With the Gaokao approaching, students are under immense pressure from their academic workload, leading to significant physical and mental exhaustion. Proper nutritional supplementation and conditioning are crucial for restoring physical and mental energy, enabling students to maintain high energy levels for the exam. At 3:00 PM on the afternoon of April 19th, we specially invited Wang Lu, Director of the Nutrition Department at Beijing Hospital and a senior nutritionist, to be a guest in NetEase's online chat room to answer questions regarding nutritional supplementation and conditioning for students before and after the Gaokao. 1. Nutrient requirements for adolescents are higher than for adults; 2. Picky eating can affect learning efficiency; 3. Health supplements are not a panacea; you cannot rely on pills for your daily nutrition; 4. Pre-exam diets should be balanced, with less cold food, attention to gastrointestinal health, and ensuring adequate sleep.
Host: Good afternoon, everyone. Today, we are very pleased to have with us Director Wang Lu from the Nutrition Department of Beijing Hospital. Hello.
Wang Lu: Hello.
Host: Today, we will mainly be discussing how students can better absorb nutrients during the Gaokao, what to eat, how to prevent illness, and how to handle it if they get sick. In these final, tense 40-plus days, how can we adjust the student's psychological and physical states?
Today's first question is for Director Wang. Many parents are very worried about their children's health. Long hours of revision have left them over-exerted, with very little sleep, basically no time for physical exercise or play. In this situation, what should parents have their children eat, how should they plan their meals, and how can they improve their physical condition?
Wang Lu: I'm very happy to have the opportunity to talk about the nutritional needs of students preparing for the Gaokao today. I am also a parent of a Gaokao candidate, and my child is also preparing for the exam this year. I can share some of my knowledge on this topic. When we talk about student nutrition, I think we first need to understand their physiological state—the characteristics of their physiological metabolism at this age. Nutrition is often adjusted based on these characteristics. The students at this time are generally between 17 and 19 years old; those who started school early might be 17, and those who started late might be 19, but most are around 18. What kind of period are these children in? They are in the late stage of puberty, the peak of their development has passed. At 18, they become adults, which is the beginning stage of physical development. Although the rate of growth has slowed down, they are still growing. During our puberty, the growth rate is extremely fast. Comparing height at age 10 to age 18, they might grow by about 30 centimeters. Weight also increases correspondingly, some by 20 to 30 kilograms. Besides changes in height and weight, the reproductive system is basically fully developed.
What is needed as a foundation for this? Adequate nutrition. Children with good nutrition have relatively better height and weight than those with poor nutrition. Besides physiological changes, there are also psychological pressures and behavioral changes. Once they enter junior high, a generation gap with parents begins, which can also affect their diet.
Based on the characteristics of growth and development, the nutritional requirements have these characteristics: the nutrient requirements are higher than for adults, but not because the total quantity is higher, but because the nutrient requirement per kilogram of body weight is increased. For example, an adult's calcium requirement is 800 milligrams, but a child in this period needs 1000 milligrams. The faster the height and weight grow, the more nutrition is provided. As this period slows down, we will appropriately reduce it. Several principles to master for the diet of children at this stage
Individual differences are significant. Each child is different, and we cannot apply a standard model. This should be done according to their own characteristics. Understanding these characteristics, and knowing the child's own developmental stage, we should grasp these principles when planning meals.
First, we must achieve a balanced diet. This means that the nutrients in the food we consume are in exactly the same amount as the body's needs. In other words, what we eat is perfectly matched to what our body needs. This is called a balanced diet. A balanced diet is not only a principle for adolescents but贯穿整个生命过程. During the adolescent period, the nutrition for Gaokao candidates is no exception.
How do we achieve a balanced diet? By having a variety of foods. Our diet should consist of many different types of food. The more variety, the more comprehensive the nutrients; the more distant the species, the more reasonable the combination. We need to eat grains, meat, eggs, and dairy, as well as vegetables and fruits. Different foods contain different nutrients and have their own characteristics. There is no single food in nature that contains all nutrients. We cannot rely on a single food to get balanced nutrition. We must rely on food diversity, composed of many different foods. This is a principle for planning food. There is also reasonable搭配.
Just having a variety of foods is not enough; the proportions of the搭配 must be balanced. How much grains, how much meat, how much vegetables, fruits, and oils? If we搭配 these proportions correctly, it will closely match our needs, making this the best diet. Besides reasonable搭配 of meals, we also need to plan the three meals well. Our daily meals should be reasonable; we should have three meals a day. Gaokao candidates are going through a particularly tough time, with the most pressure. Energy consumption and other expenditures will be higher than usual. Relying only on three meals may not be enough. Therefore, we should take three meals as the main source and supplementary snacks as a辅助. Adding some snacks between classes will have a better supplementary effect on overall nutrition. Besides this, there is one more point: when designing a meal plan, it must be something they love to eat. Good color, aroma, and shape are not enough; it must also be nutritious and delicious. When these points are combined well, the meal plan for the candidate will be relatively healthy.
