The latest article on the website of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, published jointly by Harvard nutrition experts and the Harvard Health Letter, introduces a new guide to healthy eating—the Healthy Eating Plate. This new guide is based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines. In response, Fu Jinru, Honorary Director of the Tianjin Nutrition Society, has further supplemented this guide based on the dietary characteristics of the Chinese people.
Vegetables and fruits make up 1/2 of the plate. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables of different colors. The more colorful and diverse these foods are, the more beneficial they are to your health. Potatoes and french fries should not be classified as vegetables because they are rich in starch. If you don't reduce your staple food intake when eating them, long-term, large consumption can increase the risk of obesity and diseases like type 2 diabetes. Additionally, vegetables are often more nutritious than fruits and cannot replace them.
Whole grains make up 1/4. Whole grains (including whole wheat, brown rice, whole wheat bread, and whole wheat noodles) are more beneficial for blood sugar and insulin control. You should try to reduce the intake of "refined grains" like white rice and white bread; the less processed the whole grains, the better. Fu Jinru pointed out that for Chinese people, it is also advisable to eat more traditional starchy legumes, such as red beans and mung beans.
Healthy protein makes up 1/4. Foods like fish, poultry, soybeans, nuts, and eggs contain not only a large amount of healthy protein but also various nutrients beneficial to health. For example, fish contains heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, soybeans are rich in fiber and calcium, and nuts contain a certain amount of antioxidants. In contrast, red meat (such as beef, pork, and lamb) is also rich in protein, but due to its high content of saturated fat, it is detrimental to health and its intake should be controlled. At the same time, processed meats (such as bacon, sausages, and hot dogs) should be avoided. Fu Jinru reminds that healthy protein also requires appropriate cooking methods. Meat should be cooked mostly by boiling, stewing, or stir-frying, with less frying. The best way to cook eggs is boiling. It is recommended to consume a certain amount of soybean products daily, such as tofu and soy milk.
Use healthy plant-based oils. Cooking oil is an important source of fat in the diet. Generally, plant-based oils have a high content of unsaturated fatty acids and are an important source of "good fats" in the diet, such as olive oil, canola oil, soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and peanut oil. However, fats like butter and lard often contain large amounts of saturated fat, which is not conducive to controlling blood lipids and should be eaten as little as possible. Fu Jinru pointed out that although plant-based oils are relatively healthy, their intake should also be controlled, preferably kept below 30 grams per day, and prolonged high-temperature cooking should be avoided.
Drink more water, coffee, or tea, and less sugary drinks. Fu Jinru suggests that one should drink a certain amount of milk daily (about 250 grams) and consume fewer sugary drinks, such as carbonated beverages.