Eat 25 different types of food daily, eat less meat from four-legged animals, eat more whole grains and have smaller, more frequent meals... Recently, the so-called "leader's diet" circulating among the public has attracted the attention of many health-conscious citizens.
According to relevant media reports, Li Ruifen, a leading authority in Chinese nutrition who worked as the head of the nutrition department at the former Beijing Military General Hospital for over sixty years, also said that leaders eat less meat from "four-legged animals," and that the so-called "25" actually refers to the variety of foods, not 25 dishes. In the view of Shanghai nutrition experts, consuming a wide variety of vegetables, less meat, and more whole grains is an excellent dietary habit, which also suggests that leaders eat a simple and "green" diet. The fewer "legs" the meat has, the better.
"Eating four-legged animals is not as good as two-legged ones, and eating two-legged ones is not as good as legless ones." Many years ago, Chinese nutrition experts offered this saying regarding human meat consumption. It means that eating meat from four-legged animals like cattle, sheep, and pigs is not as good as eating poultry like chickens and ducks, and eating poultry is not as good as eating fish.
Professor Fu Shanlai from the Shanghai Health Preservation Committee pointed out that excessive meat consumption can lead to an excess of nutrients like fat and protein in the body. From a nutritional perspective, poultry and fish, often referred to as "white meat," are more nutritionally balanced than red meat from land animals. However, the principle of diet is to eat smaller meals more frequently. Only when the variety of foods is sufficient can nutrition be balanced. It is not advisable to blindly consume large amounts of a single food just because it is nutritious.
The more varied the whole grains, the better.
Journalists found that the leader's diet mentioned in the reports is not full of rare delicacies as one might imagine. On the contrary, they eat more whole grains and less meat. Most of their dietary methods can be easily replicated by ordinary people.
Professor Jiangiakun, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Nutrition Society, told reporters that the current diet is too simple, relying mainly on white flour and rice with little consumption of coarse grains. This increases the body's calorie intake and is also one of the causes of cancer. Modern people focus too much on vegetables and fats and not enough on grains. In fact, a person needs about 4 liang (200g) of rice daily. Increasing the intake of coarse grains would be better for the body. It is also against nutritional principles to only eat vegetables and little or no rice.
The healthier the choice of snacks, the better.
According to reports, leaders' snacks are mostly yogurt, nuts, fruits, tremella and lotus seed soup, or wheat bran. These foods can nourish the brain and heart. Especially during banquets, eating foods rich in B vitamins can prevent damage to the gastric mucosa. Therefore, it's advisable to "prime" the stomach with coarse grains, miscellaneous grains, lean meat, peanuts, etc., before drinking alcohol.
One, two, three, four, five for a healthy diet.
One refers to drinking one bag of milk daily, which can effectively address the generally low calcium intake in the Chinese diet. If you are lactose intolerant, you can substitute with yogurt, low-lactose milk, or twice the amount of soy milk.
Two refers to the daily intake of 250-350 grams of carbohydrates, equivalent to 6-8 liang (300-400g) of staple food. This can be increased or decreased based on an individual's body weight; for overweight individuals, the intake of staple food should be reduced.
Three refers to consuming three to four servings of high-protein food daily. Each serving is defined as: 1 liang (50g) of lean meat, or 1 egg, or 2 liang (100g) of tofu, or 2 liang (100g) of chicken or duck, or 2 liang (100g) of fish or shrimp. Protein from fish and beans is preferable.
Four refers to four principles: a mix of coarse and fine grains (combining whole grains and refined grains); not too sweet or salty (the daily salt intake for a Guangdong-style diet is 6-7g, Shanghai-style 8-9g, Beijing-style 14-15g, and Northeast-style 18-19g; the Guangdong style is best, followed by Shanghai); three to five meals (referring to eating more frequently while controlling total calories, which helps prevent diabetes and high blood lipids); and eating until you are 70-80% full.
Five refers to eating 500 grams of fresh vegetables and fruits daily, an effective measure to prevent many diseases. Of course, a small amount of cooking oil, dried fruits, and seasonings can also be added when preparing meals.