The older you get, the more you eat staple foods

Eat less staple food for dinner, eat less staple food for weight loss, eat less staple food for diabetes... In recent years, there has been a lot of criticism about staple food, which seems to be the root of all evil. But a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences confirms that staple food intake is associated with mortality at all ages, and that moderate increases in staple food intake, especially after age 50, can reduce mortality the most.

Staple food intake is strongly associated with mortality

Researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales analyzed data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and 1,879 mortality data from 103 countries and regions from 1961 to 2016, and confirmed that the energy supply ratio of carbohydrate, fat and protein is a strong predictor of mortality at different ages. The study found that under 20 years of age, 16 percent of energy from protein and about 42 percent each from carbohydrates and fats were associated with the lowest mortality rate. After 20 years, the energy supply ratio of carbohydrate increased slowly, the energy supply ratio of fat decreased gradually, and the energy supply ratio of protein changed little. In later life (around 60 for men and 70 for women), the energy ratio changes dramatically: protein drops to 11 percent, fat to 22 percent and carbohydrates to 67 percent, when mortality is lowest. That is to say, with age, the proportion of carbohydrate energy supply should gradually increase.

The findings come as a shock to the conventional wisdom that people should not eat too much staple food and limit protein as their metabolism and digestion weaken after age 65. The researchers suggest that middle-aged and elderly people adopt a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet, and moderate reduction in protein, more conducive to longevity; The "ketogenic diet", which is characterized by high fat and low carbohydrate, is harmful to healthy middle-aged and elderly people.

In recent years, new research on staple foods has been coming out. Research published in The Lancet Public Health in 2018 showed similar trends: Starting at age 50, people who ate a moderate amount of carbohydrates could expect to live an average of 33 years; People who ate too few carbohydrates lost four years of their lives. Eating too much shortens one year of life. A 2019 study published in the European Heart Journal found that a low-carb diet was significantly associated with an increased risk of death, with those with the lowest carbohydrate intake having a 32% increased risk of all-cause death and a 50% increased risk of cardiovascular death.

Staple food has always played a leading role on the Chinese dinner table. Zhang Jian, director of the geriatric and Clinical Nutrition Department at the Nutrition and Health Institute of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that in the past, people were mostly engaged in heavy manual labor and had only one type of food. The staple food was subsistence food. However, in the past 30 or 40 years, the grain yield has increased, the processing technology has improved, and the staple food has become more refined. However, eating too much white rice and noodles is not healthy, so the concept of low-carbon healthy diet has been created. But now it seems that it has been overcorrected. For example, in many restaurants, food is served first, with only a small bowl of rice for each person or a plate for multiple people, and more than half of the people don't eat main food at all. Dieters go even further, cutting out meat and staple foods and replacing them with boiled vegetables or fruit. Chronic disease patients also regard staple food as the main cause of sugar rise, leading to many elderly people dare not eat staple food.

Statistics show that in the past 20 years, the consumption of staple food has decreased significantly. In 2002, the consumption of cereal was 21% lower than in 1982 and 10% lower than in 1992, and it is still falling. In 2011, the White Paper of Dietary Health of Chinese White Collars conducted a survey of white collars in five major cities in China. According to the survey, nearly 40 percent of them consumed less than 250 grams of staple food every day, which did not meet the recommendation of 250~400 grams of grain and potato in the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016). The intake of staple food in the elderly is even less optimistic. From 2002 to 2012, the intake of staple food in the urban elderly aged 60 to 74 was 231 grams per day, while the intake of staple food in the elderly aged over 75 was only 206 grams. Although the overall intake in rural areas was better than that in urban areas, it was also lower than the national average (300.8 g).

Staple foods maintain the normal operation of brain, bones, muscles, etc

All the time, people have a lot of misunderstandings about staple food: eat to seven or eight full, so deliberately reduce the intake of staple food; Eating more staple food will raise sugar fat...... In fact, since ancient times, the Huangdi Neijing believes that "five grains are nutritious", and the dietary guidelines regard staple foods as the cornerstone of the dietary pyramid.

Zhang explained that the academic community has always remained sober and advocated a "balanced diet" for the public, never asking people to reduce or even eliminate staple food. It is more recommended that people eat less white rice noodles and more whole grains, that is, without fine processing or after grinding, grinding, pressing and other processing, still retain the endosperm, germ, bran and natural nutrients of the whole grain. For example, brown rice, whole wheat flour, oats, corn, millet, buckwheat and so on. However, some "we media" take their words out of context and turn them into statements such as "eating more staple foods such as rice and noodles may make you die earlier".

Zuo Xiaoxia, director of the Nutrition Department of the Eighth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital, said that cereal is rich in starch, which is the main source of carbon and water in most foods. After people chew and swallow, it is hydrolyzed into glucose which can be absorbed and used by the human body in the intestine. It provides daily energy and is of great significance to maintain body tissue activities and nervous system operation. Therefore, protein, fat, etc., can not replace the staple food to play a role.

