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All year round, there are many
festivals to celebrate; for example, the Chinese Lunar New Year, Dragon
Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Christmas, etc. Under such joyful
celebrations, overeating is unavoidable. During festivals, vast amount
of traditional festive foods and snacks will be prepared for family and
friends; however, most of the foods are high in fat, sugar, salt and low
in fiber. Overeating during festive seasons can lead to weight gain. Not
only your waistline will be expanded, but blood fats which include cholesterol
and triglycerides will also be raised, consequently multiplying the risk
of heart diseases. Therefore, health-wise people should focus more on
portion control and healthy selections during all festivals.
1. Triple Low, One High Eating Guide (low
fat, low sugar, low salt
and high fiber)
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Avoid fatty meat, offal, pig's feet, goose feet,
skin, and Chinese preserved sausages & meat.
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Avoid high fat Chinese desserts such as sesame glutinous
balls, coconut milk year cake, rice dumplings and cakes. Choose high fiber
desserts like sweet potato, red bean soup, and low fat ones such as jelly
and sorbet.
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Avoid deep-frying when cooking. Use steaming, poaching, stewing,
grilling, baking, and braising.
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Be light in seasoning and reduce use of salt. Use low sodium
condiments such as ginger, green onion, garlic, coriander, cloves, star-anise,
lemon and other herbs & spices.
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Consume mainly low fat carbohydrates, vegetable and fresh
fruits to increase satiety and fiber intake.
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2. Choose Healthy Snacks
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Avoid deep-fried snacks such as potato chips.
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Choose dried fruits (e.g. dried apricots, figs and apple slices)
instead of sugar-coated lotus roots and seeds. Dried fruits are rich in
fiber, vitamins and minerals which improve intestinal health & immunity.
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Other healthy snacks include rice crackers, rice cakes, raisin
biscuits, oatmeal squares cereal, individually packed dried scallop, seaweed
and dried anchovies.
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Choose unsalted and non-fried nuts and seeds. Adequate intake
of nuts and seeds can lower bad cholesterol and enhance heart health.
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Choose snowy moon-cake and rice dumplings made with lean meat.
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| 3. Don't Forget
Exercise
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Maintain exercise during holidays. It is best to go hiking
with family to enrich family bonding. At the same time, it can help burn
off extra calories from festive eating.
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| Healthy
Festive Recipe |
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