How to eat delicious and healthy food during the May Day holiday

The May Day holiday is coming. As the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control becomes normalized, we seem to give more meaning to the holiday and plan more "holiday compulsory courses". Enjoying delicious food is often an important part of celebrating the holiday. However, many eating methods that bring delicious experiences are not as "good" as they seem.

When defining "eating well", don't forget the body's blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipids. Don't neglect to maintain the comfort of the heart, brain, gastrointestinal tract and other parts. Be careful of the health "traps" hidden behind delicious food.

Let’s take a look and see if the following eating habits will appear in your holiday plans?

At the gathering, "hard dishes" are the protagonists

How to define "hard dishes"? Many people use the amount of meat in a dish as the standard for evaluating "hard dishes", and even say that "only pure meat is qualified to be a hard dish". In any case, "hard dishes" are often the main dish on the table during holiday gatherings. Moreover, the deliciousness of "hard dishes" often requires the combination of multiple seasonings. In this way, while feasting, it is inevitable that you will consume too much high-fat and high-salt food, and not enough fresh vegetables and fruits. Holiday time is free to dispose of, and you can eat at any time and as much as you like.

During the holidays, people have irregular schedules and delicious food is available, so it is easy to lose vigilance about the time and amount of food to eat. Another eating habit during the holidays is that it is easy to have irregular meals, overeat, and go hungry one day and full the next, which will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract.

During holidays, another type of food that you may unknowingly eat more than usual is snacks, especially sugary foods, such as various desserts, drinks, candies, etc. It is easy to eat more when watching TV, chatting, and partying, which can easily pose a threat to blood sugar and blood lipids.
In fact, facing the question of how to define "eating well", the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" has already provided us with the answer, that is, to achieve a "balanced diet". And the basis of its proposal is not only the enjoyment of taste buds, but also taking into account the nutritional needs of our body. In other words, a "balanced diet" is the diet that our body really needs.

So, what is a balanced diet?

A balanced diet means that the types, quantities and proportions of food in daily diet can meet one's nutritional and health needs to the greatest extent. Through a balanced diet, one can achieve reasonable nutrition and ensure health. A balanced diet includes the following aspects:

Diverse food, mainly cereals

Daily meals should include cereals and potatoes, vegetables and fruits, livestock, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, soybeans, nuts, etc. It is recommended to consume an average of more than 12 kinds of food per day and more than 25 kinds of food per week.
The diet should be mainly composed of cereals, with a daily intake of 250-400g of cereal and potato foods, including 50-150g of whole grains and beans, and 50-100g of potatoes. The energy provided by carbohydrates in the diet should account for more than 50% of the total energy.

It is recommended to have vegetables at every meal. It is recommended to consume 300-500g of vegetables per day, and dark vegetables should account for 1/2. Eat fruits every day. It is recommended to consume 200-350g of fresh fruits per day. Juice cannot replace fresh fruits. Eat various dairy products, and the intake is equivalent to 300g of liquid milk per day. Eat soy products frequently, which is equivalent to more than 25g of soybeans per day. Eat nuts in moderation, but not too much.
Eat fish, poultry, eggs, and lean meat in moderation

The recommended weekly intake is 280-525g of fish, 280-525g of livestock and poultry meat, and 280-350g of eggs. The average daily intake of fish, poultry, eggs, and lean meat is 120-200g.
Less salt, less oil, control sugar and limit alcohol

Develop a light diet. Adults should not consume more than 5g of salt per day. Cooking oil should be 25-30g per day. It is recommended that sugar intake should not exceed 50g per day, and it is best to control it below 25g. Drink enough water. It is recommended that adults drink 7-8 cups (1500-1700ml) per day. It is recommended to drink boiled water and tea, and not drink or drink less sugary drinks.
Children, adolescents, pregnant women and nursing mothers should not drink alcohol. If adults drink alcohol, the daily alcohol intake should not exceed 25g for men and 15g for women.

As a dietary habit, balanced diet is not something that can be achieved overnight, but requires our daily attention and gradual cultivation to achieve perseverance. In this way, whether on busy working days or relaxing holidays, we can achieve both deliciousness and health.