What health gifts will nutritionists give during the Spring Festival?

Author: Wu Jia (registered dietitian) Editor: Fan Zhihong

Spend the New Year in situ, have fewer meals and get-togethers... The Spring Festival is approaching, but the epidemic has turned the keywords of the Spring Festival of the Year of the Tiger into these. If you can't meet with your relatives and friends, sending gifts from a distance is also a good way to express your feelings.

What gifts should you prepare for the Spring Festival? What are the considerations for giving gifts to elders or friends? Let's take a look at a registered dietitian's Spring Festival gift list.

Nuts Gift Box

Nuts have a rich flavor, are very filling, and are nutritious and easy to store. Therefore, a nut gift box is a recommended New Year gift. Nuts are rich in vitamin E, B vitamins, and various minerals such as iron, zinc, calcium, and magnesium. Eating nuts is also good for cardiovascular health, and can also supplement some plant protein and dietary fiber.

Purchase points

Fresh and original. Nuts are rich in unsaturated fatty acids and are prone to spoilage, so you must buy fresh nuts, preferably in small packages, sealed and protected from light. You must choose original flavors. Low-temperature roasted nuts are OK, but avoid fried and sugared nuts. When purchasing, pay attention to the nutrition label and give priority to products with low sodium content.

High-grade cooking oil

There is a key point in fat intake, which is the balance of fatty acids. However, the oils we usually eat are mainly corn oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, etc. These oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids, but very low in omega-3 fatty acids.

Because oils with high omega-3 fatty acid content, such as walnut oil, flaxseed oil, and perilla oil, are relatively expensive, and the elders are reluctant to buy them. So it is also a good idea to give some high-end oils as gifts. In addition, oils rich in monounsaturated fatty acids are also worth eating, such as olive oil, tea seed oil, high oleic peanut oil, low-erucic rapeseed oil, etc. They are all suitable for people who need to pay attention to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health.

Purchase points

Small package, gift box combination. In addition, remember to remind the recipient that linseed oil, perilla oil, walnut oil, virgin olive oil and other oils have poor heat resistance and are suitable for making cold dishes, blanched dishes and stewed dishes; tea seed oil, refined olive oil, rapeseed oil, peanut oil and other oils have good heat resistance and can be used for cooking, but do not produce too much smoke.

Organic whole grains

Everyone knows the benefits of whole grains: they are good for weight control, controlling blood sugar after meals, and good for cardiovascular health... But organic grains are often much more expensive than ordinary ones. Because whole grains retain the outer layer of the seeds, the impact of environmental pollution will be greater. For pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and young children who are particularly concerned about food safety, organic products are worth buying.

Purchase points

Small packages, multiple varieties. Whole grains retain more vitamin E, unsaturated fatty acids, etc., so they are more likely to spoil than refined rice and white flour. Be sure to buy vacuum-packed or small packages.

You can choose specific whole grain varieties according to your digestive ability and taste preferences, such as black rice, red rice, brown rice, oats, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, etc. You can also add starchy beans, such as red beans, mung beans, various kidney beans, dry peas, etc., which all belong to the category of coarse grains.

Nutritional Supplements

If you are giving gifts to elders, nutritional supplements are a good choice because they can show that you care about their health.

Recently, we have received a lot of messages from the backstage, many of which are about what kind of nutritional supplements to give to the elderly at home:

In some cases, the elderly in the family have bad teeth, so it is difficult for them to eat and they don’t like to eat many things;

In some cases, the elderly have poor digestive ability and will suffer from indigestion and abdominal distension if they eat a little bit of high-protein and high-fat food.

In other cases, the elderly have some chronic diseases such as high blood lipids and high uric acid, and they dare not eat many "good things"... What nutritional supplements are good for these elderly people?

Some people are very interested in high-end tonic products and ask whether it is a good idea to give the elderly sea cucumbers, donkey-hide gelatin, royal jelly, etc. Which is better, ginseng or American ginseng?

These questions really cannot be answered in one sentence.

