*For medical professionals only
China’s heart-healthy diet will become the third-largest healthy diet in the world after the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet.
Over the past few decades, strong evidence has emerged that a healthy diet, such as the well-known American DASH diet (also known as the DASH diet), reduces blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk. “The Dessert Diet”) and the Euro-Mediterranean diet.
However, due to the obvious differences between Chinese and Western food cultures, these foods from the West do not conform to our Chinese eating habits. Recently, the Chinese Heart-Healthy Diet (CHH Diet) customized for Chinese people appeared! The research on CHH diet was published by Professor Wu Yangfeng and Researcher Wang Yanfang from Peking University Clinical Research Institute in Circulation, a top international journal in the field of cardiovascular disease research [1].
Figure 1 Source DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULA TIONAHA.122.059045
Let’s see how effective the CHH diet is for blood pressure? What is the unique charm?
Great blood pressure reduction
Systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased by an average of 10.0mmHg and 3.8mmHg
The study was conducted in 4 regions of my country (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu). Four study centers enrolled 265 participants with baseline systolic blood pressure of 130-159 mmHg.
Participants first went through a 7-day run-in period, during which they were provided with a daily local diet. After the break-in period, the participants were randomly divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group. The control group continued on the daily diet, and the experimental group started the CHH diet for a total of 28 days. The primary outcome was systolic blood pressure (SBP), and secondary outcomes were diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and food liking score.
Figure 2 Effects of heart-healthy diets on blood pressure in China
Preliminary analysis showed that SBP decreased by 15.0 mmHg and 5.0 mmHg, respectively, from baseline to the end of the intervention in the CHH diet group and the control diet group. Compared with the control diet group, the SBP in the CHH diet group decreased by 10.0mmHg.
DBP was reduced by 6.7 mmHg and 2.8 mmHg in the CHH diet and control diet groups, respectively. CHH diet group decreased 3.8mmHg more than control diet group (Figure 2).
And there was no significant difference in the antihypertensive effect of the CHH diet of 4 different cuisines. Professor Wu Yangfeng said that the CHH diet has a significant antihypertensive effect, comparable to antihypertensive drugs, and emphasized that if the CHH diet can be adhered to, it will reduce cardiovascular disease by 20%, heart failure by 28%, and all-cause disease by 13%. die.
What is the CHH dietFeatures[1-2]
1
Nutritionally balanced
CHH diet recipes were designed by research teams (comprising medical researchers, nutritionists, chefs at each research center, etc.) based on the nutrient content goals of the CHH diet. Specific targets for each nutrient are shown in Table 1. Table 1 also lists the nutrient content of daily diets in Chinese cities for comparison.
Table 1
Overall, we can see that the CHH diet’s nutritional profile is characterized by a halving of sodium intake, increased intake of potassium, magnesium, calcium, and moderate Reduced fat intake, increased protein and carbohydrate intake, and doubled dietary fiber intake.
2
Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine, which one do you like?
More than one-fifth of the world’s population regularly eats Chinese food, butEven in China, people living in different regions will choose different diets due to the vast area, and these diets usually have strong local characteristics.
In this case, “one size fits all” may not work, so the CHH diet must incorporate the characteristics of the main Chinese dishes. The research group of Professor Wu Yangfeng of Peking University has mainly developed four different recipes of Shandong cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine, Cantonese cuisine and Sichuan cuisine. These dishes represent the dietary style of more than 80% of the population in China and can meet the dietary preferences of residents in various places.
Table 2
The CHH diet increases nuts, seeds, legumes or soy product intake to 200 grams per week and fruit intake to 150 grams per nutrient content target / day, vegetable intake 300 g / day. An example of the one-day menu of Shandong cuisine is shown in Table 2.
3
Delicious and inexpensive
Figure 3 Comparison of food liking between CHH diet and control diet groups
The average ingredient cost of the CHH diet group and the control diet group was 24 yuan/day and 21 yuan/day, and other costs (such as chef fees) were also roughly the same between the two groups, with each reduction in 1mmHg systolic blood pressure, the cost of CHH diet increases only 0.4 yuan / day.
At baseline, food liking scores were 9.5 out of 10 in both groups. The change from baseline examination to the end of the trial increased by 0.2 points in both groups, with little difference between the groups.
This shows that the CHH diet offers us a new, inexpensive and heart-healthy dietary option!
Recommended by experts
Strategies to achieve the nutritional goals of the CHH diet[2]
Total energy intake: Average intake assessed during the run-in period is recommended.
Reduce the use of cooking oil by changing cooking methods, such as steaming instead of frying, and using low-fat or non-fat dairy products.
Increase whole grain intake and limit sugar intake.
Increase your intake of protein-rich lean meats, beans, and dairy products.
Increase your intake of foods high in dietary fiber.
Use less salt when cooking and use salt substitutes instead of regular salt.
Increase the intake of potassium-rich foods and the use of potassium-containing salt substitutes.
Summary:
If you ask what kind of diseases cause the most deaths in China? A lot of people would say it’s cancer. Actually, not so, but cardiovascular disease. According to the “China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2021”, the incidence and mortality of cardiovascular disease in China top the list. Cardiovascular disease accounts for 2 out of every 5 deaths. Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality [3-4].
Figure 4
CHH diet not only effectively lowers blood pressure(10/3.8 mmHg more than regular diet) Chinese food is delicious and affordable. Therefore, the promotion of CHH diet among the huge Chinese-food-based population around the world is of great significance for the prevention and control of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.
It is worth mentioning that the study did not analyze the full nutrient content of the diet, which limits the assessment of the intake of some nutrients (such as vitamins), and the nutrient content in the food cooking process may be significantly affected by heating. It was also proposed that the target calcium content of the CHH diet was not achieved during the intervention period, due to the fact that dairy products are rarely included in Chinese food culture. The authors believe that these are important questions that are expected to be addressed in future research.