Many people think that a light diet means porridge with pickles every day, no oil or salt, no meat, only vegetarian food, and boiled water every meal.

But in fact, a truly light diet refers to a diet that is lighter in taste on the premise of a balanced diet and reasonable nutrition.

Of course this is a more professional statement. To put it simply and specifically, a light diet requires the following three points:

1. Four "less"

The four “less”s refer to less oil, less salt, less sugar, and less spicy food.

Of course, everyone on earth knows that a light diet requires less oil, less salt, less sugar, and less spicy food.

So why does Vita Dog have to emphasize it again? Because everyone knows that it should be less, but how much is less?

① Less oil

Fried and deep-fried foods taste good and are full of fragrance, but eating too much can easily lead to excess energy, and over time, chronic diseases such as obesity can sneak up on you.

So the "Chinese Residents Diet Pagoda" recommends that the intake of cooking oil per person should be controlled at 25 to 30 grams per day.

What is the concept of 25~30 grams? It’s an old-fashioned household porcelain spoon (12.6cm long, 4.6cm wide), 2 to 3 spoons is enough.

Of course, we can also use an oil can with a scale for better control.

② Less salt

Eating too much salt will increase the burden on the kidneys and affect the body's normal drainage function. Water retention in the body will also cause edema and obesity.

Therefore, the World Health Organization recommends that adults’ daily salt intake should not exceed 6 grams.

For example, if you are a family of three and eat three meals a day at home, then a 500g bag of salt can be eaten for almost 27 days based on healthy dosage. If it’s less than this time, you should quickly start limiting salt!

However, in addition to the salt we use for cooking, what we need to pay more attention to is "invisible salt".

The following foods containing hidden salt may not taste salty, but in fact they contain quite a lot of salt. When purchasing, be sure to remember to read the "sodium" content on the nutrition label.

As well as the following foods, a large amount of salt needs to be added during the production process in order to extend the shelf life, so you should eat less of them.

③ Less sugar

The sugar here refers to added sugar (such as sugar in fruits and honey does not count), including white sugar, soft white sugar, etc. used in daily cooking. Sucrose such as rock sugar and brown sugar, as well as fructose, glucose, fructose syrup, etc. in dessert fruit juices.

The World Health Organization recommends that the daily intake of added sugar for adults and children should be controlled below 50 grams, preferably no more than 25 grams (about 2 scoops of an old-fashioned porcelain spoon).

Because eating a lot of added sugar will stimulate a rapid rise in insulin levels, thereby accelerating fat synthesis, making you lose weight accidentally.

④ Less spicy

Excessive spicy food can easily irritate the digestive system, causing people to suffer from internal heat, oral ulcers, constipation and other problems, affecting the body's metabolism.

At the same time, it will stimulate appetite and make us eat more. In addition, greasy and spicy food will stay in the gastrointestinal tract for a longer time, which not only increases the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, but also promotes fat accumulation.

But do you think that less spicy food means eating less chili pepper? Too young and too simple~

There are also spices that can produce spicy flavors such as pepper, Sichuan peppercorns, and ginger, which need to be restricted.

2. Food diversification

Many people think that eating light porridge is the only way to keep it light.

Eating clear porridge every day has indeed achieved "less oil, less salt, less sugar, less spicy", but it has forgotten the principle of "balanced diet and reasonable nutrition", which is the principle of food diversity.

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents 2016" clearly states that the daily diet should include foods such as cereals and potatoes, vegetables and fruits, livestock, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, soybeans and nuts, and each person should consume 12 servings per day. Plant more than 25 kinds of food every week.

Eating vegetarian food every day is not a light diet, it is cultivating immortality...

In addition to the type of food, we also have to pay attention to the color, red, yellow, Eat foods of five colors: white, green, and black.

3. Cooking methods

Seeing this, you may mutter again:

What’s there to say? Isn't it just boiled?

Really... No, there are many cooking methods available for light meals:

Of course, remember to avoid frying, smoking, and deep-frying.

So, a light diet does not mean that you do not eat meat and only eat vegetarian food.