Who is healthier in the three major cuisines of Guangdong?

Yangcheng Evening News reporter Lin Qingqing, Zhang Hua Intern Xu Jianan

Do Cantonese people eat healthy? What are the characteristics of the dietary structure of the residents of the three major cuisines in Guangdong? May 5-15 is the 21th National Nutrition Week, with the theme of "Reasonable Diet, Food is a Good Doctor". On May 5, under the guidance of the Guangdong Provincial National Nutrition and Health Steering Committee, the launching ceremony of the 14 Guangdong National Nutrition Week and the "May 2023" Chinese Student Nutrition Day themed publicity activity was held in Guangzhou. More than 5 nutrition experts from universities, research institutes and medical and health institutions attended the scene to provide free consultation, physical analysis, food guidance, etc., and prescribed personalized nutrition prescriptions for the public.

The reporter learned from the on-site interview that a professional survey conducted for three consecutive years showed that there were still unreasonable aspects in the dietary structure of Guangdong residents, and nutrition experts issued different health tips to residents of the three major cuisines in Guangdong.

Guangdong's overall eating habits are light, experts shout: eat more multigrain rice

Peng Jiewen, vice president of Guangdong Institute of Public Health, introduced that the "Guangdong Province Residents' Food Consumption Survey" organized by the institute collected the food consumption of residents in the three major cuisines of Guangdong for three consecutive years through the 2-hour dietary review survey method for two consecutive days, and statistically analyzed the daily consumption of various foods by residents in Guangdong Province and the three major cuisines.

Peng Jiwen said that compared with the balanced diet pagoda of Chinese residents (2022), in addition to the salty recipes of Hakka cuisine, the overall eating habits of Guangdong residents are relatively light, but there are still unreasonable aspects of the dietary structure. First of all, although the intake of staple foods is sufficient, the intake of whole grains, mixed beans and potatoes is insufficient, and the diversity needs to be improved. It is recommended to mix mixed grains in rice and cook them together, or use sweet potatoes and purple potatoes instead of some refined white rice as a staple food. In addition, there are insufficient intake of vegetables and fruits, insufficient intake of milk and dairy products, soybeans and nuts, and excessive intake of animal foods.

Zhu Huilian, vice president and secretary general of Guangdong Nutrition Society and professor of the Department of Nutrition at Sun Yat-sen University, reminded: "Healthy living habits are lifelong, rather than eating a lot of this food today and choosing another tomorrow." Cantonese cuisine is relatively light overall, but we should also pay attention to the intake of oil and salt in our daily diet. ”

The three major cuisines in Guangdong have their own advantages and disadvantages Experts suggest: nutrition should be balanced

The survey further subdivides the residents of the three major cuisines in Guangdong. Peng Jiwen said that the survey found that in the Cantonese cuisine area represented by Guangzhou and Foshan, the intake of fast food convenience food was the highest among the residents of the three cuisine areas, and there was a lack of food diversity. "This is related to the fact that there are more busy office workers in the two major cities, but too much takeaway or convenience food, food diversity will inevitably be limited, and it is easy to be high oil and salt." Peng suggested that the frequency and amount of eating out and ordering takeaway should be minimized, and if this is unavoidable, try not to repeat the dishes for Chinese food and dinner. At the same time, it is paired with fresh fruits and vegetables and dairy products to achieve food variety and maintain a balance of eating. If daily balance is difficult to achieve, aim to maintain it within a week.

Peng Jiwen said that the residents of the Hakka cuisine area represented by Meizhou and Shaoguan are the only ones in the three major cuisines to achieve the recommended intake of soybeans and nuts, which is related to the traditional specialties such as Hakka stuffed tofu and soybeans stewed with pig's trotters often eaten in the Hakka area. However, Peng Jiawen reminded that Hakka cuisine recipes are salty, and dry cured products occupy a prominent position, dry cured products not only use more salt, but also excessive oxidation of oil and fat are also prone to food safety problems, long-term consumption brings risks to human health. Therefore, residents of the region should pay attention to reducing the intake of processed meat products such as poultry meat products and pork products.

Peng Jiwen reminded that in the survey, it was found that one indicator in the Chaoshan area was seriously lower than the recommended value: "The residents of the Chaoshan area represented by Chaozhou and Shantou, the average daily consumption of aquatic products is the highest among the three major cuisines, so in addition to controlling the intake of livestock meat, it is also necessary to properly control the intake of aquatic products." It is worth noting that among the three major cuisines, only the average intake of vegetables in the Chaoshan vegetable area is lower than the recommended amount, only 168.4g, which is a little more than half of the recommended lower limit of 300g. Therefore, residents in Chaoshan vegetable areas should pay special attention to increasing the intake of vegetables. ”

Ma Wenjun, director of the Department of Nutrition of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, reminded that vegetables and fruits cannot replace each other, especially for children, not simply replace vegetables with fruits, and cultivate healthy and balanced eating habits from an early age.

For many Guangdong people's "favorite" old fire soup, Dr. Wang Ping of Guangdong Institute of Biological Products and Drugs reminded that if you are worried about high purine, you can shorten the soup cooking time, and secondly, you can partially (such as 2 days a week) replace it with grain porridge.