What is the daily amount of a balanced diet

According to the recommendations of the 2022 Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents, the daily food intake of ordinary healthy adults with light physical activity is approximately 250-400g of staple food, 300-500g of vegetables, 200-350g of fruits, and 200-350g of fruits. 120-200g of physical food, 300-500g of milk and dairy products, 25-35g of soybeans and nuts, no more than 5g of cooking salt, 25-30g of oil, and drinking enough 1500-1700ml of plain water every day is basically up to standard.

When I first saw this number, I had a big head. Do I need to carry a food scale with me to calculate the grams when I eat? Later, after eating for half a month with a friend who was a community nutrition guide, I discovered that these values ​​​​do not need to be memorized by rote, and can be roughly estimated by hand - a fist-sized portion of cereals and potatoes as the staple food, a fist-and-a-half to two fistfuls of vegetables, a palm-sized portion of lean meat or fish and shrimp, and a medium-sized apple and orange as a snack. If you drink enough for two bottles of ordinary mineral water, the difference will not be much different in a day. I used to help a sedentary post-95s girl in the company adjust her diet. She used to like to order takeaways with heavy food. She got acne on her face and was prone to sleepiness. So I adjusted the amount according to this approximate amount. She drank a box of pure milk in the morning, added an egg and half a piece of corn, and took it with her at noon. A fistful of brown rice, stir-fried broccoli, and pan-fried fish, a small handful of almonds in the afternoon, and some spinach soup with half a sweet potato in the evening. Within two months, she said her complexion had improved a lot, and her low-density lipoprotein during physical examination had dropped back to the normal range.

Of course, there are many dietary schools that do not recognize this recommended amount. For example, supporters of the low-carb diet and the ketogenic diet, which have become popular in recent years, believe that the amount of staple food for ordinary people can be reduced to 150g or even less than 50g. Reducing the intake of refined carbohydrates can control weight faster and stabilize blood sugar. There are also many people with prediabetes who eat this way. Indeed, short-term indicators have improved significantly. However, there are different voices in the mainstream nutrition community. They believe that long-term insufficient carbohydrate intake may affect the energy supply of the brain, causing problems such as slow reaction and hair loss. People with poor kidney function may also increase their metabolic burden due to high protein intake. It is not suitable for everyone, especially children who are still in school and fitness enthusiasts who do a lot of daily exercise. They still need to ensure sufficient intake of staple foods.

In fact, there is really no need to regard these numbers as an iron rule that must be followed. If you have climbed a mountain all afternoon today, it is perfectly fine to eat two more bowls of rice. If you have a hot pot barbecue with friends over the weekend, you can make up for it by eating more fresh vegetables and adding less oil in the next two days. A balanced diet is inherently a long-term dynamic balance. Being obsessed with eating a few more bites of meat and a few bites of vegetables in a certain meal will deviate from the original intention of eating well.