How much is "most"?

3 - 4 bowls of rice (1 bowl of rice can be exchanged by 1 bowl of noodles, 2 bowls of congee or 2 pieces of bread)

What are some examples?

• Rice (e.g. red rice, brown rice, white rice), congee, noodles, pasta, whole grain bread, plain biscuits, breakfast cereals, oats.
  
• These foods should make up the main part of your meals and snacks.

Why should grain foods make up the main part of our meals?

• They consist of carbohydrates, protein, B vitamins, some of the minerals and dietary fiber. Together these nutrients provide us with energy and help us maintain a constant body temperature and feel energetic.
• Less processed cereals, such as wholemeal bread, brown rice and oatmeal, contain more fibers and nutrients are even healthier. They can help prevent constipation, and contain more minerals and vitamins, such as iron and folate, and give us more long-lasting energy.

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How much is "a lot"?

• 6 - 8 taels of raw vegetables or 2 full bowls of cooked vegetables, and
• 2 - 3 medium fruits, with at least one citrus fruit (e.g. orange) as these fruits are rich in vitamin C, and can protect us against disease.

What are some examples?

Different types of green and root vegetables and gourds (e.g. peapods, spinach, broccoli, tomato, carrot, cucumber), various types of fresh fruits, (e.g. apple, orange, banana) and pure fruit or vegetable juice.

Why should we eat a lot of fruits and vegetables every day?

• They contain many vitamins (e.g. vitamins A, B, C and E) and minerals to help protect our cells and fight against diseases. The richer the color, the more nutrient-rich they are, usually! So dark green (spinach, broccoli) or bright orange (oranges, carrots, sweet potatoes) fruits and vegetables are especially nutrient-rich. Popeye was very smart to eat spinach all the time!
• They are rich in fibers, which help prevent constipation and help prevent cancer, e.g. colon cancer. Fiber also helps to lower blood cholesterol
• They contain many phytonutrients or phytochemicals, newly discovered plant substances now being researched. Many seem to protect us from some cancers. Some examples are lycopene in tomatoes and allixin in garlic.
• Fruits and vegetables are healthier without a lot of oil or added sugar.
• Whole fruits and vegetables are better for us than their juices because juices contain almost no fiber.

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How much is "some - not too much"?

• 3 - 5 taels (1 tael meat = a mahjong size piece)
• 1 - 2 glasses (250ml) of milk, preferably low-fat or nonfat, non-flavored milk

What are some examples?

Meat (e.g. pork, beef), poultry (e.g. chicken, duck), fish, seafood (e.g. shrimp, crab), egg, beans (e.g. tofu), nuts (e.g. peanut) and milk products (e.g. milk, cheese, yogurt). Choose lean over fatty meat and remove all visible fat or poultry skin and leave it behind. Choose low-fat or nonfat, non-flavored milk if possible.

Why should we eat some of these foods every day?

• They are rich in energy, protein and vitamins B and A, and help children and pregnant women grow. Moreover, they are important components for cell repair and metabolic energy production needs.
• Red meats and liver are rich in iron, important for the production of red blood cells that help our blood carry oxygen to our brain and muscle cells so we are more energetic.
• Milk products and tofu are rich in calcium, and important for our bone and teeth growth. Physical activity also helps deposit the calcium into our bones, making our bone stronger.
• However, meat fat and whole milk contain larger amounts of animal fat and cholesterol. Eating too much of these kinds of food may lead to obesity and high blood cholesterol. Therefore, we should eat them moderately and should choose lean over fatty meat and remove all visible fat or poultry skin and leave it behind. We should also avoid too much or too frequent fried meat or fish because it absorbs oil and will contain much fat even if it is lean meat or fish. Boiled or steamed meat and fish have no added fat or oil. Also, we should choose low-fat milk if possible.

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How much is "least"?

Since fat, sugar and salt if eaten in excess can lead to many health problems, we should eat foods rich in these but low in other nutrients as little as possible.

What are some examples?

Cooking oils (e.g. peanut oil, corn oil, safflower oil), deep fried foods (e.g. potato chips and French fries), cream, salad cream, butter and margarine, candies, sweet drinks, salted preserved fish or vegetables, and various sauces (e.g. soy sauce, MSG) and so on.

Why should we take care to eat only small amounts of these foods?

• Oil and sugar are high in energy but low in other nutrients. Eating too much of these energy-dense foods is easy to do but brings us problems if we don't burn all the energy in our daily life. Moreover, sweet food eaten too often can cause dental caries. Other problems include blocked arteries and the appearance of heart disease or cancer.
• Salt helps retain body water. But a high intake of salty food may be a burden for our kidneys.

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Plain water is the healthiest drink! Sometimes, we can drink other fluids such as plain tea, clear soup, pure fruit juice, low-fat or skimmed milk and low-sugar or unsweetened soymilk instead of water. But, most of the fluid we drink should be plain water.

Why drink so much water?

• Our body uses water in all its functions! It helps maintain body temperature, transports nutrients to cells and removes wastes from our body.
• Thirst will limit our energy and strength, and if we really thirsty, cause fainting or even death.

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