How to choose healthy food

Author: Chen Zhou Shanghai Changhai Hospital

Reviewer: Mei Xiaobin, Chief Physician, Shanghai Changhai Hospital

We all know that we should eat healthy, but how do we choose healthy food? Today, let’s focus on the four major types of healthy food that are beneficial to the human body.

Figure 1 is quoted from the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022) [1] (If there is any infringement, please contact us to delete it)

Speaking of healthy food, we have to mention the Balanced Diet Pyramid for Chinese Residents (2022) that our country has just released. Please pay attention, apart from the base and the top of the pyramid, the four categories of food in the middle are the main content of the dietary pyramid.

Let’s first look at the first layer of the pagoda: whole grains.

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Compared with processed rice and flour, whole grains do not have their bran and germ removed, so nutrients are better preserved. Whole grains contain several times more dietary fiber, B vitamins, and minerals such as potassium and magnesium than refined rice and white flour. Increasing whole grain intake has many health-promoting effects, including improving body weight, reducing cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, and reducing the incidence of hypertension and certain cancers (such as colorectal cancer). Therefore, it is recommended to eat more whole grains.

Whole grain foods include brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole wheat cereals and oatmeal. It is recommended to eat 50 to 150 grams of whole grain foods every day.

Let’s look at the second layer of the pagoda: vegetables and fruits.

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Vegetables are a high-quality source of low-glycemic carbohydrates, rich in dietary fiber, a variety of essential vitamins and minerals, and unique phytochemicals such as anthocyanins and flavonoids. Dietary fiber can absorb sugars and fats in the intestines, regulate and maintain the health of the gastrointestinal tract; vitamin C cooperates with various phytochemicals to play an antioxidant role and fight free radical damage; flavonoids have the effect of improving cardiovascular function and preventing cardiovascular diseases; organic sulfides have anti-cancer and platelet aggregation effects; minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium can help better control blood pressure and maintain the health of organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys.

The 2022 edition of the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" recommends having vegetables at every meal and ensuring that no less than 300 grams of fresh vegetables are consumed every day.

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The advantages of fruits are similar to those of vegetables, and they may taste better than vegetables (because they are sweet), and can be eaten as snacks and extra meals. The 2022 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents recommends consuming 200 to 350 grams of fresh fruit per day.

Recommended high-quality fruits and vegetables:

Dark green represents : spinach, rapeseed, celery, pepper, water spinach, lettuce, leek, broccoli, kale, chrysanthemum, kale, radish, cabbage, green apples, kiwi, etc.

Orange and yellow represent : carrots, bell peppers, pumpkin, oranges, tangerines, mangoes, pineapples, cantaloupes, bananas, etc.

Red and purple represent : tomatoes, onions, purple cabbage, amaranth, beets, eggplant, red peppers, grapes, watermelon, cherries, mulberries, red dates, etc.

Finally, the third and fourth layers of the pagoda: high-quality protein foods

High-quality protein foods mainly refer to four types of food: meat, milk, eggs and soy protein.

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Meat : Try to eat seafood such as fish and shrimp (which contain a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids) and white meat such as poultry instead of red meat such as pork, beef, and lamb. It is best to eat fish twice a week or 300 to 500 grams a week, because increasing fish intake can reduce the risk of all-cause mortality and the risk of stroke; while if red meat and processed meat are consumed more, the risk of multiple chronic diseases and premature death will increase slightly to moderately.

Milk/dairy products : Milk/dairy products are a good source of protein, calcium, vitamin D and potassium. It is recommended to drink 300 ml of milk every day. In addition to liquid milk, yogurt, cheese, milk powder, and dairy desserts (pudding, frozen yogurt and ice cream) with different flavors are also good choices.

Eggs : Eggs are nutritious and cost-effective. One egg (about 50 grams) a day is a healthy standard. In addition, the yolk is the part where the types and contents of nutrients in eggs are concentrated. The yolk cannot be discarded to support the egg white. Of course, after eating eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs, pigeon eggs and quail eggs are also good choices.

Soybeans and their products : Soybeans are rich in various essential amino acids for the human body (with a slightly lower content of methionine), and also contain a variety of health-promoting substances such as soy isoflavones, which are beneficial to reducing the risk of osteoporosis and breast cancer in postmenopausal women. You can eat tofu, dried tofu, tofu shreds, etc. in rotation every week to change the taste and meet your nutritional needs.

References

[1] Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022), 2022.