The data show that no natural food can provide all the nutrients needed by the human body except breast milk. A balanced diet must consist of a variety of foods in order to meet the various nutritional needs of the human body and achieve the purpose of reasonable nutrition and health promotion. Therefore, people should be encouraged to eat a wide range of foods.
First, there are various foods, mainly cereals.
Various foods should include the following five categories:
The first category is cereals and potatoes: cereals include rice, flour and miscellaneous grains, and potatoes include potatoes, sweet potatoes and cassava, which mainly provide carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber and vitamin B.
The second category is animal food, including meat, poultry, fish, milk and eggs, which mainly provides protein, fat, minerals and vitamins.
The third category is beans and their products: including soybeans and other dried beans, which mainly provide protein, fat, dietary fiber, minerals and vitamin B.
The fourth category is vegetables and fruits, including fresh beans, roots, leafy vegetables and pods, which mainly provide dietary fiber, minerals, vitamin C and carotene.
The fifth category is pure heat energy food: including animal and vegetable oil, starch and edible sugar, which mainly provides energy. Vegetable oil can also provide vitamin E and essential fatty acids.
Cereals are the main part of China's traditional diet. But now people tend to eat more animal food. In some wealthy families, the consumption of animal food has exceeded the consumption of cereal. Nutritionists point out that this "westernized" or "rich" diet provides too much energy and fat, while the dietary fiber is too low, which is not conducive to the prevention of some chronic diseases. Therefore, we should maintain a good tradition of eating mainly cereals.
In addition, we should pay attention to the matching of thickness and often eat some coarse grains. Don't grind rice and wheat too fine, or most of the vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber contained in the surface layer of grain will be lost to bran.
Second, eat more vegetables, fruits and potatoes.
There are many kinds of vegetables, such as leaves, stems, flowers, pods, fresh beans, edible fungi, algae and so on. Different varieties contain different nutrients, even a great disparity. The nutritional value of dark vegetables such as red, yellow and green is higher than that of light vegetables and general fruits. They are the main or important sources of carotene, vitamin B2, vitamin C and folic acid, minerals (calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and iron), dietary fiber and natural antioxidants. Kiwi, Rosa roxburghii, Hippophae rhamnoides and blackcurrant developed and planted in China in recent years are also rich in vitamin C and carotene.
Some fruits are not as rich in vitamins and trace elements as fresh vegetables, but they contain more substances such as glucose, fruit acid, citric acid, malic acid and pectin than vegetables. Red and yellow fruits such as red dates, oranges, persimmons and apricots are also rich in vitamin C and carotene.
Potatoes are rich in starch, dietary fiber and various vitamins and minerals. China residents have eaten less potatoes in recent years, so they should be encouraged to eat more potatoes.
A diet rich in vegetables, fruits and potatoes plays a very important role in maintaining cardiovascular health, enhancing disease resistance and reducing cancer.
Third, often eat milk, beans or their products.
Milk is rich in high-quality protein and vitamins, with high calcium content and high utilization rate. It is an excellent source of natural calcium. The calcium content in the diet of China residents is generally low, reaching only about half of the recommended supply on average. There are also many children with rickets in China, which is related to calcium deficiency in diet. Therefore, the proportion of dairy products should be increased in the diet.
Beans are traditional foods in China, which contain a lot of high-quality protein, unsaturated fatty acids, calcium, vitamin B 1, vitamin B2, nicotinic acid and so on. Increasing the intake of soybeans and their products plays a great role in increasing the intake of rural residents in protein and preventing the adverse effects caused by excessive meat consumption in cities, so beans should also be eaten frequently.
Four, often eat the right amount of fish, poultry, eggs, lean meat, eat less fat and meat oil.