Promote gastrointestinal peristalsis. In staple food, coarse grain potato and bean are rich in dietary fiber. Sufficient dietary fiber will greatly increase the number of intestinal flora, which is conducive to preventing constipation and promoting intestinal peristalsis. Dietary fiber has a strong sense of satiety, thus reducing food intake, more conducive to weight control, help lose weight.

Enhance human immunity. The staple food is rich in vitamins and minerals, especially B vitamins, magnesium, calcium and so on. People who often do not eat staple foods are prone to micronutrient deficiencies. People who do not eat staple food for a long time, mild inattention, fatigue, lethargy, serious people can appear memory loss, constipation, halitosis, menstrual disorders, muscle weakness, anemia, shivering and other symptoms.

Regulate blood sugar. Many diabetics hate staple foods, but they don't raise sugar themselves. On the contrary, if diabetic patients eat less than three or two staple foods a day, glucose-raising hormones in the body will rise quickly, which will not only increase blood sugar, but also produce a large number of metabolites, aggravate the burden of liver and kidney, and also lead to hypoglycemia.

Zuo Xiaoxia stressed that the staple food of the elderly can not be easily cut. Because carbohydrates are an important source of maintaining brain function, bone and muscle operation, once the staple food is eaten less, it is necessary to "waste" more protein to supply energy for the body, and in the long run, the weight and muscle mass will be seriously lost. The elderly may also suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, which are detrimental to their health. Therefore, healthy old people, do not because of the growth of age, digestive ability decline, on a large number of staple food intake, and even replace staple food with protein, which may backfire.

Eat good staple food four tips

The two experts suggest the following points to pay attention to when eating the main food in daily life:

A golden ratio. Normal people should follow the scientific dietary pattern of "carbohydrate 50%~65%, fat 20%~30%, protein 10%~15%". The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends that the daily intake of cereals and potatoes is 250 to 400 grams, about equal to the weight of two or three bowls of rice (a bowl of rice is about 150 grams). Every meal is not recommended to be white rice noodles, coarse grain accounted for 20%~30% of the staple food. The elderly should maintain a daily carbohydrate energy ratio of no less than 50%, protein no more than 20%, and fat no more than 30%.

Serve with at least one whole grain. When steaming white rice, you can add kaoliang rice, quinoa, brown rice and other grains. When cooking porridge, you can add millet, purple rice, oats, nuts and so on. When pancakes or steamed buns are mixed with corn flour and black rice noodles, they can not only increase minerals, B vitamins and dietary fiber and other nutrients, but also enrich the taste. Red beans, kidney beans, mung beans, chickpeas, broad beans and other beans, when eaten with cereal, can provide a good complement of protein.

Yam appropriate substitution. In addition to white rice noodles, potato can play a role in replacing part of the staple food, potato, sweet potato, taro, yam and other potatoes can be consumed 50 to 100 grams per day, which is rich in dietary fiber and vitamin C, can promote intestinal peristalsis. A study from the University of Pennsylvania found that eating potatoes every day was associated with better diet quality, blood levels and overall health than eating refined grains. Potatoes are high in potassium content, suitable for people with high blood pressure.

Cook it differently. Staple foods such as fried rice, fritters, deep-fried dough sticks, rice cakes and jjajang noodles may contain excessive amounts of oil, salt and sugar. In addition to eating as little as possible, you can also change the cooking method, fried rice, fried noodles can only put oil once, with a non-stick pan to fry; Do fritters, shortcakes, etc., do not fry, can try steaming; With fillings of staple food, to put less fat meat, more vegetables, soy products and other ingredients.

Zhang Jian reminds, three meals a day, according to personal habits to allocate the intake of staple food. For example, young people often have breakfast delayed or delayed because of commuting, but no matter what, breakfast must have staple food, which is the energy source of the day's work and study. Middle-aged people have dinner time to socialize, drink too much, do not eat staple food, should be aware of "add a meal", to avoid the health risks of not eating staple food. The old man has plenty of time, so he should try to do a rich breakfast, a little more staple food, mixed grains and potatoes, and add some meat, eggs, milk, nuts, side dishes and so on.

Old age, weak, poor digestive ability of the elderly, can reduce the intake of coarse grains, eat more porridge, rice paste, rice milk, can also be fine coarse grains. For example, the use of pressure cooker cooking, porridge, mixed noodles to make noodles, etc. For elderly people with diabetes, the recommended daily intake of staple food is 250~400 grams. The food should not be too soft and rotten. Eat together with meat, eggs, aquatic products, soybeans and vegetables, which can inhibit the rapid rise of blood sugar. If blood sugar control is not good, you can eat less staple food, but you should properly add more meals between every two meals, and keep the blood sugar stable.