You are not allowed to eat porridge for breakfast? What is the problem with porridge? How to eat it healthily

Recently, a video of Dr. Zhang Wenhong has caused a heated discussion online. When talking about the topic of children eating breakfast, he said, "Never feed them junk food. Breakfast must be high in nutrition and protein. Plenty of milk and eggs every morning before going to school. No porridge in the morning!"

Some people online applauded and gave thumbs up to the post, saying that porridge is junk food and should not be fed to children; others said that eating porridge for breakfast is a Chinese tradition, so why can't it be eaten suddenly?

What is wrong with porridge? Is it really impossible to eat porridge? How to eat porridge healthily? Today we will talk about porridge.

01What kind of porridge is not allowed to be eaten?

It’s actually white porridge.
I watched the video of Dr. Zhang Wenhong. If you think about it carefully, what Dr. Zhang said is that we should pay attention to the combination and structure of children's diet, especially the intake of high-quality protein. In other words, parents should pay attention to the nutrition of their children's breakfast!

When he said that we are not allowed to eat porridge, he was actually referring to our traditional breakfast habits - drinking white porridge, adding pickles, and some steamed buns/fried cakes/fried dough sticks; or simply eating a big bowl of white porridge. This unhealthy pattern is "not allowed". It is not simply not allowed to eat white porridge.

02What’s the problem with white porridge?

White porridge, as the name suggests, is porridge made with white rice.
Nowadays, white rice is refined rice. In the refining process, the vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber are very few, and the nutritional value itself is very low. After being cooked into porridge, it will only be worse.
From a nutritional point of view, porridge contains a lot of water, especially when it is cooked thinly, and the rest is mainly gelatinized starch (carbohydrates). Its nutritional composition is very simple, and it can basically only provide energy and water to the human body. Other nutrients such as protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc. are very low.

Moreover, after being cooked into porridge, the white rice is cooked and the digestion speed of white porridge is faster than that of white rice, which is not good for blood sugar control, makes you hungry quickly, and is not conducive to energy control. Even as a staple food, it is not a good staple food. Therefore, white porridge is not a good choice. It is better to eat less or no white porridge for breakfast, and it is not advisable to eat only white porridge.
Children are in a critical period of growth and development, and their bodies have a higher demand for high-quality protein. If you still follow the traditional Chinese habit of having a bowl of porridge and pickles for breakfast, it is obviously unhealthy. Eating like this for a long time will only delay the healthy growth and development of the body. From a health perspective, at least ensure that there are high-quality proteins such as eggs and milk in your daily breakfast. Moreover, a glass of milk and an egg are relatively healthy and easy to operate, which has become the recommendation of many people.
How to eat breakfast healthily?

03Is porridge all junk food?

Doctor Zhang Wenhong said that we should not eat junk food. Therefore, many people think that porridge is junk food. In fact, this is a misunderstanding.
1. Reasonable matching is crucial.
In nutrition, there is no such thing as junk food. The key is the combination. Drink a small bowl of porridge, a meat bun, some vegetables, an egg, a glass of milk and a fruit. The overall combination is also very nutritious and comprehensive. Therefore, a reasonable combination is crucial.
2. The type of porridge is important.
Moreover, the low nutritional value of white porridge does not mean that all porridge is bad. Expand your thinking and make different porridges, and the nutritional value can be greatly improved.
(1) Multi-grain porridge.
If the ingredients of porridge are cleverly matched and processed, and beans, other cereals or potatoes are added, the nutrients contained in a bowl of porridge can be greatly enriched. For example, sufficient dietary fiber and other nutrients can be supplemented, the sense of fullness is stronger, and the amount of food intake can be better controlled.
Moreover, cooking whole grain porridge may also be beneficial for people to eat whole grains. Although whole grains and beans have high nutritional value, they are not refined and generally have a tight texture. When cooking rice, many people find it hard to chew; after cooking porridge, the texture of the ingredients is soft and more acceptable to more people. For children, eating whole grain rice may be too hard and rough, but drinking whole grain porridge is easier to accept.

(2) Western-style porridge.
Nowadays, some Western-style porridge (porridge) uses milk (yogurt), adds some whole-grain cereal, and some dried fruits and fresh fruits. The content of protein, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals in this kind of porridge is also greatly improved, and the overall nutritional value is significantly improved by more than one level.
(3) Meat porridge.
There are also some meat porridges, such as lean meat porridge and shrimp porridge, which add some meat and some vegetables, and the overall nutritional value is greatly improved.
Therefore, not all porridges are inedible. The key is to look at the type and combination of porridges. Don't just treat it as traditional white porridge. Let your mind fly and don't be imprisoned by traditional ideas.

04 Want to eat porridge, how to eat porridge healthily?
Although there are many problems with porridge shops, porridge itself is a good food. Its advantages are: rich ingredients and low fat. Whether eating at home or eating out, if you want to drink porridge healthily, two things are crucial:

1. Drink porridge in moderation.
Porridge has a lot of water and a large volume, so eating porridge easily takes up a lot of stomach space. If you drink a large bowl of porridge, you may not be able to eat much other food, which can easily lead to unbalanced nutritional intake. Therefore, when eating porridge for breakfast, try not to eat too much, just a small bowl to leave some room for other foods in the stomach.

1. Try not to add salt, sugar and alkali.
   Salt and sugar are not good for health, and alkali will destroy the B vitamins in porridge. Therefore, try not to add sugar, salt and alkali when cooking porridge.

3. Cook porridge with high nutritional value, not just plain porridge.

White porridge has low nutritional value, but as long as you master the right combination of ingredients, porridge can also be nutritious. For example, multi-grain porridge, meat porridge, Western porridge and so on.
It is recommended that when cooking porridge, you might as well try a variety of combinations of ingredients, and don’t always cook plain porridge limited by traditional ideas. This way, the porridge will be more delicious and healthier.

4. When eating porridge, pay attention to the reasonable combination and balanced nutrition.
Porridge is just a staple food. Don't just eat porridge with pickles, steamed buns/fried cakes/fried dough sticks. Not only is the nutrition single (almost just providing energy), but it is also easy to cause excessive sodium intake.
When eating porridge, you must pay attention to the combination. You can pair it with some vegetables, such as cold spinach, blanched kale, etc.; then add some foods containing high-quality protein, such as milk, shredded tofu, assorted vegetables, braised beef, blanched shrimps, etc., and then add some fruits. This will be much healthier.