Healthy Options
for the
Chinese Diet
Alda Lee
NZ Registered Dietitian
Senior Lecturer AUT University
Topics
 Services
 Traditional Chinese Foods
 Heart Healthy Guidelines
 Education – Reading Labels
 Case Studies
 Conclusion
Some nutritional issues:
Allergies / Anorexia
Blood Pressure
Cholesterol
Diabetes
Eating Disorders
Food Intolerances
Gastric Reflux
Hiatus Hernia
Irritable Bowel
Kidney
Digestive Health
Malabsorption
Nutrient deficiency
Obesity / Osteoporosis
PCOS
Respiratory
Salicylate Sensitivity
Teenage Nutrition
Underweight
Vegetarian / Vegans
Weight management
Traditional Chinese Diet
 Low in fat and high in fibre
 High intake of vegetables
 Lean meat, fish, tofu and beans
 Rice
 Adequate intake of fruit
 Using cooking methods such as steaming, grilling and
stir frying
Meal Patterns - Breakfast
Asian
 Rice porridge (congee)
 Noodles
 Rice and vegetables
 Savoury steamed or fried
buns
 Dumplings
 Kumara
European
 Cereal (Weetbix, muesli,
cornflakes, Special K)
 Porridge
 Toast
 Yoghurt
 Fruit
Weekends
Cooked: e.g. eggs + bacon+
toast + tomato
Lunch
 Asian
 Rice or noodles or buns +
 Vegetables + meat or chicken
or fish or egg
 Buns – steamed or fried
Snacks:
 Rice crackers
 Instant noodles
 Peanuts, cashew nuts
 Prawn crackers (deep fried)
 Fruit
European
 Sandwich
 Filled Rolls
 Pies
 Salad
 Yoghurt
 Takeaways
Snacks:
 Fruit
 Cheese and crackers
 Scones / Biscuits
 Cake / chocolate
 Potato chips
Dinner
Asian
 Rice +
 Meat or chicken or fish
 Vegetables
 Soup
Dessert:
 Fresh fruit
Drinks: Tea/Wine
European
 Chicken meat or fish
 Potato or kumara or
 Rice or Pasta
 Vegetables or salad
 Takeaways: e.g. Fish & chips
Dessert:
 Fruit
 Yoghurt
 Ice cream
 Chocolate/ Biscuits
Drinks: Wine/beer/sodas
But: Eating Out
Chinese restaurants are certainly quick and easy. But the
typical sauces can be sugary-sweet or way too salty,
and a lot of options come battered and deep-fried, e.g.
lemon chicken, sweet and sour pork / fish
Bigger portions of meat and rice eaten
Family Dinners
More is Better!
Yum Char
 Deep-fried, high in fat
 High in salt, mono sodium glutamate (MSG)
 High in sugar such as in desserts
Health Consequences
 Overweight
 High Cholesterol
 Diabetes
 Hypertension
Heart Healthy Eating Guidelines
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Eat a variety of foods from each of the major four
food groups each day.
Prepare meals with small amounts of salt and sugar
added.
Choose prepared foods, drinks and snacks that are
low in fat, sugar and salt.
Maintain a healthy body weight by regular activity
and by healthy eating.
Drink plenty of liquids each day, especially water.
If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
Healthier Options:
Less Fat
 Remove visible fat during preparation (e.g. chicken skin)
 Choose mono / poly unsaturated fats
 Use small amount of oil
 Removing skin from chicken and duck before eating
 Limit pieces of roast pork (special occasions only)
 Choose steamed dishes e.g. tofu or organic chicken
instead of crispy deep fried
Polyunsaturated Fats
 Safflower oil, sunflower oil
 Corn oil, Canola, soya bean oil
 Polyunsaturated margarines
 Wheat germ
 Wholegrain cereals and breads
 Seeds
 Walnuts, Brazil
 Fish oils naturally present in fish
Mono-unsaturated Fats
 Avocado
 Peanuts and peanut butter
 Canola oil
 Olive oil and olives
 Olive oil-based margarines
 Almonds, Cashews
 Hazelnuts, Pistachio
 Macadamia
 Rice bran Oil
Photo source from http://images.google.co.nz/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi
Recommended fat intake levels
 Total fat intake should provide 30 – 35% of total energy
 Saturated fats should provide no more than 15% of total
energy
 Females less than 30g/fat per day
 Males less than 40g/fat per day
Less Salt
 Use Lo Salt or salt reduced soy sauce (Kikkoman)
 Prepare meals with minimum salt added
 Use herbs and spices to add flavour eg garlic, ginger,
chillis, lemon juice, 5 spice powder, aniseed
 Limit salty foods such as salted fish, oyster sauce,
