The golden ratio of New Year's Eve dinner is 631, which reduces the burden on the stomach

As the Spring Festival approaches, nutritionists from the New Taipei City United Hospital advise the public to reduce the burden on their gastrointestinal tract during the holidays. It is best to follow the "631" golden ratio dietary principle, that is, staple foods account for 58% to 68%, fats account for 20% to 30%, and meat accounts for 10 to 14%. That is to say, if you prepare 10 dishes for the New Year's Eve gathering, you only need to prepare 1 dish of meat, and the rest of the dishes should be mainly high-fiber vegetables.

New Taipei City Health Bureau Deputy Director Lin Jinfu (second from right) and nutritionist Tian Shuqing (first from right) urge the public to eat healthily during the Spring Festival. (Photo courtesy of New Taipei City Health Bureau)

The New Taipei City Health Bureau specially arranged for professional nutritionists to work together with restaurant chefs to launch the "Year of the Dragon, Good Luck, Health and Happiness - New Taipei City DIY New Year's Dishes" recipe book at the city hall on the 11th. The recipes for the two tables, each with six dishes for six people, are named after the homonym of "six six great luck". Please visit the Department of Health website: http://www.health.ntpc.gov.tw/ to download the recipes.

Tian Shuqing, a nutritionist at the Municipal United Hospital, said that in addition to more vegetables in New Year's dishes, chefs should also pay attention to the general principle of less oil, less salt and less sugar. Because sausages, bacon, smoked meat, etc. in New Year's foods are high in salt foods, consuming too much salt at one time will increase the burden on the heart and kidneys.

It should be noted that low salt is actually not difficult. The key is to choose more fresh meat and vegetables, and less bacon, sausage, pickled fish and pickled vegetables, such as mustard tuber, sauerkraut, dried bamboo shoots, kimchi, pickled plums, snow vegetable, preserved radish, etc., which have a high salt content.

For example, shrimp is a dish that often appears in New Year's dishes. According to traditional customs, eating shrimp represents that everyone will have both gold and silver this year. Although shrimp meat is a very suitable seafood to eat, the only bad thing is the paste in the shrimp head, which is very high in cholesterol. Therefore, it is recommended to remove the shrimp head when cooking lobster, or steam it with garlic, which can lower blood lipids and protect the cardiovascular system; it can also be cooked with natto to prevent cardiovascular disease. But if any family member has high uric acid, do not add natto.

Tian Shuqing also reminded housewives that it is best to prepare New Year's dishes by steaming, boiling, blanching, stewing, roasting, braising, and cold dressing without adding extra oil, which can reduce the amount of oil used compared to frying, deep-frying, and pan-frying. In addition, you can put the chicken soup and stock in the refrigerator to allow the floating oil on the soup to condense and be easy to remove. When eating rice cakes, taro cakes and radish cakes, steam them instead of frying them to reduce fat intake.

When experienced chefs prepare fish dishes for the New Year, they must fry the fish until it is shaped properly to preserve the auspicious meaning of the whole fish. Nutritionists believe that since you buy ready-made dishes, you cannot avoid the way the chef handles the ingredients. Therefore, it is recommended that the fried fish be baked in the oven during processing. This action can force out the frying oil; and the sauce that comes with the cooking bag should also be frozen first to remove excess oil. If the oil on both sides is reduced, it will be healthier.

This year's Lunar New Year holiday is as long as 9 days. In addition to eating in moderation, people should also master the principles of food selection and avoid overeating, so as to prevent their blood sugar, blood fat and weight from getting higher as the holiday gets longer. In addition to giving your mood a break, you should also give your stomach and intestines a proper break so that you can have a healthy, happy and worry-free new year.