Eating too little protein? The National Health and Family Planning Commission slaps the issue in the face ~ Nutritionists identify five major causes of excessive protein intake

Modern people eat out frequently and have an unbalanced diet. They often think that they are not getting enough protein. However, a survey by the National Health Administration shows that more than half of adults "eat too much" beans, fish, eggs and meat, which are the main sources of protein. Long-term unbalanced diet may lead to malnutrition. Nutrition experts have analyzed the reasons why Chinese people consume too much protein and found that these five habits may be the culprits!

Protein can provide energy, improve immune function, regulate hormones and build body tissues. It is one of the three important nutrients for maintaining human health. According to the latest version of the "Daily Dietary Guidelines" in 2018, among the six major food categories, "beans, fish, eggs, and meat" are the main sources of protein. Depending on personal age, gender, activity intensity, etc., each person should consume 3 to 8 servings of beans, fish, eggs, and meat every day.

Among the six major food categories in the Chinese people's "Daily Dietary Guidelines", "beans, fish, eggs and meat" are the main sources of protein.

A large chicken steak contains 6 servings of protein, it is difficult not to exceed the limit

Although the issue of "insufficient protein intake" has been hotly discussed in China in recent years, in fact, according to the National Health Administration's "2013-2016 National Nutritional Health Status Change Survey Results", it was found that if the daily calorie requirement of 2,000 calories is estimated based on the recommended amount of six major dietary categories, 53% of adults aged 19 to 64 in my country consume an average of 6 servings of beans, fish, eggs and meat per day that exceeds the recommended intake, indicating a phenomenon of "overeating" protein.

Hou Wenyi, director of the nutrition department of St. Martin's Hospital, said that 1 serving of protein is equivalent to 30 grams of cooked meat, and a small chicken drumstick contains 2.5 to 3 servings of protein, not to mention the chicken steak known as the "national delicacy". If a large commercially available chicken steak weighs 200 grams, eating a whole piece is equivalent to supplementing more than 6 servings of protein. If other protein foods of the day are added, such as soy milk, tofu, egg dishes, etc., it is easy to cause the protein intake to exceed the limit.

The westernization of Chinese people's diet and the use of meat as staple food may also be a very important reason for excessive protein intake.

Eating too much protein - Nutrition experts find out the reason

Why do modern young, middle-aged and middle-aged adults often eat too much protein? According to the observation and analysis of nutrition experts, there are five main reasons, including:

1. The habit of eating as much as you can:

Jin Meiyun, president of the National Federation of Nutritionists Associations of the Republic of China, said that modern people like to choose "all-you-can-eat" restaurants when dining out or having dinner together. Driven by the mentality of "eating back their investment", many people will first choose a large amount of high-priced meat, thinking that the more meat they eat, the more cost-effective it is, which often leads to excessive protein intake.

2. Too little intake of fruits and vegetables:

Nutritionist Jin Meiyun said that fruits and vegetables are rich in dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins, which help increase satiety and reduce excessive intake of protein and fat due to hunger. In addition, fresh fruits and vegetables also contain a variety of phytochemicals, which can enhance antioxidant capacity and help stay away from various chronic diseases and cancers.

However, according to the "2013-2016 National Nutritional Health Changes Survey Results", 86% of adults aged 19 to 64 in our country consume less than 3 servings of vegetables per day, and 86% consume less than 2 servings of fruit. The imbalance in diet is quite obvious.

3. Take meat as the staple food:

Nutritionist Hou Wenyi believes that the westernization of Chinese people's diet and the use of meat as staple food may also be a very important reason for excessive protein intake. She explained that in the poor agricultural society of the past, meat and eggs were very precious foods, so people's diet generally consisted of rice, vegetables and pickles. However, with the advent of industrialization and commercialization, the Taiwanese economy has improved, and the Western diet with meat as the staple food has been introduced to Taiwan. Not only do steak restaurants specialize in large-ounce steaks, but even night market vendors are selling more and more grilled meat.

Simply supplementing protein without exercising, or exercising but not enough, may lead to excessive protein intake.

4. The trend of increasing muscle and reducing fat:

In recent years, the slogan of "gain muscle and lose fat" has been widely circulated, leading many people to think that eating more protein can help lose weight. In fact, to achieve the goal of increasing muscle and reducing fat through protein, the prerequisite is "exercise"! Exercise helps convert the protein you consume into muscle, prolongs your ability to burn fat during exercise, and improves the effect of weight loss. If you simply supplement protein without exercising, or if you exercise but the amount of exercise is not enough, you may end up consuming too much protein. Every gram of protein contains about 4 calories. If you eat too much protein for a long time, you will gain weight!

5. Not understanding the concept of portion size:

A group of people consume too much protein, which may be due to a misunderstanding of "food portion size". Nutritionist Hou Wenyi shared her experience in clinical health education, mentioning that some people mistakenly believed that "1 serving of meat = 1 fist size". In fact, the fist is a reference for calculating the amount of fruit. 1 fist-sized orange is equivalent to 1 serving of fruit. As for meat, "1 serving" is equivalent to 30 grams of cooked pork, beef, chicken, duck and other poultry meat. If the fist size is mistakenly used as the basis for calculating meat portions, it can easily lead to excessive meat and protein intake.

To supplement protein, there are tricks to eating beans, fish, eggs and meat!

What is the correct way to consume protein? According to the latest revised "Daily Dietary Guidelines" in 2017, it is recommended that when choosing protein foods, you can follow the priority order of "beans → fish and seafood → eggs → poultry and livestock meat". It should be noted that nutritionist Jin Meiyun emphasized that there is no so-called golden ratio of intake among the four food groups of "beans, fish, eggs and meat", and they can be replaced with each other.

Nutritionist Hou Wenyi suggests that if you need to consume 6 servings of beans, fish, eggs and meat every day, it is recommended to consume 1 serving each of beans and bean products, fish and seafood, eggs, and meat. The remaining 2 servings should be evenly distributed among 2 of them on one day, and then distributed to the other 2 the next day. This way, you can better meet the principle of balanced intake of various foods and maintain your health.

[Nutrition Elementary School] How to calculate the amount of beans, fish, eggs and meat?

In the Chinese people's daily dietary guidelines, "beans, fish, eggs and meat" are the main sources of protein food and should be consumed 3 to 8 servings a day, but how much is each serving? In addition to the "30 grams of cooked meat = 1 serving" mentioned above, people can also refer to the following example from the National Health Administration and do the calculations themselves!