10 smart fruits and vegetables to help you lose weight and improve your memory

Primary school students are overweight, and there are many "little fat kids" running around the streets. What's wrong with their diet? According to the latest survey and national nutrition investigation conducted by the Tung Foundation, elementary school children do not like nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables. Instead, they prefer high-sugar, high-fat, and high-calorie foods. These foods are not only prone to constipation and related diseases such as colorectal cancer, but their learning performance is also 2 to 4.8 times lower than that of children who generally consume a healthy diet!

Eating enough fruits and vegetables can not only help digestion and gastrointestinal motility, but also help children's brain development and memory.

According to the 2015 National Food Intake Database, the daily vegetable and fruit intake of elementary school children in Taiwan is only 223.66 grams (about 2 servings) of vegetables, and only 106.94 grams of fruit. Both are lower than the recommended daily dietary intake for elementary school children in grades 1 to 6, which is 3 to 4 servings of vegetables and fruits each. The fiber intake is clearly insufficient.

Eating enough fruits and vegetables can help children's brain development and memory

Fruits and vegetables are rich in dietary fiber, vitamin C and a variety of phytochemicals. Eating enough fruits and vegetables can not only help digestion and gastrointestinal motility, but also help children's brain development and memory. As for a high-fiber diet, it can promote the production of short-chain fatty acids and inhibit the growth of bad bacteria in the intestines.

Insufficient good bacteria in the intestines can also easily lead to problems. Xu Huiyu, director of the Food Nutrition Group of the Tung Foundation, pointed out that according to a foreign report investigating the number of good bacteria in the intestines of primary school children in Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, it was found that although Taiwan ranked in the middle class, compared with Japan, which has the largest number of good bacteria, its intestines only have one-third of the amount of Japanese students, while the number of bad bacteria is 15 to 30 times higher than that of Japanese students.

The Tung Foundation calls for the best way to consume fruits and vegetables to remember to eat all colors of fruits and vegetables, especially dark green vegetables. It also proposes 10 kinds of "Top 10 Smart Fruits and Vegetables" that help memory and brain development, including: grapefruit, citrus, kiwi, banana, grapes, broccoli, blueberries and strawberries, spinach, tomatoes, and apples. It recommends that children consume more of them to take into account brain development and balanced nutrition.

Artist Alyssa Chia also strongly supports the spirit of from farm to table.

Happy mom Alyssa Chia has transformed herself into a health ambassador, calling for attention to the correct dietary education concepts for children.

From farm to table, the Healthy Children Global Project continues to advance

In order to awaken children to the importance of consuming fruits and vegetables and to implement them into their daily eating habits, the "Healthy Kids Global Program" that continues to promote children's nutrition and health has entered its sixth year in Taiwan. This year, special emphasis is placed on the concept of "from farm to table," hoping that children can understand the origins of food, identify and consume truly nutritious food, and further appreciate and cherish food.

Artist Alyssa Chia also strongly supports the spirit of "from farm to table", and actually went to Zhuangwei Elementary School in Yilan to participate in food education courses with the children. She went to the farm to dig soil with the children to plant lettuce and harvest herbs. At the same time, she also kneaded the dough with the children, using the most natural ingredients from the farm as ingredients, and experienced the kiln-baked pumpkin pizza firsthand. We also worked with the children to harvest fresh mint, stevia and lemon balm to make healthy, delicious and worry-free herbal tea.

Assistant Professor Wang Songyuan from the Department of Food Nutrition and Health Biotechnology at Shih Chien University led six students, including Cai Qiaolin, Zhang Shuyu, Wu Xuanhui, Chen Ziying, Cheng Yunqun, and Li Peiru, to demonstrate a creative feast. Different from the traditional method, no cream is used as the sauce for smearing turkey, and no meat sauce or cranberry sauce is used as the dipping sauce. Instead, refreshing lemon and orange are used as the sauce, which is not only non-greasy, but also can add fruity aroma and remove greasiness. The menu features a large amount of fruits and vegetables, so you can take in various nutrients while enjoying delicious food.