How to eat moon cakes to be healthy (Health Express (stop 101))
"August and fifteenth are round, and Mid-Autumn Mooncakes are fragrant and sweet." The Mid-Autumn Festival has been customary since ancient times, but at the same time, mooncakes are high-calorie foods. How to eat them healthy?
How should people who need to control blood sugar and weight eat moon cakes?
What precautions should be taken when buying moon cakes?
This reporter interviewed a number of experts to answer this question.
Cantonese-style heavy sugar, Su-style heavy oil, Bingpi sugar oil is lower
Snowskin mooncakes, mochi mooncakes, quicksand mooncakes... The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the mooncakes in supermarkets are dazzling and colorful.
In terms of origin, there are Beijing-style, Cantonese-style, Suzhou-style, Dian-style, Hong Kong-style, etc.; in terms of taste, not only sweet and salty, but also salty-sweet, spicy, etc.; in terms of fillings, there are Five kernels, bean paste, lotus seed paste, egg yolk, rock sugar, sesame, fruits, nuts, ham, etc.
"Moon cakes are sweet and salty, but when you buy moon cakes, you should try to choose regular brands from regular channels." Yu Kang, director of the Clinical Nutrition Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, reminded that when buying moon cakes, pay attention to the label information, including the name of the manufacturer. , ingredient list, production date, shelf life and other information, pay attention to whether there are any personal allergic ingredients in the ingredient list, and avoid buying mooncakes with obvious packaging damage or exceeding the shelf life.
Mooncakes generally consist of a crust and a filling.
According to Wu Jia, a registered dietitian of the Chinese Nutrition Society, the cake crust is mainly composed of starch, sugar and oil. Among them, Cantonese-style mooncakes include egg yolk lotus seed mooncakes, bean paste mooncakes, etc. Cantonese-style cake skins use a lot of invert syrup and oil. Keep the skin soft and sweet; the puff pastry includes Suzhou-style fresh meat moon cakes, some five-nut moon cakes, flower moon cakes, egg yolk crisps, etc. The puff pastry needs to add saturated fatty acid content such as lard, butter or shortening Very high fat, so that the cake skin can be crisp and layered; the snow skin cake skin is mostly made of glutinous rice flour, clear flour, milk powder, etc., and the added sugar and oil content are less.
In general, Cantonese-style mooncakes are heavy in sugar, Suzhou-style mooncakes are heavy in oil, and snowskin mooncakes have relatively low sugar and oil content.
The nutritional characteristics of different mooncake fillings are also different.
In traditional flavors, five-kernel mooncakes have a variety of plant-based raw materials, such as melon seeds, walnuts, almonds, sesame, etc. The sugar content is relatively low. Although the fat content is high, the nuts are rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Generally speaking, the nutritional value is higher; bean paste and lotus seed paste mooncakes are made by breaking the raw materials and adding oil, sugar, etc., and the sugar and oil content are not low; Butter, etc., are relatively high in calories; fresh meat mooncakes are more popular in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. Compared with other mooncakes, they have higher protein content and higher sodium content. At the same time, the skin of the cake is crispy and the fat content will be higher. Baked, hot fresh meat mooncakes are delicious; fruit-filled mooncakes have many flavors, such as jujube, pineapple, peach, apple, etc. Its fat content is basically the lowest among mooncakes, but its high sugar content is harmful to blood sugar. The impact is greater, and it is not recommended for diabetics to consume too much.
After eating moon cakes, reduce the intake of staple food accordingly
"Traditional moon cakes belong to the 'three high' foods of 'high oil, high sugar, and high fat', but there is only one Mid-Autumn Festival a year. People do not take moon cakes as a large amount of daily food, so they can eat some moon cakes properly during the Mid-Autumn Festival. , don't be too entangled." Wu Jia emphasized that in recent years, merchants have launched many "low-sugar mooncakes" and "sugar-free mooncakes", but here "low-sugar" and "sugar-free" generally refer to the content of sucrose, and low-sugar and sugar-free fillings are generally used. Other sugars or sweeteners have replaced sucrose, such as xylitol, maltitol, sorbitol, etc. Their metabolism does not require the participation of insulin, but for some people, excessive consumption of sugar alcohol sweeteners may It brings adverse reactions such as diarrhea, and you also need to pay attention to control the intake.
For moon cakes, ordinary people still need to control their intake. For special groups such as diabetics and hypertensive patients, does it mean that moon cakes should be completely "stayed away"?
