Nine Dietary Notes for Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the Mid-Autumn Eve banquet is a time for family reunions and gatherings with friends. While celebrating, it is crucial to have a scientific and reasonable diet that is beneficial to health. Please pay attention to the following nine points:
Balance of Staple and Non-Staple Foods
In the food consumed, animal-based foods should not exceed plant-based foods. A proper ratio of staple to non-staple foods is an important prerequisite for nutritional balance.
Balance of Meat and Vegetables
A balanced combination of meat and vegetables can stimulate appetite and maintain nutritional balance. Among these, eating fish is better than eating pork, beef, lamb, or poultry. Additionally, the flavors of cold and hot dishes should be skillfully balanced between sweet and salty; a full range of five flavors will open up your appetite.
Balance of Dry and Soft Foods
The variety of staple foods should be abundant, with things like steamed buns, dumplings, and rice. Porridge, soups, and sweet drinks should also be frequently changed to ensure a diverse palate. Furthermore, it is advisable to eat some coarse grains and high-fiber foods to aid digestion.
Balance of Fat and Lean
Meat dishes should be less in quantity but of higher quality, with a leaner-to-fatter ratio favoring the lean. The flavor should be light, and you can choose more beef, dog meat, rabbit meat, pigeon meat, pig's trotters, meat jelly, chicken, duck, goose feet, and seafood. Fish should be primarily steamed, and fried or grilled foods should be eaten less.
Balance of Day and Night
During the festival, there is a rich variety of film and television programs, and people often stay up late or even all night for entertainment, making it inevitable to have a late-night snack. Since the daytime diet is rich, a late-night snack of steamed buns, buns, noodles, or a drink like milk will suffice. This will curb hunger, not harm the spleen and stomach, and is also conducive to sleep.
Balance of Snacks
Given that the three main meals are often greasy, snacks should focus on whetting the appetite, regulating qi, relieving bloating, reducing internal heat, and relieving dryness. For example, eating fruits like apples, pears, or bananas after a meal is a good choice. Eat less of peanuts, melon seeds, candy, and chocolate. Preserved plums, hawthorn slices, and mint tablets should be mainly for tasting.
Balance of Alcohol and Tea
During the festival, gathering with relatives and friends, drinking a moderate amount of alcohol can liven up the atmosphere, but one should not drink to the point of intoxication, as it is harmful to health. Drinking tea appropriately can add flavor and interest and aid digestion, but strong tea should not be consumed in excess.
Have a Meal After Drinking
After drinking alcohol, especially in large amounts, many people skip their meal, which is very harmful. At this time, you should eat more, and consume more vegetables and fruits to supplement important antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, and the trace element selenium, thereby reducing the harm of alcohol to the body.
Do Not Overeat or Overindulge
Overeating and overindulging can lead to various digestive system diseases, such as acute gastroenteritis, acute pancreatitis, and cholecystitis.