As the middle school and college entrance exams approach, some parents, in an effort to supplement their children's nutrition, have altered their regular eating habits. In addition to giving their children health supplements, they now arrange every meal to include fish and meat to boost nutrition. Although the parents' intentions are good, some children have instead lost their appetite and experienced digestive discomfort. So, how can we ensure that students eat nutritiously and healthily for the exams?
To ensure an adequate supply of protein and fat. Insufficient protein intake can reduce the amount of brain protein, leading to decreased memory. Therefore, students should consume sufficient protein and essential amino acids. For breakfast, they can have milk, eggs, soy milk, or tofu pudding. For lunch and dinner, options like steamed fresh fish, braised beef, mushroom stewed chicken, and crispy tofu can be included. It's best to ensure one egg for breakfast, which can be a boiled egg or steamed egg custard.
During the exam preparation period, parents should not blindly have their children take various health supplements or consume large amounts of fish and meat. Suddenly changing a child's regular eating habits can lead to gastrointestinal discomfort, and may even cause diarrhea or constipation. Experts have provided a "Eight-a-Day" meal plan for students: 1-2 cups of milk, one egg, 100 grams of lean meat, one serving of fish, 100 grams of bean products, half a kilogram of vegetables, one liter of light tea, and half a kilogram of staple food.
Furthermore, neither overeating nor a vegetarian diet is conducive to students' intellectual development. Experts point out that if one eats to their fill at every meal, blood will remain in the gastrointestinal tract for too long, causing the brain to become ischemic and hypoxic, which hinders the development of brain cells. This can lead to a dull mind, decreased memory, and slow thinking. On the other hand, a regular vegetarian diet can lead to too little fat intake. Fat is a crucial component of the brain, and its importance is no less than that of protein.
Experts suggest that if parents have the time, they can often cook congee for their children. Drinking congee can ensure nutrition, and different types of congee can provide different health benefits. For example, jujube congee can nourish the blood and strengthen the spleen and stomach; sour jujube seed congee has a calming and sedative effect; walnut congee can boost brainpower; mung bean congee can clear heat, detoxify, quench thirst, and relieve summer heat; lotus seed congee can reduce internal heat, lower fire, and enhance intelligence; hyacinth bean congee can relieve summer heat, remove dampness, and detoxify; and lotus root congee can reduce internal heat and bring joy. In addition, the rice congee and millet congee we normally eat can also protect the gastric mucosa and replenish qi and blood.