Speech on diet and health

There has never been a unified standard answer to healthy eating. You don’t need to memorize complicated recipes, memorize a whole list of taboos, and you don’t have to force yourself to eat “healthy meals” that you don’t like to eat. The core logic is just three words – “suitable for you.”

Let me tell you something that just happened last week. In order to lose weight, my sister followed an online blogger and ate boiled vegetables for three days. She had to rinse chicken breast three times with water. As a result, at 2 a.m. on the fourth day, I was called by her and went with her to the convenience store downstairs to buy two boxes of snail noodles. The spicy and smelly kind. After eating it, my stomach burned for two days, and I was two pounds heavier than before. Are you saying what she eats isn't "healthy" enough? You can't go wrong in terms of calories and nutrient ratios, but if you just can't stick to it, it will damage your gastrointestinal and metabolism. This kind of "healthy diet" is actually of no use at all.

At this point, someone may want to ask, with so many popular diet systems on the Internet, including ketogenic, Mediterranean, vegan, and primitive diets, which one is right? To be honest, there is no absolute right or wrong, only suitability. I have talked with friends in the nutrition department of the hospital before. The ketogenic diet can indeed quickly regulate blood sugar and reduce body fat when used in the short term on obese people with abnormal glucose metabolism. However, if ordinary people try it blindly, they are likely to suffer from hair loss, menstrual disorders, and in severe cases, ketoacidosis. ； The Mediterranean diet is supported by decades of evidence-based medical evidence and can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, if you have a Chinese stomach that can’t do without stir-fried vegetables and makes you feel nauseous when eating lettuce, and you force yourself to swallow olive oil mixed with vegetables every day, you will be exhausted after a week at most. There is also the controversial issue of vegetarianism. I know an aunt who has been vegetarian for ten years and her physical indicators are better than those of her peers. However, there is also a little girl who followed the vegetarian trend and developed iron deficiency anemia for half a year. She feels dizzy when standing. The difference lies in whether she knows how to match it and whether she adjusts it according to her physical condition.

I met an uncle when I was doing dietary guidance in the community. After he was diagnosed with high blood pressure, the doctor asked him to eat a low-sodium diet. He simply threw away the salt shaker at home and did not even dare to touch soy sauce when eating. As a result, he was exhausted for half a month and was admitted to the hospital. His blood sodium was as low as the warning line. Later, we adjusted the plan for him and switched to low-sodium salt. He usually uses natural ingredients such as mushrooms, dried shrimps, and white pepper to enhance the freshness of his dishes. He does not have to completely give up salt. He has been persisting for almost a year now, his blood pressure is very stable, and he does not worry about the lack of taste when eating. There is really no need to turn eating into a chemistry experiment. Use a kitchen scale to weigh the grams of each dish. If you eat an extra bite, you will feel guilty. It is completely unnecessary.

There is also a topic that everyone has been arguing about for many years: Does eating porridge nourish the stomach? The older generation says that porridge is soft and makes the stomach feel good after drinking it. Young science bloggers say that white porridge raises blood sugar quickly and long-term consumption will degrade the digestive function of the stomach. Both sides are right. If you have just had gastric surgery, or you have gastritis and are in too much pain to eat, drinking warm porridge for two days can indeed reduce the burden on your gastrointestinal tract. However, if you are a healthy person and eat white porridge as your staple food every day, you will not only be hungry easily, but your blood sugar will rise quickly and you will also gain weight. Especially for diabetics, you really need to avoid white porridge. Some people also asked whether milk tea should not be drunk at all? Of course not, the sugar content of a cup of full-sugar milk tea does exceed the recommended daily intake, but if you drink one or two cups of three-sugar milk tea a month and feel happy for a long time after drinking it, the sugar will be consumed in two extra steps, which is better than enduring it until the end and showing off three cups at once.

When I was working on a project, I ate takeout every day. I had acne and constipation on my face. I didn’t make any drastic changes in my diet. I just made a note every time I ordered takeout: “Put more vegetables, less salt and less spicy.” When I got hungry in the afternoon, I didn’t take potato chips as a snack. I replaced them with an apple or a small handful of plain nuts. I was back to my normal state in less than half a month. If there are any tips that are easy to use, just use your hand as a measuring tool: for one meal, eat a fist-sized portion of staple food, and half of it is best to replace it with grains such as corn and sweet potatoes. Then eat a palm of meat, including pork, beef, sheep, chicken, fish, and shrimp, and add a fist and a half of vegetables. You don’t need to count the calories, and it’s enough.

In fact, in the final analysis, diet is to serve your life, not to shackle you. I have seen people who, for the sake of "health", dare not go to dinner parties with friends. The meals cooked by their families are too oily and too salty. They gnaw on boiled vegetables every day and complain that life is boring. I really can't do that. You like to eat hot pot, crayfish, and barbecue once or twice a month. As long as you don't overdo it, it won't affect your health at all. A long-term, comfortable, and sustainable balance is much more useful than any short-term extreme self-discipline.

Thank you all.