On the one hand, the digestion and absorption ability of the elderly becomes weaker. For example, the elderly who "can't eat much" as mentioned above often have the condition that people call "weakness and inability to be supplemented", and high-end tonic products may not necessarily play a health-care role.

On the other hand, before using traditional tonics, you should consult a Chinese medicine doctor to check your physical condition, and it is best to consult a Western doctor and a nutritionist. If you take inappropriate "tonics", it may even disrupt your metabolism and affect your health.

When giving gifts to the elderly, it is better to buy "medical nutrition foods" rather than buying some high-end tonics without understanding the situation. In view of the poor chewing ability, poor digestion and absorption ability of the elderly mentioned above, as well as some chronic diseases, medical nutrition products, especially complete medical nutrition products, are a convenient and reliable choice.

Medical nutrition refers to formula nutrition guided by the professional knowledge of medicine and nutrition, with the goal of meeting the nutritional needs of normal activities of people in the recovery period of illness. In Europe and the United States and other countries, medical nutrition products have been widely used since the 1980s.

After entering the domestic market, medical nutritional products are also called "special medical purpose formula foods". They need to be produced in accordance with strict pharmaceutical standards and verified by a large number of clinical trials. They are scientific, safe and effective nutritional supplement solutions.

Formulated foods for special medical purposes refer to formula foods that are specially processed and prepared to meet the special nutrient or dietary needs of people with restricted food intake, digestive and absorption disorders, metabolic disorders or specific disease conditions.

According to different clinical needs and applicable populations, the General Rules for Formulated Foods for Special Medical Purposes (GB 29922-2013) divides formulated foods for special medical purposes into three categories, namely, complete nutritional formula foods, specific complete nutritional formula foods and incomplete nutritional formula foods.

Complete nutritional formula food. A special medical formula food that can be used as a single source of nutrition to meet the nutritional needs of the target population. This type of product is suitable for people who need to fully supplement nutrients and have no special requirements for specific nutrients.

Simply put, this type of product includes almost all the nutrients needed by the human body, and can help meet the body's nutritional needs when the daily diet is insufficient or limited. It is suitable for most elderly people and people in recovery. Quan Ansu is a well-known complete nutritional formula food that contains high-quality protein, 27 vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber, which can provide scientific and comprehensive nutrition for the elderly.

Among them, high-quality protein is an important substance necessary for human life activities and helps the formation and growth of tissues;

Vitamin D contributes to the health of bones and teeth;

Vitamin C has antioxidant effects;

Vitamin B6 helps in the metabolism and utilization of protein, and scientifically proportioned unsaturated fatty acids can protect cardiovascular health.

Dietary fiber helps maintain intestinal health, promote intestinal motility and prevent constipation.

The product has obtained a registration certificate for complete nutritional formula food for special medical purposes, which explains the product formula, production process, labeling, instructions, and a review of the product's safety, nutritional adequacy, and clinical effects for special medical purposes.

Of course, if you have a better understanding of the health status of your elders at home and have mastered some nutritional knowledge, you can also send them some nutritional supplements according to their needs.

If there are fitness enthusiasts or thin elderly people who need to gain muscle, you can give them protein powder. If the elders at home have problems with bowel movements, you can consider prebiotics and probiotics; if they have blood lipid problems, you can choose lecithin, fish oil or dietary fiber according to the doctor's advice.

However, giving nutritional supplements is a very technical process, and you need to know the recipient's physical and nutritional status in advance. If you are not clear about the elderly's condition and do not know which nutritional supplements are suitable for them, it is recommended to consult a nutritionist in the hospital's nutrition department or a registered dietitian, who will give clearer guidance on the use of nutritional supplements and daily food.

In short, no matter what kind of healthy food and nutritional supplements you choose to give, only with careful attention and thoughtful care can the recipient feel the warmest greetings.

Finally, as the wonderful New Year approaches, I wish all my friends a happy Spring Festival, good health to your family, and all the best!

Source: Fan Zhihong_Original Nutrition Information

Reprint/ Cooperation please contact

[email protected]