Host: Many candidates may have habits of being picky eaters. In this case, is it okay not to force them to eat certain things, as long as they are full and well-fed?
Wang Lu: From a health perspective, being picky is not a good habit. If you are picky, your intake of certain foods will be limited. Foods have their own characteristics, so you will lack certain nutrients, which will affect your health. If you just dislike one type of food, you can substitute it with something else. For example, people who like to eat meat might call themselves carnivores, eating fried chicken drumsticks, large pieces of meat, greasy, and high-fat foods. People like this can have some nutritional problems; they tend to have excessive protein and fat. Protein is what our bodies need, and Gaokao students also need adequate protein, but that doesn't mean without limit. If there is too much of this, protein and fat will be excessive, leading to a lack of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. If you like to eat meat, your stomach will be filled with these things, and other foods will be less, leading to obesity.
There is a trend of adult diseases becoming more common in younger people. Children, teenagers, and adolescents now have adult diseases like obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and coronary heart disease. The incidence is not as novel as it used to be. Obese children with high blood pressure and diabetes are more common. It used to be insulin-dependent diabetes, but now overweight children get type 2 diabetes, non-insulin-dependent. Their breathing is also affected, with airway resistance and narrowing, leading to easy brain oxygen deprivation, fatigue, drowsiness, and a decline in learning quality. It's not that the child is not smart, but without abundant energy, learning efficiency is easily reduced.
Netizen: Just one more month of this, and it will be over. I'm already trying all kinds of ways to cook for my child, but he doesn't like many of the things. You are also a parent. Do you have any way to help them eat things they don't like?
Netizen: My child especially dislikes carrots.
Wang Lu: There are many ways to eat carrots. Maybe they weren't cooked well. We can stir-fry them, add some dried tofu, shred them for a salad, or stew them with beef. We can also slice them, coat them with flour, and deep-fry them for a snack.
If a child is a picky eater and doesn't like vegetables, can I buy some vitamins, supplements, calcium tablets, etc., to make up for it?
Wang Lu: That's not good. If we rely on pills for our daily nutrition, we miss out on the pleasure of food. Pills contain single nutrients, while vegetables and fruits have many minerals, fiber, and other beneficial substances to the human body, some of which we have discovered and some we haven't. Recently, phytochemicals, which are beneficial to human health, have received a lot of attention, such as lycopene, lutein, and soy isoflavones. These are very beneficial to the human body. We definitely can't get these from taking pills.
The absorption and utilization of these nutrients, and their beneficial effects on human health, are often found in food. Once they are extracted, their effects are weakened. Therefore, when we can eat natural foods, we should still choose natural foods as much as possible. This requires appropriate adjustment, which I think is acceptable because vegetables and fruits are still very tasty.
What role can health supplements actually play?
Host: We'll come back to vegetables and fruits later. Now, many parents have this question, and it's not just individual parents, it's an issue with advertising. We don't want to advertise for any specific product. Many products on the market claim to boost brain power and supplement various nutrients. For example, American ginseng. Many candidates buy this to eat before the exam. What is the actual effect of this on a candidate's body? Can it have negative side effects?
Wang Lu: The advertising for some health supplements and tonics definitely exaggerates their benefits far beyond reality, because businesses need to maximize their profits. I can't say that all health supplements are bad or problematic, but among them, there is definitely a mix of good and bad, and sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. A person's intellectual development is related to genetic factors and the process of brain formation. However, health supplements and nutritional foods will not play a decisive role. Your intelligence will not improve from a certain level to another just because you ate something. It's impossible for your intelligence level to suddenly increase significantly after taking this.
In other words, if a person is in a state of very good nutritional adjustment, it can allow their mind and brain to be in a good, energetic state. Their learning, comprehension, and memory might be better. That is to say, from an overall physical condition, we adjust the body to its best state—no illness, good mental state, abundant energy, and able to cope with the heavy academic workload. It is absolutely impossible that because you took this health supplement, your score could jump from 400 to 600.
Host: Are these drugs and nutritional supplements more of a placebo effect?
Wang Lu: We can understand parents' psychology. They want their sons to become dragons and their daughters to become phoenixes, especially at this time. They don't want their child's score to be affected because they didn't take this thing. In fact, I think we shouldn't over-mythologize it. For example, if a child is very picky and has been sick recently, with very little food intake, supplementing with some vitamins is necessary. Supplement when there is a deficiency, and stop supplementing when you can get it from food. My child has never taken any health supplements or tonics. He doesn't study very hard, but his academic performance is good.
