Dietary Nutrition: Choices of Beans, Pig's Trotters, Colored Rice, and Cooking Oil
Eating legumes has many benefits
Legumes are rich in nutrients beneficial to human health. For men, the phytoestrogen genistein in soy products has various medicinal values. It significantly inhibits the growth of prostate cancer cells and has a certain preventive effect against prostate cancer. In addition, genistein can effectively inhibit the proliferation of stomach cancer cells, helping stomach cancer patients fight the disease. Genistein also has cosmetic benefits. Therefore, men should eat more soy products.
Eating pig's trotters has many benefits
Pig's trotters are a popular and nutritious food. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that pig's trotters are neutral in nature, sweet and salty in taste, and have functions such as nourishing weakness, replenishing kidney essence, and improving male sexual function.
Modern nutritional studies have shown that pig's trotters contain a relatively high amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, as well as beneficial components such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and vitamins A, D, E, and K. They are rich in collagen, which has a beneficial effect on improving neurasthenia in the elderly.
In addition, consuming pig's trotters can help reduce excessive excitation of the central nervous system and alleviate anxiety. Pig's trotters are rich in glycine, which can help regulate the functional activity of secondary neurons. Glycine has a calming effect on the central nervous system, so regularly drinking pig's trotter soup can have a certain therapeutic and relieving effect on leg cramps or numbness, as well as spasms caused by certain medications.
It should be noted that pig's trotters contain a lot of oil, so people with arteriosclerosis and hypertension should eat less of them. Those with phlegm accumulation, phlegm-heat, or food stagnation should also eat them with caution.
Colored rice helps prevent atherosclerosis.
Men bear heavy family and work responsibilities. If they have bad lifestyle habits such as smoking and excessive drinking, as well as psychological weaknesses such as an impatient personality, they are more prone to atherosclerosis than women of the same age.
The formation of atherosclerosis is the result of the combined effects of many factors, mainly through a series of actions of oxidized low-density lipoprotein, which ultimately leads to the formation of atherosclerotic foci.
Consuming colored rice can reduce the activity of oxidized low-density lipoprotein, which can effectively prevent or delay the formation of atherosclerosis.
The medicinal value of white rice is significantly lower than that of colored rice. It should be noted that many of the medicinal components of colored rice are found in its bran, so it is best not to discard the bran when consuming this type of food.
Choice of cooking oil
Many middle-aged men know that animal fats can contribute to atherosclerosis, fatty liver, and obesity, but there's a misconception that it's unnecessary to be concerned during middle age and that it's okay to wait until old age. In fact, this is a very dangerous attitude.
International research has confirmed that atherosclerosis in humans can begin in adolescence or even earlier. The reason it doesn't cause much or no related disease at that time is because the atherosclerosis is mild and progresses very slowly. With aging and the long-term effects of factors that promote atherosclerosis, the process gradually accelerates until related diseases appear. Therefore, the World Health Organization recommends that prevention of atherosclerosis should begin in adolescence.
It is currently believed that lipid metabolism disorders, including elevated levels of triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein and very low-density lipoprotein, and decreased high-density lipoprotein, can all lead to the occurrence of atherosclerosis.
Besides individual differences in metabolism, the quantity and type of lipids consumed also significantly influence the development of atherosclerosis. Studies have shown that vegetable oils are better than animal oils, and cooking oils rich in unsaturated fatty acids are better than those with a high proportion of saturated fatty acids.
Therefore, in order to prevent or slow down the progression of atherosclerosis, it is essential to start now to selectively consume oils.
It is generally believed that deep-sea fish oil and palm oil can effectively prevent atherosclerosis. Consuming a variety of oils (such as lard, peanut oil, tea oil, soybean oil, sesame oil, corn oil, and butter) can not only effectively prevent atherosclerosis, but also avoid the adverse effects of consuming a single type of oil.