As the saying goes, “the people take food as their heaven”, after a lapse of 6 years, the “Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents” has finally been revised again. On April 26, 2022, the Chinese Nutrition Society held a press conference in Beijing, at which the “Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidelines”) was released.
(Source: Chinese Nutrition Society)
It is reported that the latest version of the “Guide” is based on the scientific principles of nutrition and the latest scientific evidence based on the full investigation of the dietary structure and nutritional health status of Chinese residents in recent years by nearly 100 experts. It took nearly 3 years to complete the revision in combination with the current epidemic prevention and control and relevant requirements for curbing food waste.
What has changed in the 2022 version of the Guidelines compared to the 2016 version? According to the Guide, how can we eat healthier in our lives?
Changes in the Chinese Residents’ Balanced Diet Pagoda
(Photo source: Do it yourself)
The picture above is a comparison of the changes in the balanced diet pagoda of Chinese residents in 2016 and 2022. First of all, it can be seen that the “Guide” has stricter requirements for salt control.
The average adult consumes 3 grams of salt a day to maintain basic physiological needs. Excessive intake of salt can cause many health problems, such as high blood pressure, osteoporosis and even stomach cancer.
However, according to a meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Heart Association in 2019, over the past 40 years, Chinese adults have eaten an average of 10 grams of salt a day, and children aged 3 to 6 have eaten an average of 10 grams of salt per day. The per capita salt intake per day reaches 5 grams, and the per capita salt intake for people aged 6 to 16 is as high as nearly 9 grams per day.
People of all ages in our country “rank among the best” in terms of salt consumption.
Correspondingly, the prevalence of hypertension among adults over 18 years old in my country is as high as 23.2%, and the total number of people suffering from hypertension is 244 million, that is, an average of every 4 people. , there is 1 hypertensive patient.
In fact, the World Health Organization and the “Healthy China Action Plan (2019-2030)” have recommended that the per capita daily salt intake should not exceed 5 grams (equivalent to no more than one amount of beer cap). The “Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)” can be regarded as synchronized data.
In order to control the intake of sodium salt, we can choose high potassium and low sodium salt as much as possible in life, use a small spoon to put salt when cooking, be aware of it, and pay attention to reducing high sodium Addition of condiments.
Second, the Guidelines increase the recommended amounts of milk and dairy products.
Dairy foods are not only rich in protein and calcium, but also an important source of nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin B2. The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016) )” once suggested that residents drink 300g of milk per person per day.
But for children or people over 50 years old, drinking 300g of milk per day is not enough, so the “Guide” increased the original 300g to 300-500g.
In terms of milk selection, pasteurized milk, normal temperature milk, reconstituted milk, and milk powder are all good. You can get it as it is convenient. Yogurt is also acceptable, but pay attention to the added sugar content, and breakfast Milk, red date milk, oat milk, etc. are not actually milk.
When choosing dairy products, we should pay attention to the ingredient list and the nutrient composition list. If the first place in the ingredient list is not milk, but water, and the protein content is even 1% No, white granulated sugar and sucrose are ranked relatively high, which can only be regarded as beverages, and can be called “fake milk”.
In addition, the “Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)” merge poultry and livestock meat, aquatic products, and eggs, called animal food, emphasizing Let’s eat aquatic products twice a week.
In staples, separate grains and potatoes, emphasizing the importance of whole grains.
Balanced meal guidelines changes
Additionally, the Guidelines for Balanced Meals have increased from 6 in 2016 to 8 in 2022
(Photo source: Do it yourself)
The above changes are mainly aimed at accelerating the pace of lifeThe “Guide” proposes that Regular meals are the premise of realizing a reasonable diet, and three meals a day should be reasonably arranged, regular and rationed, and a balanced diet. Spend.
The interval between meals should be 4-6 hours, breakfast meal time is 15-20 minutes, lunch and dinner meal time is 20-30 minutes. The energy provided by breakfast should account for 25%-30% of the total energy throughout the day, lunch accounts for 30%-40%, and dinner accounts for 30%-35%.
For the situation that 2/3 of the residents in our country do not drink enough water every day, the “Guide” recommends drinking enough water, a small amount and many times, under mild climate conditions, adult men with low physical activity level drink every day Water 1700ml, adult women drink 1500ml of water every day. It is recommended to drink white water and tea, drink less or no sugary drinks, and do not replace white water with drinks.
You should also learn to read the labels when purchasing products, purchase food through the ingredient list and nutrient composition list, and pay attention to labels such as “high calcium”, “low fat” and “increased dietary fiber”.
Meal guidelines also emphasize “sharing meals with chopsticks”. The new crown epidemic reminds us to pay attention to public health and personal hygiene, and promote a healthy and civilized lifestyle.
(Photo source: Figure Worm Creative)
For the current situation where people are relatively in excess of energy but deficient in micronutrients, the Guide recommends understanding the nutrient density of food, generally speaking, colorful fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meat, eggs , Whole grains are foods with high nutrient density, choose less “blank energy” foods such as candy, fried gluten, etc.; using seasonal and local food resources, fresh ingredients can maximize nutrition.
In short, follow the latest version of the “Guide”. It’s a bit difficult to keep exercising. Isn’t it easy to eat a “good meal”?
Editor: Dr. Chunyu
References:
[1]Wen Jinghua. How to eat healthier? Chinese residents’ dietary guidelines give answers [N]. Xinhua Daily Telegraph, 2022-04-27(003).
[2] Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)