Netizen: What foods should be avoided before the exam to help the child perform better?
Wang Lu: If you are about to take an exam, don't eat foods that cause excessive gas, such as beans, as it will make the stomach uncomfortable and make it hard to concentrate. Too much high-fat food can also have this effect. Foods that make you uncomfortable after eating should be avoided. The diet before the exam should be adequate but not excessive. Host: Eating too much high-fat food can make you drowsy?
Wang Lu: Too greasy food will first make the stomach feel uncomfortable. If you eat too much, blood will go to the stomach to digest the food, and the brain will be deprived of oxygen. There is also post-meal drowsiness. Don't go straight to the exam after eating. It's better to rest for a bit before going to the exam.
Netizen: My child is under a lot of pressure recently and has no appetite. He doesn't want to eat. What should I do?
Wang Lu: First, reduce pressure and relax. As a parent, you need to relax first and not put too much pressure on your child. Of course, this is not within the scope of nutrition. In terms of diet, I think you should start with things he likes to eat, things that can stimulate his appetite, things he usually enjoys. First, satisfy his appetite from the perspective of his preferences, and then pay attention to nutritional搭配. For example, you can make some light dishes with a sweet and sour flavor, which children might like more.
Host: Parents have many, many questions, but they are mostly individual issues. We will answer these questions later. Let's talk about Director Wang's child. Your child is also in his senior year of high school. What do you feed him?
Wang Lu: I feel sorry for him. He doesn't eat much of the food I cook. He is a student at Chaoyang Foreign Language School and has been boarding since the first year of junior high. His school pays great attention to diet. They have a fruit in the afternoon and milk and yogurt after dinner. I have cultivated my child's habit of not being picky or having food preferences since he was young. He has been slightly influenced by me and knows a little bit about nutrition. It's better to let him learn this knowledge than for you to painstakingly manage it, because sometimes he is not under your control. He eats at school, and it's rare for him to say the school food is not good.
My child was about 1.60 meters tall in middle school, and now he is 1.87 meters. He didn't miss out on growing.
Host: So, you cultivate good eating habits from the first year of high school.
Wang Lu: From childhood.
Netizen: What fruits are good for my child to eat during this period?
Wang Lu: Don't limit yourself to one kind.
Netizen: Are there any fruits that are not good for children?
Wang Lu: No food is strictly good or bad. What you need is good, and what you don't need or is too much is bad. It's best to master the right amount. For example, protein is good, but too much is not okay. Cholesterol is bad, as it can cause many diseases, but without cholesterol, it's also not okay. I think there is a good saying: "There is no good or evil in things; excess is the disaster."
Host: Parents should ensure that their children get enough calories and energy from their three daily meals. Don't let them eat too much of one thing. Ensuring enough sleep time is very important
Host: I don't know if this counts as a nutrition question, but a netizen says their child studies until 1 AM every night.
Wang Lu: That's too long.
Host: To stay awake, the child often drinks coffee. Is this bad for their nutrition?
Wang Lu said: Using coffee to stay awake and sleep late is not a good approach. A person's daily sleep requirement is the most basic thing to guarantee. At their age, they should sleep for seven or eight hours. If it's too little, say five or six hours a day, and there are still two months until the Gaokao, will they even be able to take the exam then? They might end up in the hospital, which is not worth the loss.
It's not that you can't drink coffee, but you shouldn't use it to replace sleep or to stay alert. This method is not advisable. They should be sleeping by 11 PM and getting up at 6 AM the next day. Their energy for the day can still be guaranteed. With too little sleep, it's not possible, and it becomes overdrawn.
Host: Many students now only sleep for five or six hours. Most students, especially in their senior year of high school, are very busy. The students in Beijing are better off, but students in major exam provinces are under immense pressure.
Wang Lu: The government needs to reform the examination system. This way of doing things is definitely detrimental to students' health. As a parent and a nutrition professional, I think this is not advisable.
Host: Under the continuous, long-term condition of little sleep and high intensity, what can be eaten to make things better?
Wang Lu: The daily dietary intake must meet the requirements. With less sleep, energy consumption is greater, and the consumption of various nutrients is also greater. We need to supplement what is consumed more. Eat less cold food, have a light diet, eat less fried food, and pay attention to gastrointestinal diseases
Netizen: My child loves to eat cold drinks. Summer is coming soon. Last year, after eating them, he got an upset stomach. To prevent my child from eating too many cold drinks, but also not to forbid him completely, how many cold drinks are appropriate to eat in a day? If he gets sick from eating too many cold drinks, how should it be handled?
Wang Lu: Cold drinks are generally things like ice cream and popsicles. These contain some protein, are high in fat and sugar, are very cold, and can also irritate the gastrointestinal tract. Some children with sensitive stomachs will have problems. Cold drinks also