BEIJING, Beijing, Feb. 23 (Reporter Sun Zifa) On Feb. 23, the lunar calendar has entered the Year of the Rat in February, and the "epidemic" of the whole country has continued for more than a month. At the moment of epidemic situation, it is very important for the public to do personal protection, improve their own resistance and strengthen their immunity.
As the saying goes, people are iron rice and steel. What is the connection between diet and immunity? During the "epidemic" war, how to enhance the body’s immunity through diet? What problems should be paid attention to in diet? Chief physician Chen Wei, chairman of the Clinical Nutrition Branch of China Nutrition Society and deputy director of the Clinical Nutrition Department of China Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College Hospital, responded one by one through the online interview organized by China Association for Science and Technology, stressing that three meals a day should be kept healthy, four kinds of food should be guaranteed every day, more than 12 kinds of food should be guaranteed every day, and at least 25 kinds of food should be eaten every week.
Professor Bo Huang, vice chairman of the Chinese Society of Immunology and the Department of Immunology of China Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College, also pointed out that a healthy and reasonable diet is undoubtedly the basis for maintaining the normal function of the whole cell. In the face of the current epidemic situation, eating more foods such as mushrooms, Lycium barbarum, Ganoderma lucidum powder and auricularia auricula is helpful to improve immunity, because these foods are rich in plant polysaccharides, including lentinan, Lycium barbarum polysaccharide and Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide, which can stimulate receptor molecules on the surface of natural immune cells and make immune cells in a pre-stimulated state.
What is the relationship between diet and immunity?
Chen Wei said that the human body has three layers of "defense walls" to resist external invasion. The first layer is skin and mucous membranes on the surface of the body, through which more than 90% of viruses and bacteria are attacked by the outside world. If the virus enters the body, the body will start the second layer of protection, which can kill most foreign viruses and germs by secreting mucus and phagocytizing cells through the mucosa; If it is unfortunate that some viruses enter the body or even cells, the third layer of human protection will start, and antibodies will be produced by intracellular substances, and the invading viruses will be removed through antibodies. Therefore, these three lines of defense determine the vast majority of people’s immune functions.
Are these three layers of defense related to diet? Chen Wei pointed out that the mucus secreted by mucous membranes mentioned above and the antibodies produced by human own cells are all protein, and these protein forms the basis of the body’s resistance. "Where does protein come from? You have to eat to come. Unlike plants, the human body needs light for photosynthesis, and the human body must rely on our mouth to eat nutrients and eat our resistance. "
How to "eat" immunity?
Since diet is closely related to resistance, how to improve resistance and enhance immunity through diet? Chen Wei gave the answer with a set of data:
First, keep healthy three meals a day. During the epidemic, many people are forced to stay at home and keep a regular life. In addition to normal sleep, they must eat three meals to maintain their resistance, and they must not reduce their meals, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. Second, four kinds of food should be guaranteed every day, including grains (sweet potatoes), vegetables and fruits, high-quality protein foods and oils; The third is to ensure more than 12 kinds of food every day, that is, there must be at least 12 kinds of food in the four categories; Fourth, eat at least 25 kinds of food a week to achieve a more balanced nutrition and enhance resistance.
He also provided specific recipes, saying that grains (sweet potatoes) should eat at least three or more staple foods and no more than one kilogram every day, with flour and rice or coarse grains, including rice, white flour and other ingredients, and some sweet potatoes like sweet potatoes, yams, taro, potatoes and other ingredients; Vegetables and fruits should eat 1-2 kg every day to supplement vitamins and dietary fiber to meet the basic needs of nutrition; High-quality protein foods "should eat good things in place", including meat, eggs, milk and bean products. Among them, at least 2-3 pieces of meat, 1-2 eggs, 1-2 bags of milk and a little tofu every day constitute a high-quality protein combination; Oil should be protected with a little oil, 2-3 spoonfuls of oil every day.
What should you pay attention to during the epidemic?
Chen Wei first clarified the rumor that "eating garlic can prevent viruses" and "rubbing sesame oil can fight germs" and other foods to treat COVID-19. He pointed out that the impact of food on immunity only refers to the basic role, and there is no special food, and folk remedies can’t cure diseases, nor can they really prevent diseases. "Eating a good meal, doing exercise and doing personal protection are the most important and effective ways to get through the epidemic safely".
He said that during the epidemic period, the public’s attention in diet also included sharing meals, cooking food thoroughly, not superstitious about refrigerators and balconies, and staying away from wild animals.
In the dining system, everyone will be very careful when going out or in public, but they will often relax when they get home. We should pay attention to this. We should reduce family dinners, and three people should eat their own meals. If there are public dishes, we must try our best to use public spoons and chopsticks to reduce cross-correlation.
When cooking food, we must pay attention to cooking the food thoroughly. Chen Wei suggested heating it for one minute more than usual during the epidemic. "It is cooked, cook it for one more minute and stew it for one more minute, which is safe for you and your family life."
It’s still winter, and some people in the north want to put food such as fruits and vegetables on the balcony, which can’t be cold outside, or put it in the refrigerator, which can freeze the germs to death. Chen Wei pointed out that those who have this idea must pay attention to the fact that refrigerators and balconies can only provide a certain storage temperature, and the temperature difference between day and night will also change greatly. Generally speaking, 0 -4 degrees can not inhibit the growth of bacteria. In addition, homebodies, in particular, should change stale ingredients regularly, and if they find a little bad fruits and vegetables, they should be removed as much as possible.
From the aspect of staying away from wild animals, at present, the epidemic situation is very related to wild animals, and all kinds of wild animals (food) should be rejected. Of course, there is no need to overdo it. During the epidemic prevention and control period, many people killed and threw pets out of fear, so it is unnecessary. After thousands of years of domestication, human beings can also rest assured of eating meat products of livestock and poultry such as pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks.
Chen Wei also specially reminded that in response to epidemic prevention and control, the public must reduce the damage to their own resistance in their diet, including avoiding eating too much unclean food that is easy to upset their stomachs, and paying attention to separating raw food from cooked food and tableware, so as to reduce the disease caused by dietary factors. It brings new burdens to individual resistance.
