Diet determines health

“People eat for the day”, diet is very important to people, but in the end to what extent? Which unhealthy eating habits are at greater risk? The Lancet, the world’s leading medical journal, published the world’s first large-scale study of diet, and found that more than half of all global deaths associated with unhealthy eating habits were linked to three major factors: high-salt diets, inadequate whole-grain diets and insufficient fruit intake. So, how to eat is good for health?
Experts give specific advice, let’s attach great importance to Globally, which risk factors cause the most deaths? The answer is a bit unexpected. Neither smoking nor high blood pressure, but unhealthy eating habits.

According to estimates by the Global Burden of Disease Study, about 22 percent of global deaths in 2017, or 11 million people, were related to poor diet. So which unhealthy eating habits are more at risk? For nearly 20 years, people have been debating whether it’s sugar, sodium or fat. A new article in The Lancet offers a different answer. The study analyzed the diets of residents in 195 countries and regions, thus predicting the effects of 15 bad eating habits on some fatal diseases. It was found that more than half of all deaths associated with unhealthy eating habits worldwide were associated with high-salt diets, insufficient intake of whole grains, and insufficient fruit intake.
Some of our most concerned about unhealthy diets, such as sugary drinks and red meat, are not the main risk factors. Of the 195 countries and territories analysed in the study, China ranked 140th (the higher the ranking, the lower the proportion of diet-related deaths).
Among them, a high-salt diet is the primary dietary risk factor.
15 Fatal DietAry Risk Factors In the study, researchers focused on 15 unhealthy eating factors associated with fatal diseases, including excessive intake of unhealthy foods such as excessive red meat, processed meatproducts, sugary beverages, trans fats, salts, and inadequate intake of healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, milk, nuts,
The intake of soy products, etc. is less.
The results showed that high-salt diets were a major risk factor in most countries, while overeating of trans fats, sugary beverages, red meats and processed meats was a lower risk eating factor. “Sodium, sugar, and fat have been the focus of debate for the past 20 years, but our assessment suggests that the main dietary risk factors are high sodium intake or too low intake of healthy foods,” said Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Indicators and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
” “In the past, we’ve focused more on reducing unhealthy food intake,” said Ashkan Afshin, an assistant professor at the Institute for Health Indicators and Evaluation at the University of Washington. “But the results of this study suggest that too little healthy food intake is a more important risk factor than eating too many unhealthy foods.” The biggest difference between current intake and recommended intake is nuts, milk, and whole grains.

Chinese three dietary risk factors
Excessive sodium intake For Chinese, a high-salt diet is the primary dietary risk factor. The study shows that the global population’s salt intake is almost higher than recommended, but this is particularly acute in China.
A high-salt diet is the primary dietary risk factor associated with death. According to statistics, the average salt intake of Chinese is 10 grams, which is a full double the World Health Organization’s recommended daily salt intake of up to 5 grams. A high-salt diet can lead to high blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease and moderate cardiovascular disease.
In the study, researchers found that China had the highest mortality rate in the world for diet-related cardiovascular disease.
Earlier, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine noted that globally, about 1.65 million people die each year from cardiovascular disease as a result of higher-than-recommended sodium intake.
The main source of sodium in our daily diet is salt, in addition to MSG, chicken essence, soy sauce, curd milk and other condiments and processing foods such as plum, potato chips and other processed foods, “hidden sodium” is also an important source of sodium.
Whole-wheat food intake is too low In China, in addition to a high-salt diet, whole grain intake was the second-highest in the dietary risk factors. According to the study, fruit and wholegrain food intake was not as high as recommended in 2017, although China’s intake was lower than the global average. Numerous studies have shown that whole grain foods are associated with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and reduced risk of cancer.
In a study related to nurses’ health, women who ate two to three whole meals a day had a 30 percent lower risk of heart disease or death from heart disease within 10 years than women who ate one serving of whole grains a day. Substances such as fiber in whole-wheat foods can also improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, slow ingress ingress ingress with food and prevent blood sugar from soaring. In contrast, refined grains tend to have higher glycemic indexes and blood sugar loads, and have less fiber and nutrients. A follow-up study of more than 160,000 women found that women who ate an average of two to three servings of whole graina a day were 30 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who rarely ate whole grains.
In the case of cancer, a large five-year study of 500,000 people also showed that whole grains help prevent colorectal cancer.
