healthy eating ratio

Of the total daily caloric intake, carbohydrates account for 45% to 65%, proteins account for 10% to 20%, and fats account for 20% to 35%. This standard comes from the WHO’s Macronutrient Intake Guidelines and is consistent with the recommendations of my country’s 2022 Dietary Guidelines for Residents. However, it is only for reference. The specific proportion must be dynamically adjusted based on personal circumstances.

This reference baseline is actually more like a one-size-fits-all clothing, which can fit most people, but whether it is comfortable or not is another matter. For example, if you work a nine-to-five office commute and usually exercise less than three times a week, then about 50% of the middle value of carbohydrates is enough. It is best to replace half of them with whole grains, such as oats, brown rice, steamed sweet potatoes, and less polished rice and white flour. Otherwise, you will easily feel sleepy in the afternoon and have excess calories. ； But if you are a fitness enthusiast who does strength training four times a week, or a worker who does heavy physical work on a construction site, it is no problem to increase the carbohydrate intake to more than 60%. Otherwise, your legs will be weak after two sets of exercises, and you will have no strength when carrying goods twice, which will affect your normal life.

Of course, this baseline varies widely among different nutrition schools, and controversy has always existed. If you have read about fat loss content, you must have heard of low-carb and ketogenic diets. This type of plan directly reduces the proportion of carbohydrates to less than 10%, increases fat to 70% or even higher, and relies on the body to decompose ketone bodies for energy. There is now clear clinical evidence that this extreme ratio has a significant effect on improving the symptoms of patients with refractory epilepsy, polycystic ovary syndrome, and some type 2 diabetes. However, if ordinary people follow the trend blindly without professional guidance, the risk is really not small - I had a designer colleague two years ago. In order to quickly lose 20 pounds and follow the trend of ketosis, he started losing a lot of hair in less than three months. My aunt postponed her visit to the nutrition department of the hospital for a full two months. She was scolded by the doctor, and it took half a year to get back to normal.

There are also groups who insist on vegetarian diet, and the dietary ratio is another set of logic. Especially for vegans, because the absorption rate of plant protein is 20% to 30% lower than that of animal protein, the proportion of protein must be increased to 20% to 25%. Otherwise, muscle loss and immunity decline will easily occur. I know an aunt who has been a vegetarian for five years. In the beginning, she ate white porridge with stir-fried vegetables every day. As a result, the albumin level in her physical examination was shockingly low. Later, she adjusted her diet and added a bowl of chickpeas and half a pound of marinated tofu every day to increase the proportion of protein. After three months, the index returned to the normal range.

To be honest, there is no point in using a kitchen scale to weigh every meal. The proportion of a healthy diet is never a math problem. There is actually a lot of room for error. For example, this week you attended two weddings in a row and ate big fish and meat. Then in the next two days, eat more stir-fried vegetables, cook some multigrain porridge, and reduce the intake of refined carbohydrates and fried foods. Just bring the overall proportion back. It won't be unhealthy to eat an extra piece of braised pork, right? When I was working out before, I tried to calculate the calorie ratio every day, but I got tired of it after half a month. Eating is originally a very happy thing, but it was like doing a KPI task. Instead, it was easy to hold it in until late at night and show off a whole box of fried chicken, which was not worth the gain.

If you belong to a special group, the baseline will have to change even more. For example, for elderly people who lose muscle quickly, it is best to increase the protein ratio to 15% to 25%. Eat more eggs, milk, lean beef, and less refined carbohydrates to avoid blood sugar fluctuations like a roller coaster. Children who are still growing in body should not follow the adults and follow the low-carbohydrate diet. The fat ratio can be increased to 30% to 40% to provide energy for brain and body development. As long as you don’t eat fried chicken and drink Coke every day, you don’t have to eat too much.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the diet ratio is like the shoes you wear. No matter how comfortable the hot-selling size is that others say, it is not as good as trying it on your own feet. You don't have to worry about which ratio is the most "authoritative". As long as you have enough energy after eating, don't feel gastrointestinal discomfort at all times, and your blood sugar, blood lipids, and albumin are normal during the physical examination, that is your healthy eating ratio, which is more accurate than the standards written in any book.