hoisin sauce
Less Sugar
 Important for managing weight, diabetes and high
triglyceride levels
 Use sugar substitutes such as stevia or artificial
sweeteners
 Choose diet drinks, diet or light yoghurts, canned fruit
in water or juice
 Choose green tea or water
How To Read Labels
Fat – Total
- Saturated
per 100g
10g or less
2g or less
Carbohydrates
- Sugars
Sodium
15 - 20g
Under 450mg
Fat Content of Crackers









Ryvita, assorted flavours
Crispbread, rye
Rice/prawn
Salada, Arnotts
Wholemeal and Sesame
Cheese
Sesame
Snax, Griffins
Meal Mates, Griffins
Total fat per 100g
1.9
2.1
3.7
8.2
15.7
22.4
22.6
24.5
25.7
Fat Content of Cheese
% Fat
Low Fat
Cottage cheese
Bega Super slim
Mainland Lite Slice
Mozzarella
3
9.5
14
18
Medium
Feta
Camembert
Brie
Edam
22
23
23
24
% Fat
High
Processed Cheese
Gruyere
Gouda
Parmesan
Blue Vein
Colby
Cream Cheese
Cheddar
28
30
30
30
31
32
34
35
Case Study 1
 Patient X Male 64 years old
 Height: 1.73m
Weight: 87.9kg (ideal 70kg)
 BMI: 29.2
 Total Cholesterol: 7.2 mmol/l
 HDL: 0.93 mmol/l
 Total: HDL Ratio: 8
 Cardiovascular risk (5 years): 15-20% (High)
 Impaired glucose tolerance HBA1c =43
Family History – Father had stroke in his 50’s now
deceased
 Medications: Lipitor 20 mg, asprin
 Stopped smoking for over a year
 Not very compliant with taking his lipitor
 LOVES his food
Food History
 Breakfast: 10.30am
Muesli, 2x weetbix and soy milk
 Lunch: 2.00pm
4x bowls white rice with 250g -350g meat and stir fry
veges
or 4-6 slices bread with avocado
or Double whopper burger king with cheese, regular
fries and soft drink
or Large pizza
Dinner: 8.00pm
 Burger King – double whopper, chips and soft drink
 2x bowls rice, 2x small kumara and quarter of chicken
 Chinese restaurant – fried pork chops, 2 bowls of rice, tofu
and vegetables
 Quarter of chicken, 2 small kumara, 2 x bowls of rice, tofu
and stir fried vegetables
Average fat intake per meal 45 g fat = 9 tsp fat
Diagnosis:
Too much carbohydrates, fat
sugar and salt
Healthy Changes
 Decrease portion sizes – palm size for meat and handsize







for fish or tofu
Decrease amount of rice to only 1 bowl
Increase his fish intake
Increase vegetable intake, increase water intake
Dinner mainly tofu and vegetables
Water with meals
Increased exercise to 6 times per week
Weight dropped from 87.9kg to 83.8 kg in 5 weeks
Results: Feels better, more energy, stomach smaller
work in progress
Case Study 2
 Patient Y Female 62 years old
 Height: 1.59m
Weight: 57kg
 BMI: 22
 Cholesterol 3.9mmol/L
 Triglyceride: 1.3 mmol/L
 HDL: 1.25 mmol/L
 LDL: 2.1 mmol/L
 Chol/HDL Ratio: 3.1
 HBA1C = 49 mmol/mol
Medications
 Statins
 Metformin – not started
Ex-nurse now tutor working from home
No exercise
Food History
Breakfast: 7 - 9.30pm
 1 slice plain toast or
 V8 Juice or
 Oatmeal porridge + banana + 1 tablespoon sultanas
 Water
Lunch: 12-2pm
 Yum Char daily when husband home or
 2x week or
 2 eggs/bacon/sausage and toast or
 Macaroni
Dinner: 9.30pm
 Fish once a week
 Salmon or tofu
 Rice only once a week when out
 Mainly vegetables
Diagnosis:
Too much food at Yum Char, too many calories, no
exercise and eating too late
Healthy Changes
 Decreased Yum Char – only once a week
better choices – steamed rice roll, congee, vegetables,
steamed vegetable and meat dumplings, green tea
 Reading labels
 Smaller portion sizes
 Water with meals
 Walking 4x week for 20 minutes
Results: Feeling better, more energy, blood test results
improved, more aware of how much to eat!
Where to
from here?
Traditional Chinese Diet
 Low in Fat and high in fibre
 High intake of vegetables, 2-3 pieces of fruit daily
 Palm size serving of lean meat or chicken
 Handsize serving for fish, tofu and beans
 Rice ( 1 bowl for men and half –three quarter bowl for females)
 Choosing more steamed dishes when eating out, no msg
Conclusion:
 Work together as allies to improve the health of our
Chinese patients in our community
Doctors + Dietitians + Allies
There is NO magic pill!
Questions?