How much staple food you eat affects your lifespan! Which staple food is the healthiest for the human body?

Expert of this article: Wang Wenxiang, Doctor of Medicine, Associate Professor of Fujian Medical University, Doctoral Supervisor of Nutrition and Food

In life, many people choose not to eat or eat less staple food in order to maintain their figure.

But did you know that the amount of staple food you eat is related to your life expectancy?

In 2018, the international authoritative journal "The Lancet Public Health" published a large-sample prospective cohort study on the relationship between dietary carbohydrate intake and life expectancy. The results showed that the relationship between the two showed a "U"-shaped curve.

U-shaped curve Energy from carbohydrate (%) refers to the energy proportion of carbohydrates; Hazard ratio refers to the risk ratio.

The mortality rate was lowest among people whose carbohydrate energy ratio was 50-55%, while those whose carbohydrate energy ratio was less than 40% and more than 70% had a higher mortality rate.

A 50-year-old adult can live another 33 years if his energy intake is 50-55% carbohydrates, one year longer than if his energy intake is higher than 65% carbohydrates, and four years longer than if his energy intake is lower than 30% carbohydrates.

From this we can see that eating too much or too little staple food may lead to premature death, and eating too little staple food will cause death faster. How you eat staple food affects your life span!

So, which staple food is healthier for the human body? And how should we eat it? The answer is as follows↓↓

What are some common staple foods or carbohydrates?

Common staple foods in my country include cereals and potatoes, and miscellaneous beans are often used as a supplement to the staple foods.

Cereals can be divided into staple grains and coarse grains. The staple grains are mainly rice (in the south) and wheat (in the north), and the coarse grains are mainly corn, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, oats, etc.

Potatoes include potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, yams, etc.

The main miscellaneous beans include mung beans, adzuki beans, kidney beans, flower beans, broad beans, cowpeas, etc.

Which staple food is healthier for the human body?

Cereals are the traditional staple food of Chinese people. They are rich in carbohydrates (about 70%~80%) and are the main source of energy, protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins and minerals for the human body.

Refined grains (refined white rice and flour) lose a lot of nutrients due to processing, and their nutritional value has decreased significantly. In recent years, more and more studies have confirmed that refined grains are not conducive to maintaining human health. Among them, the results of a study showed that excessive intake of white rice will increase the risk of diabetes in Chinese people by 55%.

Compared with refined grains, whole grains are richer in dietary fiber and retain more protein, vitamin B1, calcium, iron and other minerals and phytochemicals such as flavonoids and polyphenols. Increasing whole grain intake or replacing refined grains with whole grains can reduce the risk of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and colon cancer; increasing oat intake has a significant effect on dyslipidemia. Increasing potato intake can improve constipation.

It can be seen from this that increasing the intake of cereals, potatoes and beans in the staple food can achieve more health benefits.

Table 1 Comparison of nutritional content of refined grains and whole grains (per 100 g edible portion)

How do people who are losing weight eat staple foods?

It must be pointed out that the culprit for obesity is excessive energy intake, not carbohydrates.

The same weight of fat provides 2.2 times the energy of carbohydrates, and fat-rich foods taste better, making it easier for people to take in more energy. Reducing the amount of staple food can reduce the total dietary energy intake, but it also reduces the vitamins and minerals provided by cereals, which is not good for long-term weight control and physical health.

A few years ago, the popular "Atkins low-carbohydrate diet" in the United States could reduce weight quickly in the early stages of weight loss, but it actually reduced water, not fat. Moreover, it had obvious side effects, such as bad breath, diarrhea, fatigue and muscle cramps, and even increased the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Therefore, it is not advisable to lose weight by not eating staple foods. The key to losing weight is to control energy intake, eat a balanced diet mainly composed of cereals, and increase physical activity to promote energy consumption.

What is the best way to eat staple food for longevity?

Smart Match

Put whole grains, beans and potatoes on the table. Beans make rice more nutritious, and potatoes can also be a staple food.

When cooking staple food, rice can be eaten with whole grains, miscellaneous grains and miscellaneous beans (generally whole grains, miscellaneous grains or miscellaneous beans account for 1/3). Traditional rice, bean rice, eight-treasure porridge, etc. are all good ways to match staple food.

Calculate the amount

The daily staple food intake of an adult is about 250g-400g. It is recommended that whole grains and miscellaneous beans account for 50g-150g, and potatoes account for 50g-100g. At the same time, monitor weight changes regularly to adjust the intake appropriately.

Based on the calculation that carbohydrates account for 50%-65% of the energy required every day, an adult needs 1-1.5 bowls of rice or 1-2 steamed buns per meal. One portion of 50 grams of raw rice is about half a bowl of rice (3.3-inch bowl mouth, 11 cm diameter), and one portion of 50 grams of flour can steam a steamed bun the size of a fist of an adult woman of medium build. One portion of potato (80-100 grams) cut into pieces is about half a bowl (3.3-inch bowl mouth, 11 cm diameter).

Good at cooking

Whole grains and cereals often have a bad taste due to their high dietary fiber content, which may also affect digestion and absorption. Modern cooking utensils can be fully utilized to improve this. For example, soybean milk machines and grinders can be used to refine whole grains and make five-grain soybean milk or five-grain rice paste. Using pressure cookers, rice cookers, electric steamers, etc. to cook whole grain staple foods can improve the taste and increase digestion and absorption rate.

In addition, adding sesame powder, raisins and dates can make whole grain foods more delicious.

Finally, remind everyone:

1. Refined white rice and white flour will lose a large amount of B vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and phytochemicals.

2. It is not advisable to add alkali when cooking cereal foods to avoid the destruction of B vitamins.

3. Eat less fried dough sticks, French fries, fried steamed buns and other fried cereal and potato foods, which not only absorb oil but also produce carcinogens such as acrylamide.

4. Do not rub the rice too hard when washing it, and do not wash it too many times to reduce the loss of B vitamins.