Healthy recipe books recommended in the medical category

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)" compiled by the Chinese Nutrition Society, the undergraduate textbook "Clinical Nutrition" published by the People's Medical Publishing House, and the ancient medical book "Dietotherapeutic Materia Medica" annotated by the People's Medical School.

Two months ago, I was doing nutrition education for the elderly in a community. When I was leaving, several aunties gathered around me and asked me, "The recipes I saw on my phone sometimes said that eating this would cause cancer, and then eating that would lead to longevity. My family bought several internet celebrity cookbooks, but after following them for half a year, my blood pressure became unstable. Is there any really reliable recipe book that is recommended by doctors?" The first book I took out and showed them was the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents". This book was not compiled by any random blogger. The Chinese Nutrition Society gathered nearly a hundred nutrition experts and compiled domestic residents’ health data and evidence-based medical research results for more than ten years before publishing it. It is a plan completely tailored to the Chinese people’s physique. It is not like many imported foreign recipes that ask you to drink ice milk and eat raw vegetables at every turn. We Chinese elderly people have weak spleen and stomach and cannot bear it at all. Everyone has seen the meal pagoda inside. It details how many grams of potatoes and vegetables to eat every day, and even the amount of salt and oil are clearly marked. The recipes attached at the end are all home-cooked dishes, such as multi-grain rice and stir-fried vegetables. You will not be looking for unpopular ingredients that you have never heard of. Of course, some people complain that this book is too "universal". If you already have underlying diseases such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and gout that require strict diet control, this book's general plan is not detailed enough. For example, the ratio of high-quality and low-protein that kidney disease patients need to control is not very thorough.

Oh, by the way, if you have patients with underlying diseases in your family, or you are a practitioner in the medical care or nutrition industry, and want a more professional reference for medical-grade recipes, then the "Clinical Nutrition" textbook from People's Medical Publishing House is an unavoidable choice. I used to have a patient with type 2 diabetes. He followed an internet celebrity book to eat "sugar-control meals" and a ketogenic diet. He went to the emergency room for ketoacidosis in half a month. When he was discharged from the hospital, I read the diabetes medical diet chapter in "Clinical Nutrition" and gave him a recipe that suited him. After more than two months of adjustment, his fasting blood sugar stabilized at around 6. All dietary plans in this book are supported by clinical data, ranging from the nutritional needs of special groups to dietary taboos for different diseases. Even the ratio of nutrient solutions for nasogastric feeding patients is clearly written and full of rigor. Of course, some ordinary readers complain that this book is too "dry". It contains many professional terms, such as "nitrogen balance" and "food glycemic load". People with no basic knowledge will have a headache after turning two pages. If it is just for daily use by ordinary families, there is really no need to buy such a professional book.

There are still many people who prefer the traditional Chinese medicine approach to food therapy, so I suggest you don’t buy those wild books with the banner of “old traditional Chinese medicine practitioners’ exclusive dietary therapy secrets” and go directly to the edited edition of “Therapeutic Materia Medica” by the People’s Medical Publishing House. This book was written by Meng Shen, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty. It is the earliest treatise on diet therapy in my country. The proofread version also includes annotations by modern doctors, so there will be no incomprehensible ancient text. For example, it says that pears are "cold in nature, warm in host and guest, and relieve upset", and it is clearly stated that it is suitable for people with wind-heat cough. I have seen many parents boil rock sugar snow pears for their children to drink regardless of whether their children have wind-cold or wind-heat cold, and the cough becomes worse. If you follow the instructions in this book, you will not make this mistake. Of course, there are also many supporters of modern nutrition who feel that traditional Chinese medicine diet therapy is not supported by data. For example, it is said that pig liver can improve eyesight. Modern nutrition believes that pig liver has high cholesterol and it is not recommended to eat more. In fact, it doesn’t have to be either/or at all. For example, people with normal cholesterol levels can eat pork liver once a week, about 50 grams each time. It can not only supplement vitamin A, which is good for the eyes, but also conforms to the idea of ​​​​TCM diet. It is completely fine. If you have high cholesterol, just don’t eat it. If you are really unsure, just ask a regular Chinese medicine practitioner or nutritionist.

To be honest, I usually never make a long list of books to recommend to my friends. I always ask clearly what the needs are: if ordinary people cook daily and want the elderly and children at home to eat healthily, buying a copy of the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" is enough. For a few tens of yuan, it is much more reliable than spending hundreds of yuan to buy a bunch of internet celebrity recipes.； If you have patients with underlying diseases in your family and need a more targeted plan, just add "Clinical Nutrition" as a reference book. ； If you like traditional Chinese medicine nutrition, buy a copy of "Therapeutic Materia Medica" and follow it when making health tea or something, so you won't step into any trap.

By the way, here are some tips for identification. Nowadays, many unofficial books are under the banner of "medical recommendation" and "doctor certification". Just turn to the copyright page and look at the editorial board and publishing house. Give priority to regular big publishers such as People's Medical Publishing House and China Light Industry Publishing House. If the editorial board members can find out that they are nutritionists from tertiary hospitals and experts from the Chinese Nutrition Society, it is basically reliable. If the person who compiles the book cannot even find a serious professional qualification, just avoid it.

In fact, recipe books are just tools after all. Don’t be greedy for too many. Choose one that suits you, flip through it when you cook, and adjust your eating habits accordingly. It’s much more useful than buying a cabinet of books and letting them gather dust, don’t you think?