The Chinese diet is generally regarded as a healthy one. The Chinese are very concerned about eating habits which are seen as an important factor affecting health.
A typical Chinese diet, which includes a lot of vegetables, fish and seafood but very little sugar or dessert, is proved to be healthy. Besides stir fry and deep fry, the Chinese use a wide variety of cooking methods: steam, boil, stew, roast, bake, and generally avoid excessive greasy food.
There are several Chinese concepts of healthy eating habits. The most basic one is the balance of yin (feminine) and yang (masculine). Failure to maintain this balance is the root to many illnesses: excessive yin leads to weakness and excessive yang to restlessness manifested in inflammation and ulcers. Yin food includes fruits and vegetables whilst yang food includes meat.
The concept of yin and yang encompasses other dichotomous concepts of liang (cold) and (hot), ruan (soothing) and zao (irritating), xu (weakening) and bu (strengthening), qing (clearing) and du (contaminating,) etc.
Only Chinese herbal doctors and specialized books will be able to give an exhaustive list of foods falling into each concept mentioned above. However, it is a fact tbat the Chinese pay attention to what they eat. Healing by eating (following an appropriate diet) is very popular and widely accepted by the Chinese. Occasionally they prepare a soup of special ingredients to maintain the balance of yin and yang.
Diet is a particular concern for people who have fallen ill. It is not uncommon to see Chinese patients refusing, to take meals from the hospital and their families bringing in food especially prepared for them.
Courtesy of chinesediet.com. this is one diet I found from another country. Here is more:
Chinese consume many more vegetables, grains and fruits that Americans or Britons.
The daily fibre intake of the average Chinese is three times that of the average American.
The average Chinese derives anywhere from six to 24 percent of their daily calories from fat, compared to 39 percent for the average American, and a shocking 45 percent for the average Briton.
The Chinese eat more calories daily than Americans per pound of body weight, but suffer less obesity.
This seems to square well with current nutritional practice in the West, which advises that grains and complex carbohydrates should be the basis of a healthy diet, supplemented with vegetables and fruits, with dairy products and animal proteins used in smaller proportion and fats, oils and sweets used only sparingly.
Food facts
Ninety percent of the Chinese selected for the study were from rural areas where they ate locally raised food and stuck to a 'traditional diet'. What then is a traditional diet? Very generally, Chinese medicine suggests that we should eat mostly vegetables and grains, with small amounts of everything else. The ancient medical classic Suwen recommends 'five grains for nutrition, five fruits, five meats for benefit, five plants for fullness'. Cooked and warm food is preferred as cooking is a form of pre-digestion on the outside of the body. Food should not be too sweet, as according to Chinese medicine excessive sweetness overwhelms and weakens the spleen. Also food should not be excessively oily, or too 'damp'. 'Dampness' refers to the extent to which different foods generate body fluids. In Chinese medicine, excessively damp foods are believed to interfere with the digestion.
The Japanese diet courtesy of webmd...
Eat with your eyes. "The magic of Japan-style eating is a healthier balance of filling, delicious lower-calorie foods, presented with beautiful portion control in pretty little dishes and plates," Moriyama says. This way of dining encourages you to "eat with your eyes" by enjoying the beauty of your food. The result? You'll want to slow down to savor every bite, which means eating less, because it gives your brain time to realize your body is full.
According to Moriyama, the average Japanese person eats about 25% fewer calories per day than the average American, which could partly explain their lengthy lifespan. Eating just 8% fewer calories per day, while moderately increasing your activity level, may be enough to promote longer life, research from the University of Florida College of Medicine suggests.
And cutting calories doesn't have to be painful. The secret is to replace energy-dense foods (those containing a higher number of calories per gram), like chocolate, potato chips, and cookies, with those that are less energy-dense, like fruits, vegetables, and broth-based soups (all, not coincidentally, a daily part of the Japanese diet). In a study from Pennsylvania State University, researchers served women meals that were 25% smaller than average and contained 30% fewer calories according to the principles of energy density. They ended up eating an average of 800 calories less per day -- all without even missing the extra food.
Germany diets courtesy of webmd...
Breakfast (Frühstück) commonly consists of bread, toast, and/or bread rolls with cold cut, cheese or jam ("Konfitüre" or more commonly called "Marmelade"), marmalade or honey, eggs, and (often strong) coffee or tea (milk, cocoa or juice for children). Deli meats, such as ham, salted meats and salami, are also commonly eaten on bread in the morning, as are various cheeses. A variety of meat-based spreads such as Leberwurst (liverwurst) are eaten during breakfast as well.
Traditionally, the main meal of the day has been lunch (Mittagessen), eaten around noon. Dinner (Abendessen or Abendbrot) was always a smaller meal, often consisting only of a variety of breads, meat or sausages, cheese and some kind of vegetables, similar to breakfast, or possibly sandwiches. Smaller meals added during the day bear names such as "Vesper", "Brotzeit" (literally bread time), or "Kaffee und Kuchen" (coffee and cake). However, in Germany, as in other parts of Europe, dining habits have changed over the last 50 years.
Today, many people eat only a small meal in the middle of the day at work, often also a second breakfast, and enjoy a hot dinner in the evening at home with the whole family. [citation needed] This is also the reason why the availability of cheap restaurants close to the office or the existence of a factory canteen cannot be assumed automatically.
For others, the traditional way of eating is still rather common, and not only in rural areas. Breakfast is still very popular and may be elaborated and extended on weekends, with friends invited as guests, the same holds forcoffee and cake. Since the 1990s the Sunday brunch has also become common, especially in city cafés.
This all makes you wonder why Americans are considered obese. Maybe if we learned about others cultures and countries we could help improve ourselves. Maybe this will help you :)
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