Labros S. Sidossis - Textbook of Lifestyle Medicine

Nutrition becomes the controlling factor in the development of chronic degenerative diseases.

A detailed description of the Asian dietary model and a sample menu plan can be found in Appendix B.10.

FIGURE 6.5 Illustrations for the Chinese dietary guidelines launched in 2016: (a) Chinese Food Guide (CFG) G‐Pagoda is the main graphical illustration; (b) CFG‐Plate; and (c) CFG‐Abacus function as supplementary illustrations for CFG‐Pagoda.

Source:Reprinted from Yang et al. (2018b).

The traditional Asian diet is followed in most Asian countries, and although it varies in many aspects between countries, it holds many similarities regarding the consumption of traditional Asian foods.

The Asian diet is primarily characterized by high consumption of rice, foods of plant origin (e.g., soy products), fish and seafood, as well as fruits and vegetables.

The Japanese and the Chinese dietary guidelines represent two well‐documented examples of healthy Asian diets.

The incidence of several chronic diseases, such as CVD and cancer, has been shown to be lower in most Asian societies compared to most Western countries.

The recent shift from the traditional Asian diet to a more Western‐like diet is characterized by an increase in meat consumption and a decrease in rice consumption.

1 What are the main characteristics of the Asian diet?

2 State two well‐documented examples of healthy Asian diets.

3 What kinds of foods are included at the base of the “Chinese Food Guide Pagoda”?

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