Dumplings: The Perfect Food Pyramid and Culinary Considerations

To prevent various modern diseases, nutritionists and medical experts from both China and abroad are urging people to maintain a balanced diet almost daily. They have developed the most scientific pyramid structure, where food intake gradually decreases from the bottom to the top, in the following order: various grains, vegetables and fruits, various animal products, dairy products, and finally, oil at the top. While the pyramid structure advocated by nutritionists and medical experts is good, who has the time to weigh and measure all the food they eat every day?

There's an old Chinese saying, "Nothing tastes better than dumplings." But what people might not realize is that these dumplings, considered the pinnacle of Chinese cuisine and entrusted with the important task of "bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new," also perfectly align with the most popular and highly regarded nutritional standards among nutritionists both domestically and internationally. It seems that delicious food isn't necessarily something to be eaten in excess; dumplings are arguably perfect.

The greatest advantage of dumplings is their well-balanced nutritional composition. They provide a complete range of nutrients needed daily, including protein, fat, and carbohydrates, and in proportions consistent with the nutritional pyramid structure: the dumpling wrapper is made from flour-a grain-based food-and is generally rich in vegetables; the amount of high-quality protein-pork, chicken, or lamb-is moderate, as people rarely eat dumplings filled entirely with meat; and a little oil, especially vegetable oil, is usually added to the filling to supplement plant-based fats. When people eat rice, stir-fries, or noodles, even with a variety of vegetables, it's difficult to ensure that every type is consumed, let alone in proportion. However, a single dumpling provides a basic intake of all the necessary nutrients. Eating only one type of dumpling filling can provide a complete nutritional profile. Some people like to include a variety of fillings in a meal, which not only adds variety and enjoyment to the meal but also enhances its nutritional diversity and richness.

The second major advantage of dumplings is their ease of portion control. Portion control of food intake is not only significant for certain patients, such as diabetics or those aiming to lose weight, but it's also a crucial prerequisite for maintaining health in modern society; its importance is self-evident. While it's difficult to precisely calculate the weight of rice or noodles, few people struggle with measuring dumplings individually.

Dumplings are delicious, but there are some things to keep in mind for people with different illnesses:

1. People with weak gastrointestinal function or gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, functional dyspepsia (such as frequent diarrhea), and those in the recovery period after gastrointestinal surgery: It is best to avoid or eat less dumplings filled with leeks and celery, because these vegetables contain a lot of fiber, which will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract.

2. Diabetics should avoid excessive oil intake, as oily dumplings can easily cause blood sugar fluctuations. Since the dough makes up a limited portion of the dumpling's weight (50g of dumpling contains less flour than 50g of noodles), diabetics can eat more dumplings if they want to replace 50g of noodles. Patients with cholecystitis or pancreatitis should also limit the amount of oil and vegetables in their dumplings.

3. Liver patients should try to eat dumplings made with lean meat and vegetables with low fiber content to avoid indigestion.

4. Gout patients should avoid eating dumplings made with seafood, as seafood is high in purines, and excessive purine intake can easily trigger a gout attack.

Having discussed so many benefits of various foods, here are a few negative examples to remind you: "Delicious food is good, but be careful!" After all, every coin has two sides, and eating too much steamed bun can make you feel stuffed!

1. Proper Consumption of Green Beans: Green beans are a common vegetable on the daily table, fragrant and delicious. However, if not cooked properly, such as undercooking, the toxins they contain cannot be destroyed, leading to food poisoning. Some people like to blanch green beans in boiling water first, and then stir-fry them in oil, thinking that two heating methods are enough. In reality, if neither heating is thorough, the toxins will not be destroyed. Others, attracted by the color, don't cook green beans thoroughly, unaware that undercooked beans can cause poisoning. Preventing green bean poisoning is actually very simple: just cook them thoroughly until they lose their original raw green color and have no raw bean taste. Additionally, avoid buying and eating old green beans, and remove the ends and pods before cooking, as these parts contain more toxins.

2. Be cautious when consuming "flour beans" (also known as "cat's bean"). Flour beans contain toxic glycosides, which primarily inhibit cholinesterase. Ingesting flour beans where the toxic glycosides are not completely destroyed can produce clinical symptoms similar to organophosphate pesticide poisoning. Symptoms usually appear 4-8 hours after ingestion, with an incubation period ranging from a minimum of 30 minutes to a maximum of 24 hours. Symptoms include dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, weakness, numbness in the limbs, muscle tremors, and palpitations. Severe cases may involve salivation, sweating, constricted pupils, decreased blood pressure, confusion, or coma. Because flour beans contain tannins, diarrhea is less common. Beans must be thoroughly processed before they can be eaten. Fresh beans are boiled with the pods and skins on after being picked. The hairy outer skin is then peeled off, and the keratinized inner skin inside the pod is also removed. The beans, along with the seeds, are then soaked in cold water for three days and nights, with the water changed twice a day. Dried beans are processed in a more complicated way, requiring soaking for five to eight days and nights. After being processed in the same way, they are then cooked before they can be eaten.

Because the processing of soybeans is complex and difficult for the average person to master, it is impossible to remove the toxic glycosides that cause poisoning. Therefore, readers are advised to be cautious when consuming soybeans.