Whole grain foods (whole grains) are grains that retain germ, germ, millet and natural nutrients, although not finely processed or processed by grinding, crushing, pressing, etc. Grain is composed of three main parts: germ, granulate and grain skin. The outermost layer of unprocessed grain sits with a hard shell that protects the grain.
The grain skin is rich in dietary fiber, the grain embryo is rich in protein, B vitamins, the embryo milk is mainly starch, protein and a small amount of fat. However, the grains we eat are generally processed.
In the grain processing process, in addition to removing the inedible grain shell, in order to pursue the delicate taste, will further crush the grain skin, germ peeled, almost only the germ milk, become “refined grain”, such as white rice, white noodles. Most of the staple foods we usually eat are refined grains, white rice, white bread, noodles, etc. are the most common staples we eat.
Refined processing will cause grains to lose a lot of nutrients, and after refined grains are almost starchy, no dietary fiber, after consumption digestion speed is very fast, very detrimental to blood sugar and weight control.
Whole grains contain more dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals than refined grains, and eating more whole grains reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as colorectal cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Too little fruit intake
Fruit intake was the third highest in the dietary risk factors. Fruits are rich in dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and a variety of plant-active substances.
Numerous studies have also shown that a diet rich in vegetables and fruits can reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, and prevent certain types of cancer.
A new study has found that blueberries are rich in anthocyanins and eating 200 grams of blueberries a day for a month can improve vascular function and lower blood pressure. The University of Northumbria recruited 15 volunteers with early symptoms of high blood pressure and divided them into three groups, one drinking 60 ml of concentrated Monte Molenbeu cherry juice diluted with 100ml of water, one taking a placebo and one drinking fruit-flavored drinks.
It was found that the “cherry juice group” had an average blood pressure reduction of 7% within three hours of drinking cherry juice, similar to the effect of taking antihypertensive drugs in patients with high blood pressure.
Studies have shown that drinking two glasses of orange juice a day can lower blood pressure, and eating citrus fruits regularly can help reduce the risk of stroke. The University of London conducted a 13-year survey of 250,000 adults. The study found that people who insisted on eating five fruits or five servings of vegetables a day were about 26% less likely to have a stroke than those who did not like to eat fruit or vegetables, and those who ate 3 to 5 fruits or 3 to 5 servings of vegetables a day were about 11% less likely to have a stroke.
There was little change if you ate less than 3 fruits per day or less than 3 servings of vegetables. People who ate fresh fruit regularly had a significantly lower risk of diabetes and diabetic vascular complications than those who ate very little fresh fruit.
Researchers from the University of Oxford, Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences worked together to follow up on nearly 10,000 new diabetic cases after seven years of follow-up visits by more than 500,000 adults aged 35 to 74 in 10 regions of the country. Professor Li Liming, of Peking University’s School of Public Health, said the study showed that people who ate fresh fruit a day had a 12 percent lower risk of developing diabetes during seven years of follow-up compared to those who never ate or rarely ate fresh fruit.
For those who had diabetes, consuming 100 grams of fresh fruit per day reduced the overall mortality rate in diabetic patients by 17 percent, the risk of ischemic heart disease and moderate vascular complications of stroke by 13 percent, and the risk of small vascular complications such as diabetic nephropathy and diabetic eye disease by 28 percent.
A study by Us scientists has found that natural pigments that give certain fruits and vegetables a rich presence in red, purple and blue have a powerful anti-cancer effect.
These pigment compounds found in foods such as eggplant, red kale and cranberry can limit the growth of cancer cells and, in some cases, kill cancer cells completely without damage to healthy cells.
As early as 2002, the World Health Organization’s World Health Report listed too little fruit intake as one of the top ten death risk factors. Unfortunately, our country’s per capita fruit intake is low, with an average of less than 50 grams per person per day, and our dietary guidelines recommend that we eat 200 to 350 grams of fruit per day.
It can be seen that the amount of fruit we eat and the recommended amount of difference is still very large. Encourage eating fruit between meals, which can replenish moisture and get rich nutrients.
In particular, we need to remind everyone that fruit juice is not a substitute for fruit, try to eat complete fruit, drink less juice, even pure juice should drink less.
