Chinese New Year Dining Tips from the "WELL" Standard
Created By RISC | 3 years ago
Last modified date : 2 years ago
The first thing that comes to mind when we think of Chinese New Year is its traditional dishes, each with its own set of meanings:
- Ped Palo (pot-stewed duck): professional success
- Pork Belly: prosperity, wealth, and abundance
- Pad Mee Sua (Chinese-style fried noodles): strength and longevity
- Khanom Thien (sweet stuffed dough pyramid), Khanom Keng (Chinese New Year's cake): Smooth and sweet operation
But RISC encourages you to think about your health too. The WELL Standard covers nutrition so let’s find some ideal meals for special occasions and daily life.
Let's try to eat more vegetables, fruits, and grains. They minimize colon cancer by providing health benefits from vitamins, minerals, and fiber. The antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, in yellow and dark green fruits and vegetables, help prevent eye and retina degeneration. Vitamins C and B1 boost immunity and absorb iron into our bodies.
We can take smaller portions of dessert. Sugar shouldn’t exceed 25 grams per dish, according to WELL guidelines, to avoid diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure. We should also replace high-fat dishes with skinless chicken or fish. Desserts such as Khanom Thien (sweet stuffed dough pyramid), Khanom Keng (Chinese New Year's cake), which contain flour and high sugar, should be served in smaller quantities.
Pad Mee Sua (Chinese-style fried noodles) should have less oil. The WELL Standard advises against using partly hydrogenated oils (PHO) because they are the main source of trans fats, which cause heart disease and raise cholesterol levels in the blood. Oils with unsaturated fatty acids, such as olive oil, rice bran oil, soybean oil, corn oil, or sunflower seed oil, should be used instead. Last but not least, stay away from spicy foods because they induce high blood pressure, which can lead to cardiovascular disease.
The WELL Standard also encourages the consumption of whole-grain-based foods such as brown rice, coarse rice, and whole wheat bread, which contain low-to-medium sugar levels and high fiber. If possible, use them instead of regular white rice.
And don’t forget to find time for more exercise for sustainable physical and mental well-being.
Story by Vasuta Chan, Senior Sustainable Designer, LEED AP BD+C and WELL AP, RISC
Reference: Bangkok Hospital, MGROnline, International WELL Building Institute, Falcon website