Chew 20 times a mouthful of rice for better health

On January 19, the World Health Organization (who) released the 2014 report on the status of global non communicable diseases, which pointed out that every year, more than 3 million Chinese people die of non communicable diseases such as heart disease, lung disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes before the age of 70. Who defines such deaths as “premature” deaths. Among the 38 million patients who died of non communicable diseases worldwide in 2012, 42% died prematurely. In fact, they could have avoided this misfortune.

Compared with “premature death”, people may be more familiar with “overwork death”. However, Zhou Yingchun, chief physician of the integrated hospital of Chinese and Western medicine of Southern Medical University, said that in daily life, we would hear from time to time that “so and so suddenly suffered from cancer” and “so and so died young”. In fact, “too early to die” was always lurking around us. Take cancer as an example. In recent years, it has shown a clear trend of rejuvenation, such as lung cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma, liver cancer, leukemia, etc. the youngest patient is even seven or eight years old. The same is true of diabetes and hypertension. The onset of diabetes should be after the age of 40, but there are more and more young patients clinically. The constant news of young people’s sudden death also sounded the alarm for us.

Smoking, lack of exercise and unhealthy lifestyle are all the risks of early death. The WHO report points out that many key risk factors in China are worryingly high: more than half of men smoke, more than 4 / 5 of teenagers do not have enough physical activities, and about 1 / 5 of adults have high blood pressure. Air pollution is also one of the risks of early death. Besides being related to respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it is also related to stroke, ischemic heart disease and cancer. Chen Zhu, President of the Chinese Medical Association, commented in the lancet that air pollution causes 350000 to 500000 Chinese people to die early every year.

Faced with the threat of “premature death”, Shi Hede, who representative in China, said: “as long as we change common bad living habits, such as smoking, drinking, unhealthy diet and insufficient exercise, we can effectively avoid them.”

1. Walk fast for half an hour every day

Sedentary is the enemy of health. According to the report released by Macmillan cancer aid center in the UK, lack of exercise will reduce people’s life by 3-5 years, increase the risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke by 25% – 50%, and only 20 minutes of walking every day can help 37000 people avoid premature death caused by chronic diseases every year. Walking is suitable for most people, 20-30 minutes each time, 2-3 times a week. It’s better to speed up slightly, cooperate with the arm swing, and tap the shoulder, chest, abdomen, waist and other parts, which has the effect of relaxing muscles and activating collaterals, relieving tension and eliminating fatigue. Zhou Yingchun suggested that you can also rub your abdomen counterclockwise while walking. Sun Simiao, the king of medicine, insisted on “rubbing your abdomen with hot hands after eating”, believing that “all diseases can be eliminated”.

2. Eat more fruits and vegetables and less meat

The WHO report points out that curbing the rising trend of diabetes and obesity can reduce the risk of early death, which is mainly related to avoiding high-fat and high protein diet. A study by the University of Southern California in the United States found that 20% of the daily calories of middle-aged people aged around 50 came from animal proteins (mainly meat or dairy products), and their risk of dying from cancer or diabetes would increase by 4 times, and the risk of death would increase by nearly 2 times in the next 18 years. However, middle-aged people with high intake of plant proteins (such as soy products) did not have the risk of early death. Fruits and vegetables contain a lot of antioxidant substances, which can delay the harm caused by alcohol, tobacco and obesity. A European study found that people with a daily intake of more than 569 grams of fruits and vegetables had a 10% lower risk of early death and a longer life span of more than one year than those with a daily intake of less than 249 grams; If you eat more than 200 grams of fruits and vegetables a day, the risk of early death will be reduced by 6%. People who regularly drink alcohol and smoke, eat more than 560g of fruits and vegetables every day, and reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 15%.

3. Beware of hidden salt in the disk

Data show that about 1.6 million people die of cardiovascular diseases due to high salt diet every year in the world. Who suggested that countries should reduce hypertension patients by 25% and average salt intake by 30% through government intervention. The Chinese Nutrition Society suggests that healthy adults should eat 6 grams of salt every day, but attention should also be paid to the hidden salt in their diet. For example, the salt content of a bottle of soy sauce is at least 15%; The salt content per 100g monosodium glutamate is 20.7g; Hamburgers, French fries, instant noodles, canned food and pickled food are also big salt collectors; Cheese, bread, biscuits, etc. need to be coated with salt before fermentation, and eat less.

4. Drinking no more than one cup

As early as 2006, who listed China as a “serious disaster area” of alcohol, and the death rate caused by alcohol was higher than that caused by smoking. Studies have found that 60 diseases are caused by alcoholism, including liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, which cause early death. As the Spring Festival is coming, Zhou Yingchun suggested that everyone not to drink when they can get together, and think of “no drinking words” in advance. Even if they drink, it is better not to drink more than one cup, let alone on an empty stomach or “stuffy in one mouthful”.

5. Quitting smoking at any time will benefit you.

Everyone knows the dangers of smoking. A study by the US Centers for Disease Control and prevention shows that people who smoke before the age of 12 have an 86% higher risk of death before the age of 55 than the average person. A study by the University of Oxford found that smoking can make people die 10 years earlier, but if they can quit smoking before the age of 40, they can reduce the risk of early death by 90%; Quitting smoking before the age of 30 can further reduce the risk of early death by 97%. Zhou Yingchun said that quitting smoking at any age can reduce the risk of early death. Therefore, don’t use “I can’t quit when I’m old” and “it doesn’t matter if I smoke all my life” as excuses.

6. Chew every mouthful of rice 20 times

A study by Ben Gurion University in Israel found that elderly people with poor appetite are prone to early death. Zhou Yingchun pointed out that there is a saying in traditional Chinese medicine that “people are based on Stomach Qi, and that internal injuries to the spleen and stomach lead to various diseases”. The stomach is not only an important organ of the digestive system, but also participates in regulating the activities of almost all organs in the body. It is recommended that the middle-aged and old people eat regularly and quantitatively, eat less and more meals, chew slowly, and chew no less than 20 times per mouthful to reduce the burden of the intestines and stomach. Massaging Zusanli point (located 3 inches below the outer knee and about one transverse finger outside the tibia) can also improve the function of spleen and stomach.

7. Be cheerful and make more friends

Professor Li Jianming, executive director of China Mental Health Association, told the reporter that early death is closely related to psychological factors such as personality and mood. American studies have found that people who always suppress their emotions have a 1 / 3 higher risk of early death. They tend to drink too much, smoke, eat junk food and so on, and eventually die of heart disease or cancer. Perfectionism also hurts. Many studies have shown that perfectionists have too high demands on themselves and others, love to take care of themselves when they encounter problems, which is easy to lead to poor sleep quality, negative emotions, and increase the risk of digestive system, cardiovascular system, endocrine and other diseases. It should be noted that being too optimistic is also one of the risks of early death. They tend to ignore their physical and mental problems, thinking that they “can’t have any disease”, so the treatment is not timely. For example, a Japanese study found that the more optimistic a person is, the less weight loss he will achieve. Li Jianming suggests that natural optimism is originally an advantage, but we must pay more attention to the disease signals sent by the body and seek medical treatment in time.

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