For a long time in the past, due to food shortages and other factors, it was a luxury to want more meat in the dishes. Nowadays, it is no longer a problem for Chinese people to eat oil, but "open eating" has brought health problems.
Recently, researchers from the School of Food Science and Technology of Jiangnan University and the School of Basic Medical Sciences of Gannan Medical University published a new study in the Swiss journal "Nutrients", showing that in the past 30 years, the fat intake of mainland residents has been excessive, and the composition ratio has also changed, which has a strong positive correlation with the incidence and mortality of cardiovascular diseases.
You can't eat too much oil, but you can't skip it. "Life Times" invited experts to teach you to eat oil healthily.
Experts interviewed
Zeng Wei, associate professor of the School of Basic Medical Sciences, Gannan Medical University
Gong Xionghui, director of the Department of Nutrition, Shougang Hospital, Peking University
Zhu Yi, associate professor of the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University
The author of this article | Life Times reporter Li Zhenyu
本期编辑 | 徐文婷 杨萌
Eat too much oil and seriously exceed the fat intake
This study, entitled "Re-evaluation of the Impact of Dietary Fat on Cardiovascular Diseases in China in the Past 30 Years", found the following two characteristics by analyzing the dietary fat consumption of Chinese people from 1990~2019:
Excessive fat intake
In the past 30 years, the per capita annual consumption of vegetable oil has increased from 5.74 kg to 25.84 kg, with a daily consumption of about 70.8 grams per person, the per capita annual consumption of animal fat has increased from 8.27 kg to 20.56 kg, with a daily consumption of about 56.3 grams per person, and the energy supply ratio of fats and fats has increased from 22% in 1992 to 34.6% in 2017.
In terms of animal food, pork is still the main meat consumed by Chinese residents. The average fat content of pork is as high as 34%, far exceeding beef (15%), lamb (14%) and chicken (9.4%). If you eat more pork, you will naturally consume more fat.
Changes in fatty acid composition
At the end of the last century, the main vegetable oils consumed by mainland residents were rapeseed oil, palm oil and soybean oil, accounting for 38.8%, 18.2% and 16.1% of vegetable oil intake, respectively, and by 2019, the proportion of these three oils had become 21.2%, 10.6% and 44.5%. Correspondingly, the proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids decreased significantly, and the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids increased.
Zeng Wei, the first author of the study, a postdoctoral fellow in food science at Jiangnan University and an associate professor at the School of Basic Medical Sciences of Gannan Medical University, told the "Life Times" reporter that the dietary oil used by Chinese people has undergone great changes, in addition to the substantial increase in the supply of vegetable oil, the proportion of oil used in the catering industry and food processing industry has increased significantly, indicating that everyone is going to restaurants, ordering takeout, and eating processed food.
Processed foods such as bread, sausages, cakes, chocolate, instant noodles, etc., all use fats and fats, which can make people eat a lot of fat inadvertently.
When people go to restaurants, they have a soft spot for high-fat foods such as fried chicken, French fries, boiled fish, and Sichuan-Chongqing hot pot, and even when cooking at home, they like to use cooking methods such as frying, stir-frying, and frying.
The ill effects of fat are underestimated
The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022) suggests that the energy supply ratio of fat at 20%~30% is more conducive to maintaining normal blood lipids.
However, today, the average dietary fat-to-energy ratio of mainland residents is close to 35%, which brings many health problems.
Cardiovascular disease
Zeng Wei and his team found that in mainland China, there is a very strong linear association between total dietary fat intake and cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality.
- Excessive fat intake can easily lead to an increase in cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol, resulting in atherosclerosis.
- In addition, Chinese people have poor oil Xi, often the oil temperature is overheated or repeatedly used, which will produce harmful substances such as aldehydes and ketones, trans fatty acids, epoxides, etc., which can induce inflammatory reactions, and then significantly increase the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.
Studies have shown that eating too much fat can also lead to overweight, obesity, metabolic diseases, cancer, and many other health problems.
Overweight and obesity
Changes in dietary patterns are closely related to the development of chronic diseases. Studies have shown that people with a fat-to-energy ratio of more than 20% have a 50% increased risk of overweight and obesity compared to those with a dietary fat-to-energy ratio of less than 20%.
Metabolic diseases
A high-fat diet promotes insulin resistance and inflammation, which accelerates the development of metabolic syndrome. The Chinese Journal of Nutrition has published an article pointing out that total fat intake is positively correlated with hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome.
A study involving 174,000 participants aged 40~46 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods and excessive total fat intake increased the incidence of various liver diseases, such as a 18% increase in the risk of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, and a 50% increase in the risk of severe liver disease.
cancer
Excessive intake of saturated fat increases the risk of liver cancer, ovarian cancer, and also has an impact on breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Eat less oil, eat good oil, eat right oil
Fat is one of the three essential nutrients for the human body, an important component of cells, and also has physiological functions such as storing and supplying energy, regulating endocrine, and maintaining body temperature.
Although there are many disadvantages to eating too much oil, it is important not to skip it, but to consume it healthily.
Eat less oil
According to an article published in the American journal "Circulatory Research", reducing dietary fat intake can reduce cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality by 16% and 9%, respectively.
- Control the amount of oil used when cooking
Try to go to restaurants less, order less takeout, cook more at home, and use an oil pot marked with a scale so that the amount of cooking oil per person per day is 25~30 grams.
For example, a family of three, the total amount of edible oil a day is 75 grams, and it can be reasonably distributed in three meals a day.
- Cook more and fry less
When cooking, blanching, boiling, steaming, stewing, and stewing are used more, and less frying, stir-frying, and frying. Vegetarians and the elderly who are not well nourished can supplement some saturated fatty acids appropriately.
Eat good oil
Cooking oil is not always better as expensive as it is, and even if the oil is good, it should not be eaten and not changed often.
There are three elements to a good oil: a relatively reasonable fatty acid composition, rich in nutritional concomitants such as vitamin E, and the absence or minimal presence of harmful substances.
Zeng Wei reminded that when choosing edible oil produced in regular factories, do not use earth-pressed oil from small workshops or home-pressed oil.
Edible oil is easy to oxidize after opening, it is recommended to buy 1~1.5 liters of small package oil, and eat it within a month after opening. When storing, it is best to divide it in a dark glass container and ensure that it is tightly sealed, away from sunlight and away from heat sources.
Eat on the oil
The World Health Organization has made it clear that the fat intake is mainly unsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids should be less than 10%, trans fatty acids should not exceed 1%, and the ratio of linoleic acid to linolenic acid is 4:1~6:1 is relatively healthy.
- Saturated fatty acids: mostly found in fatty meat, whole milk, cheese, coconut oil, palm oil;
- Unsaturated fatty acids: monounsaturated fatty acids are mostly found in rapeseed oil and olive oil, and polyunsaturated fatty acids are mostly found in soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, flaxseed oil, etc.
Should eat less lard, butter, palm oil, coconut oil and other oils rich in saturated fatty acids; corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil; try to choose rapeseed oil, olive oil, tea oil, flaxseed oil, perilla oil, etc., and change varieties frequently, or use blended oil.
In terms of animal foods, it is recommended to reduce the intake of red meat and eat aquatic products at least twice a week, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and help lower triglycerides and blood pressure.
Finally, Zhu Yi called on the state to vigorously advocate the catering industry to use less oil and use oil well, and strictly require the food processing industry to control and label the amount of fat. ▲
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