Compare the nutritional value of animal food and plant food.

Through the investigation, the conclusion is that compared with the diet and diseases in China and the United States, the traditional diet of China people, which is mainly based on plant foods-cereals, vegetables, fruits and beans-is more conducive to health and the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases-cancer and diabetes than the American diet, which is mainly based on animal foods. Compared with the current dietary structure in the United States, the traditional dietary structure of China people has many advantages in health.

Recently, the Science Popularization Branch of Chinese Medical Association invited Academician Chen Junshi, a nutritionist from China Academy of Engineering and China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. Campbell, a tenured professor at Cornell University in the United States and a nutritionist known as "Einstein in the field of nutrition", to have a dialogue on reasonable diet and discuss many hot issues of diet health.

The view of two famous nutrition experts is that a diet based on plant food, that is, eating more plants and less animals, is more conducive to health.

The mortality rate of 48 diseases was investigated, and the blood levels of 109 nutrients, viruses and hormones and the composition of 36 foods were analyzed. Academician Chen Junshi said: 1980, I am engaged in the research of diet and tumor in the laboratory of Professor Campbell of Cornell University. At that time, we * * * also had the same idea to conduct a large-scale epidemiological study in China to explore whether people's diet is related to diseases, especially cancer and other cardiovascular diseases. Since 198 1, more than 350 public health investigators from China and provincial centers for disease control and prevention, as well as researchers from Cornell University in the United States and Oxford University in the United Kingdom, have conducted three large-scale "China Health Surveys" in 65 counties of 24 provinces in China, including the mortality rate of 48 diseases, 109 kinds of nutrition and blood. The study lasted for 27 years, and the epidemiological study on diet, lifestyle and disease mortality was completed, and 8000 sets of scientific data were obtained. The survey won the first prize of the Ministry of Health for scientific and technological progress, and the Chinese version of the survey has been published.

Plant food is not easy to suffer from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer and colon cancer. Professor Campbell said: Plant food and animal food are different in nutrition, rich in various dietary fibers, many antioxidants and other chemicals, as well as different types of protein and different fats. When we compare the relationship between the nutritional characteristics of different foods and diseases, we find that the nutrition of plant foods is better than that of animal foods.

Academician Chen Junshi said that if we look at the disease spectrum of China people and Americans, we can show the advantages of China's diet. At least in 1980s, the prevalence of coronary heart disease in China was very low. Coronary heart disease is closely related to cholesterol, and the average level of cholesterol in rural areas of China is much lower than that in the United States. Why? This is because the diet of China people is mainly plant food. Diabetes, female breast cancer and male colon cancer are much less in China than in the United States.

Plant food is not equal to vegetarian food, so you should choose it according to your own situation. Someone asked, is plant food equal to vegetarianism? Academician Chen Junshi said: It is difficult to define the concept of vegetarianism, and it is more accurate to use plant food. But what proportion of plant food is good depends on your own choice. It's not that I advocate that everyone eat 100% plant food. People can choose according to their own tastes, habits and hobbies. The key is to adhere to the concept of plant food. Professor Campbell said that the more plant foods in the diet, the healthier it is. But that doesn't mean you have to eat 100% plant food. The general principle is to eat less animal food and more plant food.

Many friends have encountered such a problem, and they don't know whether to eat more vegetables or meat. Eating more meat is afraid of being fat; Eat more vegetables and be afraid of vegetables; A meal without meat feels painful. What shall we do? Academician Chen Junshi said that the dietary pagoda for China residents introduced by China Nutrition Society embodies the principle of plant-based food and is suitable for ordinary people to eat. The bottom of this pagoda is grain, and the top is fruits and vegetables. Up are some animal foods, such as chicken, fish, meat, eggs, dairy products, and on top are oil and sugar. Finally, how to use the principle of diet pagoda flexibly depends on your own situation, your own preferences and your own health.

Plant food can reverse and slow down heart disease and control the expression of cancer genes.

Professor Campbell said that plant-based foods have different health effects on different diseases. For example, plant food can reverse the evolution of heart disease, and in some cases, it can even cure the heart disease that has already happened. Plant food can also reverse 90%-95% of type 2 diabetes. I am a scientist. In animal experiments in my laboratory, plant-derived foods can slow down the occurrence of cancer and the progress of the disease.