What is a healthy diet?

chinacdc.cn | Updated: 2022-08-26

How can you reduce your intake of salt?

Infancy is a crucial period for the formation of taste preferences. Parents should help their children maintain a low-sodium diet from childhood and develop healthy eating habits throughout their lives.

Use measure tools to control salt intake

Use a salt spoon or saltcellar to control one's daily intake of salt

Use fewer high-sodium condiments

Use less soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, chicken essence and other salty seasonings when cooking dishes. Use the natural flavors of foods to increase taste and fragrance, such as green onions, ginger, garlic, Chinese red peppers and mushrooms.

Use low-sodium salt and iodized salt

Using low-sodium salt not only meets the requirements of a salty taste, but also reduces sodium intake. Except for in high water iodine areas, iodized salt should be recommended in all regions, especially for children and juveniles, pregnant women and breast-feeding women.

Salt before serving

Using salt when dishes are ready to serve is a way to reduce the use of salt.

Eat fresh foods

Most foods have added salt during processing. Therefore, we should choose fresh foods instead of processed foods.

Pay attention to invisible salt

Some foods, such as biscuits, bread, dried fruit and ice cream, do not taste salty but have high salt content.

Rinse salty food

Use cool boiled water to rinse pickles and canned fish to reduce salt content.

Control the total intake

When cooking at home, we should not calculate the amount of salt based on the standard of 5 grams per person per day. Instead, we should consider the differences between adults, children and the elderly. Besides the salt used for cooking, the salt from snacks, instant foods and restaurant food should also be calculated as part of one’s daily intake. We should reduce the frequency of eating out and ask restaurants to use less salt when eating out.

Use less oil

Use different edible oils

The fatty acid composition of oils varies greatly among different edible oils. Eating different oils can guarantee more balanced fat and nutrition.

Cooking the right way

Use an oil pot with scales and control oil use.

Use different cooking methods for adults, children and the elderly. The edible oils intake should include oil used in cooking, making pastry, salad dressings, fried food and restaurant food.

Cooking methods such as steaming, boiling and stewing are recommended, frying should be avoided.

Choose the right ingredients

1. We should avoid eating fried foods, such as fried lotus root and eggplant because they are high in fat and energy and can produce a lot of harmful substances.

2. Choose agaric, celery and other ingredients that do not absorb oil, while avoiding oil-absorbing ingredients such as eggplants. Edible Oil mostly remains in the soup of a dish. Do not drink the soup, or eat it with rice..

3. Eat fewer processed snacks and fried crispy foods, such as biscuits, chips and processed meat products. A person's daily intake of saturated fatty acids should be controlled at less than 10 percent of one's total fat intake.

4. Reduce trans-fatty acid intake. The daily intake of trans-fatty foods should be no more than 2 grams.

5. We should reduce the frequency of eating out. Choose dishes cooked with less oil when you have to eat out.

Control sugar intake

Control the intake of processed sugar

All groups of people should reduce their intake of processed sugar, excluding sugar in natural fruits and the natural carbohydrates in staple foods.

Eat less sweet food

Eat less processed food with added sugar, such as biscuits, ice cream, cakes, preserved fruit and jam.

Limit or avoid drinking beverages containing more than 5 percent of sugar.

Choose drinks that are low in carbohydrates and food without sugar or with less sugar.

Use less sugar in meals

Use garlic, star anise, Chinese red pepper and other natural ingredients to improve flavor instead of using sugar. Do not use sugar in an infant's food. When eating out, we should avoid eating dishes cooked with a lot of sugar.

Limit alcohol intake

Pregnant women, breast-feeding women, children and adolescents should not drink alcohol. People in specific occupations and special conditions should control their alcohol intake.

We should not drink excessively when dining with friends or family members. For adults, the recommended maximum intake of alcohol per day is no more than 15 grams. Any form of alcohol is not good for one's health.

What is a healthy diet?

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