The aroma of barbecue during the Mid-Autumn Festival: less meat and more vegetables for patients with chronic diseases

The annual Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and it is time for families to get together for fun. Barbecue is always indispensable at this time. However, nutritionists remind that patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease and hypertension should pay special attention to their diet. When barbecuing, they should replace meat with more vegetables and use less sauce to avoid excessive intake of substances harmful to the body.

Barbecuing during the Mid-Autumn Festival is a custom that coincides with the occasion, but nutritionists remind patients with chronic diseases to pay attention to their personal diet, use less barbecue sauce, reduce meat intake, and eat more fruits and vegetables.

Chen Yirui, a nutritionist at Taichung Veterans General Hospital, said that diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and hypertension are common chronic diseases among the Chinese people. Due to different causes and symptoms, there are also key points to pay attention to in diet. The following are dietary reminders for the Mid-Autumn Festival family reunion barbecue:

Diabetes: Eat a balanced diet and eat no more than two small slices of grapefruit after meals

People with diabetes should have a balanced diet on a daily basis, avoiding a diet heavy on meat while neglecting whole grains, root vegetables and vegetables. When barbecuing during the Mid-Autumn Festival, you can choose corn, sweet potatoes, rice blood cake, or use toast to sandwich meat as a source of whole grains and root vegetables to avoid the problem of hypoglycemia after taking medication.

In addition, diabetic patients should try to choose grilled vegetables, such as mushrooms, green peppers, bamboo shoots, loofah, etc. In addition to increasing dietary fiber intake to stabilize blood sugar, it can also increase satiety. Meat intake should mainly consist of white meat, such as grilled saury, skinless grilled chicken, etc., to reduce the intake of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol. The recommended serving of fruit after a meal is 1 serving, which is approximately equal to two small slices of grapefruit. Just taste it lightly.

Chronic kidney disease: Avoid grapefruit if you have low protein, sodium, or potassium

For patients with chronic kidney disease in stages 1 to 3, their dietary protein intake needs to be particularly limited, with the principle being 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. When consuming meat, you can eat it with vegetables or low-nitrogen starch foods, such as sweet potatoes, vermicelli and rice noodles, to increase the sense of bulk.

Kidney patients also need to limit their sodium intake. They can make use of the flavor of the ingredients themselves to reduce the use of seasonings, such as onions, mushrooms, lemons, etc. If you want to use barbecue sauce when grilling, you can dilute it with water or white vinegar, or you can add chopped green onions or grated radish to reduce the amount of sauce used. In addition, grapefruit, which is popular in this season, is a high-potassium fruit and should be avoided.

Hypertension: It is recommended to eat more fruits and vegetables and supplement calcium

In addition to traditional dietary recommendations for hypertension, the "DASH diet" that advocates high potassium, high calcium, low sodium, low saturated fatty acids and low cholesterol is more effective in controlling blood pressure. When choosing a diet during the Mid-Autumn Festival, increasing the amount of vegetables and fruits can increase potassium intake. When grilling meat, you can use low-fat shredded cheese to make it grilled flavor, or drink a glass of milk to supplement calcium. Dark green vegetables and small fish with bones are also sources of calcium. As for low sodium, the principle is the same as for chronic kidney disease: reduce the use of seasoning sauces.

For patients with hypertension, they can choose deep-sea fish or skinless chicken as meat, or replace meat with soy products to reduce the intake of saturated fat and cholesterol. When choosing oils, olive oil and canola oil with high content of monounsaturated fatty acids are the first choice. It is recommended to replace one portion of oil with one portion of nuts every day to supplement high-quality oils and minerals.