Choosing food for the Mid-Autumn Festival is easy ~ 5 tips for people with chronic diseases to stay healthy

The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the family gathers together for barbecue, moon-watching, eating moon cakes and grapefruits. Before enjoying the happy holiday of reunion or gathering with friends, if patients with chronic diseases can master the dietary tips and tricks provided by nutritionists, they can maintain their relationships while taking care of their health.

Tip 1: Enjoy fresh and natural food

When choosing meat for barbecue, it is recommended to use mainly fresh ingredients and avoid processed foods such as sausages, bacon or meatballs to reduce excessive intake of salt and food additives. Regarding the selection of fresh meat, it is recommended to choose white meat (chicken, fish, seafood) to replace red meat such as pork and beef, or to choose meat with lower fat content such as tenderloin and sirloin. These are good choices for patients who need to control blood lipids.

Burnt food will produce carcinogens such as isocyclic amines, acrylamide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. It is recommended to cover the barbecue net with tin foil to prevent oil dripping from the food from causing a big fire and burning the food, and the oil droplets heated by the charcoal fire from cracking and producing a large amount of carcinogens such as "polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons"! Ingredients that are difficult to cook thoroughly can be blanched or microwaved before baking to avoid burnt outside and raw inside.

Tip 2: Eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables

In addition to fish and meat, fruits and vegetables are also indispensable at barbecue occasions, because the secret to increasing the balance of diet is fruits and vegetables! Various vegetables and fruits are rich in different phytochemicals and vitamins. Vegetables such as lettuce, green peppers, enoki mushrooms, corn shoots, large tomatoes, etc. are all suitable for enjoying with barbecue. After grilling, you can pair it with a serving of fruit rich in vitamin C, such as guava and citrus fruits, which are good for anti-oxidation and reducing free radicals, and also assist in the absorption of iron.

For dialysis patients, since lettuce contains a large amount of potassium ions, it is recommended that vegetables should be blanched before consumption; as for fruits, avoid excessive intake of high-potassium fruits such as cantaloupe, cherry tomatoes, and kiwi fruit.

Because pomelo and grapefruit contain furanocoumarin, which can inhibit the body's enzymes that metabolize certain drugs, patients taking certain medications such as antihypertensives, antilipidemics, anticoagulants or immunosuppressants should avoid consuming pomelo or grapefruit during medication to avoid unnecessary drug-food interactions that may cause adverse reactions.

Tip 3: Choose sauces carefully to keep healthy

Most barbecue sauces available on the market have a high sodium content. If applied repeatedly or thickly, it is easy to invisibly ingest a large amount of salt, which is not conducive to blood pressure control. It is recommended to apply a thin layer of barbecue sauce after grilling, or change to dipping sauce. This can not only reduce sodium, but also allow you to taste the delicious original flavor of the ingredients themselves. When cooking marinated steaks, chicken legs and other ingredients, there is no need to apply barbecue sauce for seasoning; in addition, diluting commercially available barbecue sauce or using sour fruits such as lemons and grapefruits to make your own low-sodium healthy barbecue sauce is also a good idea!

Tip 4: Smart pairing of healthy drinks

It is inevitable to have some drinks when grilling, but what should patients with chronic diseases pay attention to when choosing drinks? It is recommended that patients with diabetes avoid sugary drinks such as fruit juice and bubble tea. Because sugary drinks have a large and rapid impact on blood sugar fluctuations and are not conducive to blood sugar stability, it is recommended to choose sugar-free drinks such as boiled water and lemonade. In addition, sugar-free teas such as green tea, oolong tea, and brown rice tea are also very suitable. If you want to taste sweetness, you can also add sugar substitutes. Because sugar substitutes will not have a direct impact on blood sugar, if you use sugar substitutes in moderation within a safe range, you don’t need to worry about blood sugar getting out of control!

Tip 5: Share a little to reduce burden

There are many types of mooncakes on the market, the most well-known of which are Cantonese-style mooncakes. Their thin and soft crust is made of invert sugar syrup, peanut oil and alkaline water. In order to create a dense and delicate, melt-in-the-mouth texture, red bean and lotus seed fillings need to be added with equal amounts of oil and sugar to create such a texture. Therefore, the calories in mooncakes should not be underestimated. A large portion of Cantonese-style mooncakes (about 180g) actually has calories close to three bowls of rice!

For patients with chronic diseases, the most recommended way to eat mooncakes is to enjoy them with family and friends. It is recommended to choose mooncakes with snow skin mooncakes that use cornstarch or glutinous rice flour instead of crispy skin, or smaller portions of taro crisps or mung bean cakes.

As long as you follow the principle of just tasting a little, you can not only enjoy the flavor of the mooncakes without worrying about putting too much burden on your body, but you can also share the joy with your family and friends!

Conclusion

Whether you are barbecuing or eating mooncakes with everyone, if you pay more attention to the details of your diet and wisely choose the types and portions of food that are suitable for the occasion, people with chronic diseases can also enjoy delicious food and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with peace of mind.