to be so afraid or demanding degreasing products, as long as the total amount is not too much and you don't put too much cooking oil;

Diversified diet every day, eat more whole grains and miscellaneous beans instead of refined white staple food, and often eat nuts and oilseeds to enrich their food nutrition sources;

Don't just eat a big bowl of rice, steamed bread and noodles, so that the risk of illness and death approaches, thinking that the lighter the healthier!

The content refers to the popular science article of Dr. Lilac: "Do you die quickly if you eat too much staple food?" Tell the truth in six sentences and don't be misled. "