Three dishes to limit on Tet tray

Associate Professor, Doctor Lam Vinh Nien, Head of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that Tet is the longest holiday of the year and also the time when everyone gathers with their families, so people are subjective about their health and eat unscientifically. However, consuming too much food and alcohol during Tet increases the risk of disease, especially for the elderly and people with many underlying diseases...

Experts give some suggestions on some foods to limit as follows:

Jellied meat

Jellied meat is made from ingredients such as pig's feet, ears, skin of pigs or chickens, ducks... high in bad cholesterol, protein and fat, making people easily bored, gain weight, and become obese. Meat also contains a lot of white fat, which is not good for people with high blood fat, overweight, and obese people.

You can eat frozen meat with pickles, pickled onions, and pickled cabbage to help your body digest the meat more easily. Eat more green vegetables to increase vitamins for your body and limit the amount of protein entering your body.

Frozen meat should be stored in the refrigerator. Each time you eat, take out just enough and eat it all to avoid spoilage and food poisoning. Note that frozen meat should only be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 5-7 days.

Chung cake

Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung, National Institute of Nutrition (Hanoi), said that banh chung contains about 1,500-1,700 kcal, not including fatty meat and green beans. 100 g of finished banh chung provides 181 kcal; 4.3 g of protein; 4.2 g of fat; 31.6 g of carbohydrates; 0.6 g of fiber; 26 g of calcium; 0.94 g of iron; 1.4 g of zinc.

Fried banh chung also contains more fat because it is fried in oil, which is not good for people with high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease.

During Tet, you should eat less banh chung or eat small pieces. You can replace the fatty meat with mung beans, eat with salad, green vegetables to reduce the feeling of fullness. Limit eating fried banh chung. Do not eat banh chung in the evening. Once you have eaten, you should not eat more rice or other starches such as vermicelli, pho...

Soft drinks, wine, beer

During Tet, you should limit sweets, cakes, jams, and candies. Drinking a can of carbonated soft drink every day can increase your weight by nearly 7 kg in a year, because a 600 ml can of soft drink contains about 36 g of sugar, and the sugar in energy drinks is 24 g/250 ml can. The main ingredients of carbonated soft drinks are flavors, sweeteners, CO2, and preservatives, so they are not good for your health in terms of nutrition.

Men should not drink more than 720 ml of beer or 300 ml of wine or 60 ml of whisky per day. Women should not drink more than 360 ml of beer or 150 ml of wine or 30 ml of whisky per day. Do not let children and minors drink alcohol. Try to control the amount of drinking to the lowest risk level on one occasion.

After drinking alcohol, absolutely do not drive or participate in outdoor activities or in dangerous, unsafe places where you can easily fall, collide, or get injured.

Increase consumption, eat 240-320g of green vegetables/day and 240g of ripe fruit/day. Develop the habit of eating less salty foods, eating moderately according to needs. People who are overweight, obese, have blood glucose disorders, and diabetes should limit sweet and high-energy ripe fruits such as bananas, mangoes, jackfruit, lychees, etc.

Do not snack in the evening. Drink plenty of water. Choose snacks such as low-sugar fresh fruit, low-sugar dried fruit, nuts (almonds, pumpkin, walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds...) instead of cakes, jams, and sweets. Reduce salty foods such as pickles, pickled eggplants...