As Chinese New Year approaches, do you know that there are hidden meal traps in those delicious Chinese New Year dishes or pastries, and drinks you should be aware of? Many people fall prey to Chinese New Year’s ‘good hospitality, good food, and good symbols’ principles for the year ahead, leading to indulging and bouts of over-eating, leading to excess intake of calories as well as accumulation of toxins.

Here, Stolle shares with you the following 5 hidden meal traps in Chinese New Year Dishes.

1. High purine

The number of gout cases spikes up after the Chinese New Year, which shows a linkage with the diet during the festival season. For example, people with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high uric acid should control their intake of this Poon Choi, which has a big portion of meat and less portion of vegetables. Besides, seafood and Shiitake Mushroom that contain a high amount of purine is usually used in Poon Choi.

This elevated level of purine intake is the result of increased production of uric acid, decreased excretion of uric acid, or a combination of both processes. Hyperuricemia can lead to gout, tophus, and urate nephropathy.

The hot pot, poon choi, cured meat, and soup dishes eaten during the Chinese New Year are all high-purine food because they are made of fish, meat, seafood, bone soup, and offal with high purine content.

2. High cholesterol

Cholesterol is an indispensable and important substance in animal tissue cells including the human body. It is not only one of the structural components of the body, but also a raw material for the synthesis of many important substances. Generally, the cholesterol content in animal meat is higher than that of poultry meat; fat meat is higher than lean meat, and shellfish and mollusks are higher than general fish. Pork kidney, pork liver, pork belly, shellfish, egg yolk, crab roe, etc. are also high-cholesterol foods, containing 200 to 300 mg of cholesterol per 100 grams.

Long-term intake of high-cholesterol food will increase the cholesterol content in the blood serum and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, avoidance of cholesterol-containing foods can easily cause anemia and weaken the body’s immune system. Therefore, we should consume cholesterol in a moderation way.

Poon choi and hot pots contain a lot of meat, offal and seafood, as well as shrimp rolls filled with dried shrimp and egg rolls with eggs, are all high-cholesterol New Year’s food.

3. High Calories and fat

Cakes, cookies and snacks, such as mille-feuille cakes, pineapple tarts, small cakes, dried meat, dried shrimp rolls, etc., used to treat relatives and friends during the New Year gathering contain lot of oil, sugar, and even seasonings during processed, which are high-calorie foods. In addition, one gram of alcohol, a high-calorie drink contributes 7 calories, which is about the same as one gram of fat with 9 calories. Excess calorie intake will turn into fat and lead to being overweight, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

4. High sodium

Sodium is an essential mineral nutrient for the human body. It helps maintain osmotic pressure in the body, and maintain normal physiological functions of nerves, heart, and muscles. Our daily intake of sodium should be limited to 1500 mg as a high-sodium diet will increase the risk of high blood pressure.

Seasoned Poon Choi, hot pot, cured meat, jerky, dried shrimp rolls, etc. are all high-sodium foods.

5. High sugar

Snacks, cookies, and pastries are famous gifts or food during gatherings or visits to relatives’ and friends’ houses because sweets symbolize the sweetness of the new year.

Most people tend to be inactive during the festive season and increasing the intake of these high-sugar snacks has increased the risk of obesity. Nonetheless, we also need to limit the intake of soda or sugar drinks which are also high in sugar. It’s important to understand the sugar content in each product by reading the nutritional fact table on the product label. 

"Fafa" health principles:

1. Eat 8 minutes per meal

2. Eat dinner before 8pm

3. Drink 8 glasses of boiled water a day

4. Sleep 8 hours a day

5. Walk at least 8,000 steps a day