Animal foods such as fish, poultry, eggs and lean meat are good sources of high-quality protein, fat-soluble vitamins and minerals. The amino acid composition of animal protein is more suitable for human needs, and its lysine content is higher, which is beneficial to supplement the deficiency of lysine in plant protein. Iron in meat is well utilized, and unsaturated fatty acids contained in fish, especially marine fish, can reduce blood lipid and prevent thrombosis. Animal liver is rich in vitamin A, vitamin B 12, folic acid and so on. However, the cholesterol in the viscera of animals such as brain and kidney is quite high, which is not good for preventing cardiovascular diseases. The average amount of animal food consumed by a considerable number of cities and most rural residents in China is not enough, so the intake should be increased appropriately. However, residents in some big cities eat too much animal food and not enough cereals and vegetables, which is not good for their health.
Fat and meat oil are high-energy and high-fat foods. Excessive intake often leads to obesity, which is a risk factor for some chronic diseases, so eat less. At present, pork is still the main meat in China, but its fat content is high, while animal foods such as chicken, fish, rabbit meat and beef have high protein content and low fat content, which produce far less energy than pork. Therefore, we should eat more of these foods and reduce the intake of pork appropriately.
Five, food intake and physical activity should be balanced, maintain a suitable weight.
Food intake and physical activity are two main factors affecting weight. Food provides human energy, while physical activity consumes energy. If you eat too much and don't exercise enough, excess energy will accumulate in the body in the form of fat, that is, gain weight for a long time; On the contrary, if the appetite is insufficient and the labor or exercise is too large, it can cause emaciation due to lack of energy, leading to a decline in labor ability. So people need to keep a balance between food intake and energy consumption. Mental workers and people with less activity should strengthen exercise and take appropriate exercise, such as brisk walking, jogging and swimming. However, thin children should increase their intake of food and oil to maintain normal growth and development and appropriate weight. Overweight or underweight are unhealthy manifestations, which will lead to decreased resistance and susceptibility to certain diseases, such as chronic diseases of the elderly or infectious diseases of children. Regular exercise can enhance the functions of cardiovascular system and respiratory system, maintain a good physiological state, improve work efficiency, regulate appetite and strengthen bones.
6. Eat light and salty food.
A light diet is good for health, that is, not too greasy, not too salty, not too much animal food and fried and smoked food. At present, the intake of oil by urban residents is getting higher and higher, which is not conducive to health. The salt intake of Chinese residents is too high, and the average value is more than twice that recommended by the World Health Organization. Epidemiological investigation shows that the intake of sodium is positively correlated with the incidence of hypertension, so it is not advisable to have too much salt. The World Health Organization recommends that the salt intake per person per day should not exceed 6 grams. The sources of dietary sodium include high-sodium foods such as soy sauce, pickles and monosodium glutamate and processed foods containing sodium. We should form the habit of eating less salt from an early age.
Seven, limit drinking
People often drink on holidays, festivals and social occasions. Excessive drinking will reduce appetite and food intake, leading to multiple nutritional deficiencies, and in severe cases, alcoholic cirrhosis will occur. Excessive drinking will increase the risk of hypertension, stroke and other diseases, and lead to an increase in accidents and violence, which is harmful to personal health and social stability. Alcoholism should be strictly prohibited. If you drink alcohol, you can drink a small amount of low alcohol. Teenagers should not drink alcohol.
Eight, the distribution of three meals should be reasonable.
The distribution and interval of food for three meals a day should match the schedule and working conditions. The energy of breakfast, lunch and dinner should account for 30%, 40% and 30% of the total energy respectively, and can be adjusted appropriately in special circumstances. Usually work and study are tense in the morning, and insufficient nutrition will affect study and work efficiency, so eat breakfast well. In addition to the staple food, breakfast should include at least one of milk, beans, eggs and meat, accompanied by an appropriate amount of vegetables or fruits. Specifically, each person should eat 200 ~ 500 g of cereal every day; Vegetables and fruits should be eaten 400 ~ 500 g and100 ~ 200 g every day; Animal foods such as fish, poultry, meat and eggs should be eaten 125 ~ 200g every day (50 g for fish and shrimp, 50 ~ 125~200g for livestock and poultry, 25 ~ 50g for eggs 100g for milk and dairy products and 50g for beans and bean products; Oily food should not exceed 25 grams per day.