Epidemic + college entrance examination, how should we eat three meals a day?

Beijing will host the college entrance examination under the epidemic, and many cases have occurred in the food and catering industry chain. How can parents ensure the nutrition and energy of candidates while providing safe food?

Compiled by Ji Jingjing New Media Editor: Chen Xuanzhi

【Keynote Speakers】

Fan Zhihong

Post-scientist at Beijing Food Nutrition and Human Health High-tech Innovation Center, Director of Chinese Nutrition Society, Director of China Health Promotion and Health Education Association, Chief Expert of Nutrition Science Communication appointed by China Association for Science and Technology, Doctor of Food Science of China Agricultural University

Everyone is very concerned about how to eat during the epidemic to improve their "disease resistance". In fact, fighting against viruses and defeating diseases is like fighting a war. The body should have some materials needed to resist the disease. As the saying goes, "before the troops move, the food and grass must go first". If the body's nutrition cannot keep up, the disease resistance will lose its basic support. When the epidemic coincided with the college entrance examination, parents and candidates were also very concerned about another issue: how to ensure nutrition and energy under the premise of safe diet?

Safe eating comes first

Let’s talk about safety first. During the exam period, safe eating is more important than anything else.

First, prevent problems such as bacterial food poisoning. Foods given to children must be heated thoroughly. If they have a delicate stomach, they should eat less fruits and salads, because these foods are mainly raw and it is more or less impossible to completely heat and sterilize them. If the stomach is not good, they often have diarrhea and are easily nervous. In this case, try not to eat too many fruits and raw vegetables. There is no problem with eating cooked food.

Second, try not to eat foods you have never eaten before. Because it is difficult to predict whether you will have indigestion or adverse reactions, or even allergies, when eating foods you have never eaten before. For example, eating whole grains is very good for the spleen and stomach, and eating them early will also develop a good eating habit. But if you have never eaten them before, a bunch of beans and oatmeal grains will enter the stomach, and those with weak stomachs may easily have some "gas reactions". If you are during the exam period, it is hard to say that you will not be distracted. Therefore, the more homely the diet during this period, the better, there is no need to suddenly eat delicacies from mountains and seas, so as to avoid the tension of the candidates and reduce the psychological burden.

Third, when cooking at home, pay attention to kitchen hygiene. For example, knives, cutting boards, various basins and bowls should be kept separate for raw and cooked food, and it is best to scald them with hot water. Be sure to wash your hands after beating eggs to avoid bringing salmonella that may be carried on the surface of eggs to other foods.

Eat three meals properly and keep blood sugar balanced

In addition to safety, we also consider the issue of nutrition.

The quality of breakfast must be improved to ensure nutrition. It is encouraged to eat more whole grains, because the exam lasts for three hours in the morning. For example, 50 grams of oatmeal in breakfast will not last as long as 50 grams of rice. Oatmeal will last longer because it is slowly digested and energy is released little by little, so blood sugar will not be too high or too low. At the same time, in order to enhance the nutrition of breakfast, you must eat more protein-rich foods, because protein can stimulate the production of some insulin-like and some insulin-stimulating gastrointestinal hormones GIP or GLP-1, which can make blood sugar after a meal more stable. Eggs, milk, vegetables and even meat are all preferred breakfast foods.

You also need to be careful about your blood sugar level not being too high during lunch. In fact, you need to eat some whole grains more for lunch than for breakfast. Generally, few people feel sleepy after breakfast, but there are many people who feel drowsy after lunch. Therefore, the amount of staple food for lunch should not be too large. Foods that have a particularly high blood sugar response, such as steamed buns and dumplings, should be reduced appropriately. You should ensure that you have enough vegetables, do not consume too much meat, do not make it too difficult to digest, and have enough protein. Here is a special tip for eating vegetables: after the meal is served, eat half a bowl of vegetables first, preferably green leafy vegetables, so that the blood sugar response of lunch can be suppressed without making people feel hungry. The amount of vegetables must be sufficient. It is generally recommended to have three servings of vegetables with one serving of meat.

Don't eat too much for dinner, just eat until you are full. If you eat too much at night, you will not sleep well. Go to bed early so that you won't feel hungry at night. Don't stay up late at this stage. Cramming at the last minute will not be very effective in my opinion.

Keep your energy on normal times

If you still doze off during the exam, it may be that your body is not in good condition. On the one hand, if you feel sleepy immediately after eating, it means that your blood sugar may be too high. If you feel sleepy after sitting for two hours, it may be that your blood sugar is too low, so the key is to stabilize your blood sugar. The second is to consider whether you usually have insomnia problems. If you want to use coffee to refresh yourself, if there are no adverse reactions after drinking it, you can try it, but the premise is that it should not affect your sleep at night. Otherwise, after drinking it, you will be too excited to sleep at night, and you will be more sleepy the next day, and you may not get good results.

(This article is from the Zhejiang Province "Science +" series of activities on May 20)

Produced by: Science Central Kitchen

Produced by: Beijing Science and Technology News | Science Plus Client