Great Health Benefits of Chinese Food

The health benefits of Chinese food come down mostly to vegetables and the way they are cooked.

• Chinese food is very nutritional, but it is also very balanced and provides everything your body and metabolism needs to be healthy.
• Even though Chinese people on average eat 30% more calories than Americans (according to the study from 1990) and they have same activity patterns, they don’t have problems with obesity. This is attributed to the fact that Chinese cuisine avoids sugar and nutrient free food.
• In the west, vegetables are “add-ons” to other dishes, but in Chinese cuisine, vegetables are put in central position. Chinese believe that large portion of vegetables can be perfectly balanced with small part of meats. Meats are important because they add complex carbohydrates.
• Chinese foods are very low on sugar, refined carbs and high fat, which enabled our bodies to easily recognize when it is full. This enables people who eat Chinese food to eat more appropriate amount of food and not overstuff their bodies with unnecessary calories. Western food on the other hand, fools our bodies into recognizing its limits much later than it is optimal.
• Chinese food also balances the food intake by focusing much on liquid foods (soups and watery porridges). Western food is often dry, requiring from users to drink more water during day. With regular intake of Chinese food there is no need for that, and appetite will be much better controlled.
• All Chinese foods are made on the principle of Yin (wet and moist foods that cool you down) and Yang (dry and crisp foods that heat you up). Almost all foods in Chinese cuisine are made to have equilibrium between yin and yang ingredients. Protein foods are seen as Yang, while carbohydrates are yin.
• Chinese almost never salad like we do in the west (raw). They cook almost all their salads at least a little, which helps our bodies to easily absorb their nutrients.
• Chinese cooks did not forgotten ancient tradition that foods can hold excellent medicinal properties. Yin and Yang approach to food also stabilizes the health of our metabolisms, with chilies that promote digestion, garlic to fight toxins and many others.
• Chinese teas are also excellent supplement to already balanced food cuisine. Green tea in particular is very famous for health benefits fighting heart diseases, digestion and lowering chance of cancer.
• Chinese foods use almost zero milk products, meats are used just a little to provide balance to the meal, while great focus is placed on rice, noodles and vegetables.
• Chinese food is almost always presented in small bite-sized pieces. This is beneficiary because our stomach will more easily process that kind of food (and preparing such food is easier because cut pieces can be cooked more quickly).

It helps that so much of the cooking is fast. A stir-fry spends minutes in the wok rather than an hour in the oven, so vegetables keep their texture and their water-soluble vitamins. Steaming does the same job with dumplings and fish, and braising tenderises cheaper cuts slowly without needing much fat.

The other half of the equation is what you choose. A plate of greens with garlic, a clear broth and a steamed fish sit very differently from a basket of fried starters, and both belong to the same menu. Ordering well matters more than the cuisine itself.

Related: the full Chinese food menu in Edinburgh, Chinese takeaway from South Bridge, and book a table at Jimmy’s Express.

None of that makes it a diet food. It simply means the cuisine has more range than the takeaway menu of old suggested, and that range is where the healthier options live.