There are six degrees of healthy eating

With improved living conditions, people pay more attention to health preservation, and the awareness of healthy eating has also been deeply rooted in people's minds. However, for ordinary people, the "diet tips" recommended by experts always seem difficult to remember and implement. In response to this concern, we have summarized several important principles of healthy eating into "six degrees" to facilitate memory and implementation.

1. Breadth

The diet advocates breadth, which actually emphasizes food diversity, which means eating a wide variety of natural foods. Generally speaking, it is perfect to eat enough of the following five types of food every day. The first category is staple foods such as cereals, beans, and potatoes that provide starch; the second category is foods such as vegetables, fruits, and fungi that provide dietary fiber and vitamins; the third category is animal foods such as meat, aquatic products, and eggs that provide high-quality protein; the fourth category is foods such as milk and soy products that provide protein and calcium supplements; the fifth category is foods rich in protein and healthy fats such as seeds and nuts.

2. Saltiness

The health hazards of salt are well known. It is recommended that in addition to eating less salt, you should also reduce the intake of hidden salt in your life. First of all, some vegetables are high in sodium, so less salt should be used when cooking, such as seaweed, chrysanthemum, celery, fennel, etc. Secondly, try to eat less salty foods such as pickles and hot sauces. Third, eat less processed foods, such as sausages, roast chicken, canned food, instant noodles, etc. Finally, when adding oyster sauce, fermented black beans, bean paste, sweet noodle sauce, tomato sauce, MSG, and chicken essence during cooking, reduce the amount of salt used.

3. Temperature

Pay attention to the temperature of food when eating. Eating food that is too hot or too cold is not good for your health. Eating too hot food for a long time may repeatedly burn the esophageal mucosa, causing it to be in a state of repair for a long time, which can easily induce cancer over time. Data show that among esophageal cancer patients, more than 90% like to eat hot food and drink hot drinks. On the contrary, eating cold food will cause the gastrointestinal blood vessels to contract rapidly, affecting digestion and absorption. If this continues for a long time, it can easily induce chronic stomach pain, abdominal pain, diarrhea and malnutrition. Generally speaking, the optimal temperature for food should be close to body temperature.

4. Hardness

For people with poor gastrointestinal digestion function, the ingredients should be cooked a little softer to facilitate digestion and absorption. However, if the food is cooked too soft, a lot of nutrients will be lost and the rate of blood sugar rise will increase after eating, which is not conducive to blood sugar control for diabetics. Even the elderly cannot just eat soft food. Studies have shown that eating too much soft food and not chewing enough will reduce the vitality of the elderly's brain and make them more susceptible to cognitive impairment. Generally speaking, dishes with appropriate hardness have three criteria: they should look complete in shape and retain their original color; they should feel somewhat hard when picked up and can be picked up easily; and they should require several chews before being swallowed.

5. Speed

Eating too fast for a long time may lead to potential disease. First of all, the enzymes in saliva can digest some harmful substances. If you swallow too quickly, the effect of salivary enzymes will be greatly reduced. Secondly, the teeth's cutting and grinding effect on food is reduced, and the food particles are too large, which is not conducive to the digestion and absorption of food in the gastrointestinal tract. At the same time, eating too fast can easily lead to eating too much, which puts digestive pressure on the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, you must chew slowly when eating. It is best to chew a mouthful of rice about 20 times, while the elderly should chew 25 to 50 times. Each meal should last at least 15 minutes.

6. Measurement

Controlling the amount of food you eat not only helps control your weight and stay healthy, but also helps you think clearly. When eating, if you feel your stomach is "full" but still want to eat more, you must remind yourself to put down your chopsticks. This state of "not quite full but not quite full" is the most ideal. If you leave the table only when you can’t eat another bite and it would be painful to eat one more bite, you must have eaten too much. It is worth reminding that controlling the speed of eating helps to grasp the quantity. The combination of the two is of great benefit to the body.