Do you get tired easily, catch colds often, or have an upset stomach? When these conditions occur, it may be that the immune system is sending a warning to your body. Many people know that balanced nutrition is the key to building an immune defense, but they don't know how to scientifically improve immunity in daily life.
On May 18, the 3rd "518 China Nutrition Festival", guided by the Chinese Nutrition Society, sponsored by Xinhuanet, and co-organized by Tomson Beijian, focused on the improvement of national immunity, and put forward for the first time the scientific nutrition initiative of "accurate intake of 9 key nutrients to scientifically improve immunity", hoping to help the people develop scientific dietary habits and improve the nutritional health level of the whole people.
There is a lot of concern about immune nutrition, but the public is still not enough
In recent years, more and more people have begun to pay attention to dietary nutrition and try novel dietary patterns. According to a survey on "National Nutrition and Health Trends" shared by Xu Mingwei, CMO of Xinhuanet, more than 84% of people pay attention to nutrition and health in order to improve immunity, covering people of all ages; Dietary patterns such as the Oriental Healthy Diet, the Mediterranean Diet, and the Fasting are sought after.
"At present, public concern about immunity has never been higher. However, we still face challenges in translating this awareness into action. Yang Yuexin, president of the Chinese Nutrition Society, pointed out that the dietary structure of mainland residents is still unreasonable, and the intake of whole grains, dark vegetables, fruits, milk, fish and shrimp and soybeans is generally low. More than two-thirds of the population did not meet the recommended intake of soy products, resulting in an inadequate intake of high-quality protein. In addition, the diet of mainland residents is generally deficient in vitamins and other key nutrients.
Accurate intake of 9 key nutrients to scientifically improve immunity
A number of studies have confirmed that high-quality protein, vitamins (A, C, D, E, B6), and 9 key nutrients, zinc, iron, and selenium, have a significant effect on improving immunity, and are generally recognized by the academic community.
He Li, a researcher at the Institute of Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that protein is not only the material basis of life, but also the basis for maintaining immunity; Vitamin A participates in the whole process of immune system maturation and is the "guardian saint" of the first line of defense of immunity. Vitamin B6 supports the normal functioning of the immune system; Vitamin C is involved in the body's immune regulation and promotes the formation of antibodies; Vitamin D is a regulator of immunity; Vitamin E is an important fat-soluble antioxidant in cells and tissues, which helps to maintain the normal function of immune cells.
In addition, minerals such as selenium, zinc, and iron are also key nutrients for boosting immunity. Selenium is the vanguard of antioxidants, almost all immune cells contain selenium, which can enhance the activity of immune cells and protect immune cell DNA from damage; Zinc deficiency may lead to atrophy of immune organs and a decrease in the number of immune cells; Iron deficiency reduces immune cell activity and the number of antibodies. "People with nutrient deficiencies and low immunity can actively take dietary improvement measures, including scientifically selecting fortified foods and dietary nutritional supplements as sources of nutrient supplementation," says He Li.
So, how can different groups of people accurately consume key nutrients and customize personalized diet plans? Yu Kang, vice president of the Chinese Nutrition Society and director of the Department of Clinical Nutrition of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, provided practical suggestions for pregnant women, children and adolescents, college students, white-collar workers, dieters, and the elderly.
College students and office workers often order takeout due to their busy study and work schedules. Yu Kang suggested that if you can't avoid ordering takeout, you should choose fresh vegetables, fish, poultry, eggs and other high-quality proteins, prepare yogurt, nuts, fruits and meals, and you can also appropriately choose dietary supplements to supplement a variety of vitamins and minerals.
Regarding the problem of "how to lose weight healthily" for weight loss people, Yu Kang said that most of them are due to "malnutrition". If you want to lose weight without losing your immunity, you must first eat enough protein and eat three meals evenly. In addition, precise supplementation of nutrients is also helpful for weight loss, such as strong protein satiety, which can improve the body's basal metabolism; Vitamin B6 helps promote muscle growth; Vitamin C is the key to the synthesis of carnitine, which promotes fat breakdown and can increase fat burning by 30% during moderate-intensity exercise; Zinc can regulate leptin secretion, etc.
Nutrition can also be "customized" Precision nutrition helps national health
As people's awareness of nutritional consumption gradually shifts from mass to personalization, "precision nutrition" has gradually become a research frontier hotspot in the field of nutrition.
Lin Xu, chief professor of the School of Life and Science of the Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study of UCAS, researcher of the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and chief scientist of Tomson Beijian, said that precision nutrition is still a world-class problem. In the past five years, By-Health and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have jointly launched the strategic pilot project "Multi-dimensional Big Data-driven Precision Health Research on Chinese Population", and the research team has established a "health state map" by using new concepts and strategies, providing a new path for more comprehensive and accurate definition and quantification of metabolic health.
"At present, we are further validating the system model through intervention studies, and it is expected that it will be able to provide more accurate recommendations and guidance for different individuals in the future." Lin Xu introduced.
This year's 518 China Nutrition Festival, in addition to the live broadcast activities of Xinhuanet, also brought together experts, scholars, athletes, celebrities and more than 300 nutritionists to carry out a series of popular science interactions on "nutrition problems of different populations", covering Weibo, Douyin, video account, Xiaohongshu, Toutiao and other social platforms, in a variety of forms, including professional reports, popular science comics, interesting videos, interactive games, continuous live broadcasts in more than 10 cities across the country, etc., to provide diversified support for the advancement of national nutrition.
Scientific Nutrition, Nutrition China. Since its launch in 2022, the 518 China Nutrition Festival has been committed to conveying scientific nutrition knowledge, taking scientific nutrition as the fulcrum, and using a universal nutrition festival to improve the awareness of nutrition and health of the whole people; Use a revolution in dietary methods to leverage the overall health of the people and inject "nutritional power" into a healthy China.