Eat less rice dumplings during Dragon Boat Festival to avoid excessive calories and sodium

The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and hundreds of "zongzi" are in fashion. No matter which special type of zongzi it is, each has its own "fans". However, nutritionists remind us that the calorie and sodium content of zongzi and dipping sauce are generally high. Eating too much of it can easily cause fat to creep on, and may even increase blood pressure or blood sugar due to excessive intake of salt or sugar.

Lin Yongpei, a nutritionist at the Department of Nutrition at the Zhongxing branch of Taipei City United Hospital, said that in northern China, rice dumplings are made by first cooking the glutinous rice, mixing it with the marinade, then wrapping it with fillings such as braised meat and peanuts, and then steaming it in a steamer. Southern rice dumplings are made by mixing raw glutinous rice with a marinade, then wrapping it with peanuts, braised meat and other fillings, and then cooking it in water. Generally speaking, northern zongzi has more calories than southern zongzi because it is fried with oil. On average, a Taiwanese meat zongzi has about 400 to 500 calories.

In addition, modern people have a heavier taste in food and often add a lot of extra seasonings when enjoying delicious food. When eating rice dumplings, people will unconsciously add seasoning sauces such as sweet and spicy sauce, sea mountain sauce, garlic sauce, soy sauce, chili sauce, etc. Some people even dip southern rice dumplings in peanut powder and sauces before eating them, which invisibly increases calorie intake.

Lin Yongpei said that in addition to calories, the sodium content in seasoning sauces is also quite alarming. For example, 10 grams of sweet and spicy sauce contains 192 mg of sodium, and 10 grams of garlic sauce contains as much as 312 mg. Assuming that about 10 to 30 grams of sauce is used in a meal, the amount of sodium consumed may be as high as 1000 mg (about 2.5 grams of salt). If the salt in the meals is added, the three meals a day will easily exceed the National Dietary Guidelines recommended by the Department of Health, which states that the daily sodium intake should not exceed 2400 mg (about 6 grams of salt).

Nutritionists remind us that when enjoying delicious rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival, we should follow the "four less and one more" principle - less oil, less salt, less sugar, less sauce, and more fruits and vegetables. Especially patients with hypertension, chronic renal failure, and diabetes should pay special attention to this in order to have a healthy Dragon Boat Festival.