A balanced diet can prevent most diseases

Yes, a balanced diet can indeed prevent more than 80% of common chronic diseases and can even reduce the risk of infection from some infectious diseases. This has been a conclusion jointly verified by the global nutrition and clinical medical communities.

Last year, when I was doing nutritional intervention follow-up in Hangzhou Zhaohui Community, I met 62-year-old Uncle Zhang. At that time, his high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia were at critical levels. The doctor had prescribed antihypertensive medicine for him to take first. He also suffered from oral ulcers at least twice a month, and the pain was so severe that he could not even eat. I adjusted his diet and did not let him buy any expensive health care products. I replaced the white rice he ate every day with one-third of oats and millet, added a chopstick of green leafy vegetables to each meal, ate an egg and a glass of milk every day, and cut down on fat. I changed the pickles from every meal to at most twice a week. Three months later, he came back for a check-up. His blood pressure was stable at around 130/80, his blood lipids had dropped by nearly 0.6mmol/L, his oral ulcers had been gone for two months, and even the constipation he complained about every day was mostly gone.

In fact, it is not just Uncle Zhang. Among the dozens of residents I have contacted who have participated in nutritional intervention, more than 80% of the early metabolic abnormalities can be returned to the normal range through 3-6 months of dietary adjustment without the need for additional medication. To be honest, I didn’t think that eating had such a big effect before. Until the year before last year, I stayed up late for three months while working on a project, ordering takeaways that were heavy in oil and salt. Later, a physical examination showed that the transaminases were slightly elevated. The doctor didn’t even prescribe medicine, so he asked me to eat more fresh vegetables, less fried food, and eat regularly. I adjusted it for a month as required and then went for a review. The indicators were completely normal.

Of course, there are many people who are not convinced by this conclusion. The most common question I have heard is "My friend eats salad every day, which is a balanced diet, so why is he still anemic?" "My old man has been eating simple meals all his life, doesn't he have diabetes?" Some people say that there are so many dietary schools now, and ketogenic, vegetarian, and Mediterranean diets all say they are good. Who do you listen to?

This is actually everyone’s misunderstanding of “balanced diet”. First of all, when we talk about "preventing most diseases", we refer to metabolic diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, high uric acid, fatty liver, etc.) and common problems caused by weakened immunity (recurrent colds, oral ulcers, constipation, fatigue, etc.) that account for more than 70% of daily medical visits. Of course, hereditary diseases, injuries caused by external forces, and some serious infectious diseases cannot be prevented by eating, and there is no need to deify the role of diet.

Secondly, there is no "balanced template" that is universally applicable. The set of avocados, salmon, and quinoa that is praised online is balanced, and the combination of vegetables, tofu, eggs, and corn bought from the wet market downstairs is also balanced. For example, the girl with anemia who eats salads every day only eats lettuce and cherry tomatoes without adding any staple food or protein. Her iron and B12 intake is seriously insufficient, so it would be strange if she is not anemic. There is also the old man who drinks white porridge with pickles every day. The carbohydrate content is too high and the sodium intake is too high, which is a high risk factor for diabetes. How can it be considered balanced?

There are indeed mixed opinions about diet on the Internet. Some people say that a high-protein diet is YYDS, and some people say that a vegetarian diet can cure all diseases. Some people say that eating ketogenic meals every day can lose weight and prevent cancer. Objectively speaking, these models are suitable for people: the DASH diet was originally designed for patients with hypertension, and the blood pressure control effect is indeed better than the ordinary diet; the vegetarian diet can fully meet the body's needs as long as it is combined with a good intake of B12, iron, and high-quality protein, and is more friendly to some patients with metabolic diseases; the ketogenic diet was originally used to treat refractory epilepsy in children. Short-term use can indeed lead to rapid weight loss, but long-term persistence of ordinary people will increase blood lipids and increase the burden on the liver and kidneys. It cannot be said to be "preventing diseases" at all. To put it bluntly, the combination that suits your physical condition is truly balanced.

We always say that the body is a sophisticated machine, but in fact it is more like the old community where you have lived for decades. The food you eat is the supplies given to maintenance workers and security guards. You only give people instant noodles and ham sausages every day. The security guards have no strength to catch the thieves (viruses, mutated cells) that sneak in. The maintenance workers are short of parts. Broken water pipes and broken circuits cannot be repaired in time. Of course, problems will arise everywhere in the community over time. To put it simply, a balanced diet means providing workers with all the supplies they need. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just enough.

If you really want to implement it in your daily meals, you don’t have to hold a scale to count grams and count calories, and you don’t have to torture yourself by eating boiled vegetables every time. Just remember a rough plate rule: put half of the plate with vegetables, one-quarter with staple foods (preferably one-third with grains), and the remaining one-quarter with proteins such as meat, eggs, and beans. Use less oil and salt. It’s okay to have a hot pot or a cup of milk tea if you’re craving for it now and then. Just don’t eat it every day. The elders often say "eat a little of everything, and don't eat too much of anything". In fact, it is the simplest principle of a balanced diet. Eating well is more effective than health care products that cost thousands of dollars.