The Enlightenment of Healthy Dieting Countries Of the 195 countries and territories, Israel, France, Spain and Japan have the lowest incidence of diet-related diseases. The diets in these countries are closer to the Mediterranean diet, which is characterized by large quantities of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and healthy cooking oils such as olive oil, “and we found that these countries had the lowest number of diet-related deaths.”
Afshin said.
A comprehensive analysis published in the British Medical Journal showed that strict adherence to the Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of dying from cancer and cardiovascular disease, as well as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. But there is also a country that surprised researchers. Afshin sees Mexico as an interesting case, ranking 11th in the world. On the one hand, the country’s residents can be seen consuming a lot of whole-wheat food, whole-wheat tortillas, but on the other hand, Mexico is the country’s most consumed of sugary drinks.
On the face of it, the benefits of a whole-wheat diet may outweigh the health effects of sugary drinks, but Afshin says it’s hard to come to terms, stressing that every country has room to adjust its eating habits. The researchers argue that improving eating habits at the global level will not be easy, and that a range of measures may be needed, including nutrition education, increased access to healthy food, and a rethinking of agricultural production.
But for all individuals, changing their eating habits can start now. What are the 15 dietary risk factors?
How should I eat it?
The definition of these risk factors and the ideal intake are listed below, and you’d like to be able to provide guidance.
1. Too little fruit to eat: average daily fruit intake (including fresh, frozen, cooked, canned and dried fruit, excluding fruit juice sashimi and salted or pickled fruit).
Experts recommend eating 250 grams (200 to 300 grams) a day.
2. Vegetables eat too little: average daily vegetable intake (including fresh, frozen, cooked, canned and dried vegetables, excluding beans and salted or pickled vegetables, vegetable juice, nuts, seeds, or starchy vegetables, such as corn and potatoes).
Experts recommend eating 360 grams (290 to 430 grams) a day.
3. Too little legumes to eat: average daily intake of beans (including fresh, frozen, cooked, canned and dried legumes).
Experts recommend eating 60 grams (50 to 70 grams) a day.
4. Whole grains are eaten too little: average daily whole grain intake (wheat bran, germ and germ milk meet the original ratio, including breakfast cereals, bread, rice, pasta, biscuits, cakes, Mexican tortillas, etc.).
Experts recommend eating 125 grams (100 to 150 grams) per day.
5. Nuts and seeds eat too little: average daily intake of nuts and seeds.
Experts recommend eating 21 grams (16 to 25 grams) daily.
6. Too little milk: average daily milk intake (including skimmed, full-fat, low-fat milk, excluding soy milk and other plant milk).
Experts recommend drinking 435 grams (350 to 520 grams) a day.
7. Eat too much red meat: average daily red meat intake (including beef, lamb, excluding poultry, fish and eggs, not all processed meats).
Experts recommend eating 23 grams (18 to 27 grams) per day.
8. Eat too much processed meat: average daily intake of processed meat (including smoked, pickled, salted or other chemical preservatives).
Experts recommend eating 2 grams (0 to 4 grams) daily.
9. Drink too many sugary sweet drinks: average daily intake of sweet drinks (including energy drinks, carbonated beverages, sodas, fruit juice drinks, excluding 100 percent pure fruit juice and vegetable juice).
Experts recommend eating 3 grams (0 to 5 grams) per day.
10. Dietary fiber intake is inadequate: on average, all dietary fiber sources (including fruits and vegetables, cereals, legumes and dried beans) per day.
Experts recommend eating 24 grams (19 to 28 grams) per day.
11. Insufficient calcium intake: average daily sources of calcium intake (including milk, yogurt and cheese).
Experts recommend eating 1.25 grams (1.00 to 1.50 grams) per day.
12. Dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids in seafood: average daily DHA and EPA intake.
Experts recommend eating 250 mg (200 to 300 mg) per day.
13. Insufficient intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids: average daily intake of omega-6 fatty acids (including all sources, mainly vegetable oils, such as soy oil, corn oil, etc.).
Experts recommend a daily energy ratio of 11% (9% to 13%).
14. Trans fatty acid intake is too high: average daily trans fatty acid intake (mainly from hydrogenated vegetable oils and ruminants).
Experts recommend a daily energy ratio of 0.5% (0.0% to 1.0%).
15. High sodium intake: an average of 24 hours per day of urine sodium measurement. Experts recommend eating 3 grams (1 to 5 grams) per day.