"Of course it doesn't have to be absolute, as long as you control the amount. When choosing moon cakes, people in need can choose the one with lower energy, fat and sugar content in the nutritional ingredients table. It is recommended that adults consume no more than 50 moon cakes a day. It is best for diabetic patients not to exceed 30 grams." Wu Jia said that moon cakes can be eaten instead of some staple foods in the main meal, with low-salt, low-fat and low-sugar vegetables and drinks, such as sugar-free tea, low-fat or skim milk, Unsweetened soy milk, etc., slow down the rate of sugar rise.
Kang Junren, the attending physician of the Clinical Nutrition Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, reminded that people with high blood pressure should choose as few savory mooncakes as fresh meat mooncakes, ham mooncakes, and egg yolk mooncakes when purchasing mooncakes, and strictly control their sodium intake.
Seafood, abalone and other moon cakes contain aquatic raw materials, and patients with gout and high uric acid should eat less.
Patients with other chronic diseases should also follow the principle of "limitation". After eating moon cakes, the intake of other foods, especially staple foods, should be reduced accordingly.
Because moon cakes are rich in oil and sugar, they are prone to mold and deterioration when exposed to heat and moisture.
Experts remind that uneaten moon cakes after opening should be stored in accordance with the preservation methods indicated on the product packaging.
It is recommended to put mooncakes in unused food bags and store them in the refrigerator.
If there is no refrigerator, mooncakes can also be stored in a cool and ventilated place.
At the same time, it should not be stored together with other foods and sundries, so as to avoid the smell and affect its taste.
Some people think that moon cakes with a shorter shelf life contain fewer preservatives, so when purchasing moon cakes, they deliberately buy moon cakes with a short shelf life. What is the truth?
Can the length of shelf life determine the quality of moon cakes?
"The shelf life of moon cakes is related to the fillings." Wu Jia said, for example, five kernel moon cakes contain less water, microorganisms are not easy to multiply, are more resistant to storage, and have a relatively longer shelf life; while moon cakes with egg yolk and fruit fillings have a relatively long shelf life. With more water content, the shelf life is relatively short. "The length of the shelf life does not determine the quality of the moon cake. As long as it is a compliant product produced by a regular manufacturer, there is no need to worry about preservatives."
Eat a piece of moon cake, pay attention to chewing more
Under the hazy moonlight, when the family is reunited, viewing the moon, drinking tea, and eating moon cakes is a traditional sense of ritual that comes with the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"As the saying goes, 'It is better to share with others', moon cakes are delicious, and sharing is more delicious. It not only takes the meaning of reunion and friendship, but also avoids more extra energy intake, killing two birds with one stone." Kang Junren said that friends who lose weight are healthier for the sake of health. Remember to share, you might as well "cut and eat", for example, eat 1/4-1/8 of a piece of moon cake, the amount is small and delicious.
At the same time, pay attention to chewing more, just like "ginseng fruit", you need to taste it carefully, and chewing more is also a good way to lose weight.
What is the best time of day to eat mooncakes?
"Try to eat as little as possible after meals, which will easily exceed the calorie limit." Kang Junren suggested that it can be eaten as a snack between meals, such as eating a small piece as dessert between work; it can also be eaten at the main meal, replacing all or part of the main food, pay attention It is necessary to eat meat and vegetables first, and then eat the first moon cake after half of it, so that blood sugar rises relatively slowly.
Experts suggest that patients with poor blood sugar should eat moon cakes regularly, not too much, not first (eat vegetables first), and when eating "sugar-free moon cakes", they should pay attention to the fact that their fat and calories are not low, and they should not eat more.
People with chronic gastrointestinal discomfort should eat moon cakes not often, not fast, or cold, not with cold drinks or wine, but with some hot tea to relieve greasy and help digestion.
For people who lose weight, what should they do if they accidentally eat too much moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival?
"The most taboo to lose weight is 'guilt'. We don't have to struggle, just exchange the equivalent." Kang Junren said that the energy intake can be appropriately reduced the next day, and each meal can be eaten six times full, or the activity can be appropriately increased the next day. The extra energy intake is consumed.
"Weight management is an attitude to life. It is not only about eating less or not eating, but a skillful, planned, and rhythmic dietary and lifestyle intervention." Kang Junren said that it is human nature to love food, and it is necessary to control energy intake. Skills do not rely solely on perseverance. If there is a need, you can go to the hospital to see a nutrition department.
Our reporter Wang Meihua