On one hand, try not to add oil or fat to rice, to avoid extra calories and prevent a sharp increase in blood lipids after meals. Therefore, fried rice should be eaten sparingly, and practices like cooking sausage with rice or mixing rice with oily dishes should also be avoided. On the other hand, try not to add salt, soy sauce, or MSG to rice, to avoid extra sodium, which is unfavorable for blood pressure control and the prevention of cardiovascular accidents.
It should be noted here that adding vinegar, wrapping with seaweed, or incorporating ingredients like vegetables and raw fish are practices that align with the bland principle. Vinegar itself can lower the glycemic response and help control blood lipids; seaweed and raw fish are also ingredients beneficial to the cardiovascular system. Therefore, as long as you don't eat overly salty dishes, seaweed rice rolls are a very suitable staple food for patients with chronic illnesses. Recommended Healthy Rice Meals for a Day:
Breakfast: 4 cucumber, salmon, and seaweed rice rolls, 1 glass of milk, 2 oranges
Lunch: Oat, black rice, and white rice, wood ear mushrooms stir-fried with soybean sprouts, steamed fish, seaweed and tomato egg soup
Dinner: Homemade mixed bean congee (no sugar), spinach with sesame paste, mushrooms stir-fried with tofu, stir-fried shredded carrots and green peppers
Special Note: Rice Selection Requirements for Patients with Chronic Illnesses
Whether diabetic, hyperlipidemic, hypertensive, or fatty liver patients, one should not eat too much polished white rice as a staple. Diabetics need to choose staples with a slower blood sugar rise speed and a lower glycemic load; hypertensive patients need to choose staples that are as salt-free as possible; fatty liver patients need staples rich in dietary fiber; and hyperlipidemic patients need staples that are beneficial for lowering blood lipids. The Second Principle—Keep Rice "Coarse".
By "coarse," we mean reducing polished white rice and eating less glutinous rice. Their glycemic response is too high, which is very unfavorable for controlling blood sugar and blood lipids. Only by consuming enough fiber can the digestion speed of rice be effectively slowed down, and at the same time, cholesterol and fat can be absorbed in the intestines, playing a role in lowering postprandial blood sugar and blood lipids. This can also make people eat more slowly and consume less, which is conducive to weight control. In fact, most patients with chronic illnesses are overweight, and controlling weight is the top priority in dietary adjustments.
Some rice with particularly high nutritional and health value, such as brown rice, black rice, and germ rice, all have a relatively "coarse" texture. Although "coarse" is beneficial to health, eating 100% brown rice every day might be uncomfortable in texture and difficult to sustain long-term. Therefore, when cooking, you might as well use some "coarse" grains like brown rice, barley, and oats to "cooperate" with rice, making the texture more acceptable. It is best to soak the "coarse" ingredients in water overnight so that they cook to the same tenderness as the rice. The Third Principle—Keep Rice "Mixed".
When cooking rice or congee, it is best not to use a single type of rice, but to combine it with coarse grains, beans, nuts, etc. For example, red bean rice, peanut and oat rice congee, etc., are very suitable rice dishes for patients with chronic illnesses. Adding these ingredients not only increases B vitamins and minerals but also plays a role in protein complementation, ensuring adequate nutritional supply while reducing animal-based foods.
Of course, more importantly, this can effectively lower the glycemic response and control the rise in blood lipids. The combination of beans and rice is the most ideal because beans are rich in dietary fiber, their starch digests very slowly, and they contain some components that delay starch from turning into glucose, such as tannins and phytic acid, which are most effective for preventing chronic diseases. The Fourth Principle—Keep Rice "Colorful".
While white rice is indeed crystal clear and lovely, it also means it contains no antioxidants and has a very low vitamin content. If you choose colored rice and pair it with other foods to make the rice colorful, its nutritional value can be greatly improved. For example, cooking rice with green peas, orange carrots, and yellow corn kernels is not only very beautiful but also provides vitamins and carotenoid antioxidants, which are especially beneficial for preventing eye aging. Another example is choosing purple rice, black rice, or red rice to pair with white rice, which can also provide a large amount of anthocyanin antioxidants, helping to prevent cardiovascular disease.
In conclusion, because rice is a food that is consumed in large quantities every day, its nutritional and health value is closely related to everyone's health. If you keep these healthy principles for eating rice in mind every day, the cumulative effect will play a role in disease prevention and anti-aging, which is extremely beneficial for patients with chronic illnesses.