The eight elements of a balanced diet, the effects of weight loss drugs, and the selection criteria for Western medicine.

What are the eight essential elements of a balanced diet?

①The overall composition of food in a diet contains all the nutrients needed by the human body.

② The energy provided by the diet is adapted to the energy consumption needs of different genders, ages, seasons, occupations, and environmental conditions. It is neither too high and cause obesity, nor too low and cause malnutrition and disease.

③ Nutrients can work together and regulate each other without causing imbalance.

④ The composition of the same nutrient in the diet is diverse, and the diet should maintain a balance with the normal needs of the human body.

⑤ The human body's need for water should be balanced with the normal needs of human functions.

⑥ The metabolism of various substances in the diet should be conducive to the balance of acid and alkalinity in the human body.

⑦ The non-nutritive substances in the diet, such as dietary fiber, must be balanced with the body's normal physiological needs.

⑧ The nutritional supply in the diet should meet the needs of the human body at various specific stages (children in growth and development, adolescents in puberty, pregnant women, lactating mothers, patients in the recovery period, etc.).

The overall goal of a nutrition-oriented balanced diet is to ensure that, throughout life, diets are conducive to human development and growth, to human labor and creativity, to the prevention and treatment of various degenerative and other diseases, and to human health and longevity.

During the course of illness, it should be conducive to treatment and health.

Drug therapy

The effects of drug weight loss

In the treatment of patients with simple obesity, drug therapy is only an auxiliary means.

The main way to lose weight is by consistently and systematically controlling your diet and engaging in appropriate physical exercise.

If neither of the above two measures works, drug treatment can be considered.

However, it should be specifically mentioned that any weight loss treatment, including both Chinese and Western medicine treatments, requires strict dietary control.

For obese patients who only rely on the effects of medication and do not control their food intake, even taking weight-loss drugs will not achieve the desired results.

Generally, before using weight-loss drugs, it is advisable to control the diet of obese patients to reduce their weight and stabilize it at a suitable level before administering drug treatment, which can achieve more satisfactory results.

How to choose Western weight loss drugs, and what are the standards?

When some people fail to prevent obesity and lose weight effectively by using diet restriction and physical activity, especially some severely obese patients, medication may be used for treatment.

Commonly used weight-loss drugs can be divided into the following categories: diet suppressants, biguanides, thyroid hormones, and drugs that inhibit intestinal absorption.

The mechanism of action of diet inhibitors is to stimulate the hypothalamic satiety center, causing a decrease in appetite, making it easier for patients to control their diet and lose weight.

Some people believe it is related to the drug affecting the release of norepinephrine from the hypothalamus.

Biguanides work by increasing anaerobic glycolysis in tissues, promoting glucose uptake, increasing glucose utilization, and lowering blood sugar and hyperinsulinemia.

This class of drugs can cause gastrointestinal reactions, such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, weight loss, reduced or delayed absorption of sugar in the gastrointestinal tract, and increased excretion of fat and other substances in feces.

Thyroid hormones can improve the body's metabolic capacity, promote the consumption of energy in the body, promote catabolism, and inhibit synthesis, thereby reducing weight.

Drugs that inhibit intestinal absorption can suppress absorption, causing fatty diarrhea and weight loss. However, these drugs have many side effects, so they are currently in the exploratory and trial stage.