This year's theme is "Cook, Choose and Read the label", advocating that the public make better use of food, reduce oil and salt in cooking, and enjoy the natural taste of food.
The Global Nutrition Report 2018 states that nearly one in five deaths worldwide are related to diet, mainly due to high salt, low intake of whole grains, fruits, nuts, and energy imbalances. What is the best way to plan our meals? How to choose ingredients with high nutritional value to cook healthy and delicious food? Nutrition experts give advice.
Will choose: Five principles to help you know and choose food
"The human body needs more than 40 nutrients and a number of other dietary components to maintain good health, which requires us to combine different foods according to their nutritional value." Liu Ailing, a researcher at the Nutrition and Health Institute of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, recommends eating at least 12 kinds of cereals, potatoes, vegetables and fruits, fish, poultry, meat and eggs, milk beans and nuts every day, and at least 25 kinds per week.
Liu Ailing introduced that the purchase of food should master five principles:
First, choose more fresh and natural foods, buy less pickled vegetables, canned fruits, canned meat and other deeply processed foods;
Second, choose foods with high nutrient density, such as colorful fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, lean meat, aquatic products, whole grains, etc. Choose less "blank energy" foods that provide only energy but lack other nutrients, such as candy, fried gluten, latio, sugary drinks, etc.
The third is the first choice of local food resources in the season, the natural maturity can maximize the retention of nutrition, fresh and better taste, but also reduce the microbial pollution and energy consumption in the transportation process;
The use of nutrition labels to select pre-packaged foods with low oil, salt and sugar;
The fifth is to consider the cost, not excessive hoarding of food, especially easy to corrupt vegetables and fruits, to avoid waste, "in the purchase of we also firmly believe that: expensive does not mean high nutritional value, many inexpensive food has its own nutritional value is very rich."
It should be noted that nuts contain high unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E and other nutrients, but the fat content is high, should be eaten in moderation. The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022) recommend an average daily intake of about 10 grams, equivalent to a handful and a half of shucked sunflower seeds or two to three walnuts. Eating plain nuts is preferred.
Will look: food nutrition labels have a doorway
Food nutrition label is an effective channel of "communication" between food and consumers. Since 2013, the General Principles for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Food under the National Food Safety Standards have been formally implemented in China, requiring that prepackaged food should be labeled with mandatory energy and protein, fat, carbohydrate, sodium content values and their percentage of nutrient reference values.
Yang Yuexin, chairman of the Chinese Nutrition Society, said that nearly 10 years after the implementation of the above national standards, there are still many consumers in the purchase of food only look at the price, production date and origin, ignoring the nutrition label. But the label can help consumers understand the nutritional characteristics of food, better compare and choose products suitable for their own.
So what should nutrition labels look like when choosing pre-packaged foods? Fan Yongxiang, deputy director of the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center, said that special attention should be paid to the product ingredient list and nutritional composition.
"When looking at the ingredients list, it is recommended to remember a principle: according to the standard requirements, the ingredients list should be arranged in descending order according to the amount added, and the first few must be the main raw materials of the product." Fan Yongxiang said.
The nutrition Facts list lists the specific amount of nutrients in each serving of food, and the nutrient reference value indicates the proportion of nutrients provided in the food to the daily requirement of the human body.
"For example, a 40g bag of potato chips provides 13.3g of fat, which provides 22% of the fat I need for the day. This is a warning sign that my fat intake is already high after eating this bag of chips, and I need to be more careful with other foods." Fan Yongxiang explained.
In addition, experts suggest that we should also pay attention to the existence of "invisible sodium". In addition to salt, sodium pyrophosphate and sodium ascorbate used in processed foods can be sources of sodium intake. Dietary guidelines recommend that adults should consume no more than 5 grams of salt a day, which translates to about 2,000 milligrams of sodium.
Ability to cook: More whole grain, less oil and salt
According to the Scientific Research Report on the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2021), the intake of grains and miscellaneous beans in China shows a downward trend, but they are still the main source of energy. Other grains and beans are below the dietary guidelines.
Chang Cuiqing, vice chairman of the Chinese Nutrition Society, said that whole grains contain B vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and other nutrients, which play an important role in preventing obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The more refined the grain, the more nutrients are lost. Excessive consumption of refined rice noodles and white bread can lead to an increased risk of chronic diseases.
"Children who eat cereals from the gastrointestinal function is better, not easy to get fat, physical strength is stronger." Some 'three high' patients need to control blood sugar, blood lipids and weight through whole grains." China Agricultural University nutrition and health department associate professor Fan Zhihong said.
The dietary guidelines suggest eating more whole grains, soybeans and vegetables, and cooking with less salt and oil. How to put a good diet on the table, so that delicious food is not reduced, health doubled?
Whole grain mixed beans tend to be hard because they retain their seed skin and have a tight texture. In this regard, Fan Zhihong introduced that refrigerated soaking of cereals in advance, or cooked cereals for half an hour and then added white rice, can make coarse and fine, soft and hard moderate cereals rice, porridge. It can also be used to mix whole wheat flour, multi-grain powder and white flour to make pasta, and add some crushed nuts and dried fruits to enrich the taste.
Vegetables should be eaten more, less salt can also be delicious. Fan Zhihong suggested that cold dishes should not be pickled in advance, and seasoning should be added before serving to ensure that only one layer of salt is on the surface; Adding salt when frying, or only a small amount of soy sauce, can also make the salty taste in the middle of the dish relatively light, without affecting the taste.
"Reducing salt does not mean giving up seasoning. Instead of salt, use spices such as vinegar, lemon juice, curry powder, ground cumin and ground pepper to not only taste but also increase the supply of antioxidants and micronutrients." Fan Zhihong said.
