When people eat, they often have the habit of eating dishes before their staple food. In fact, this is not only detrimental to a balanced nutritional intake but also affects the digestive function of the gastrointestinal tract. To eat healthily and control food portions, it is essential to pay attention to staple food, which acts as a "natural digestive aid."
When dining out, remember to order some staple food first, or coarse grains such as pumpkin, sweet potato, or yam, to be served at the beginning of the meal. Try to eat them first, or eat them in combination with dishes, one bite of staple food and one bite of dish. This is because:
First, carbohydrates are easily satiating, which naturally reduces the intake of meat dishes, preventing the meal from being too greasy or difficult to digest.
Second, eating some staple food first helps stimulate the secretion of salivary amylase to aid in digestion, which in turn stimulates gastric acid secretion and enhances the stomach's digestive capacity.
Third, staple foods like rice and noodles are carbohydrates that are easily digested and absorbed by the body, placing no additional burden on the digestive system. Furthermore, the metabolic process of carbohydrates in the body produces almost no toxins. In contrast, some high-protein or high-fat foods produce many harmful substances during human metabolism.
Among staple foods, coarse grains are the preferred choice. They are rich in fiber, which can promote gastrointestinal motility and help expel excess fat from the body.