Check out what the Chinese Leaders Eat!

Often, what the leaders from China eat is kept a secret – what the Leader eats, how he eats is usually a secret that cannot be revealed. Leaders would always eat coarse grains; have smaller and more frequent meals. Their scientific eating method mentioned above is the main reason why all the Chinese Leaders had always been sitting on top of the list in the world with the highest average life span. The rule of thumb for the Chinese Leaders to take care of their health is to eat up to 25 different types food a day.

Less meat, more coarse grains, smaller and more frequent meals.

The Leader’s recipes, is not like what most people would imagine to be full of delicacy. On the contrary, they eat more coarse grains and less meat. Their diet patterns could easily be followed by anyone.

They eat 25 different types of foods – this is 25 different types of food, and not 25 dishes. Li Ruifen, the doctor in charge of the nutrition department for over 60 years in the Beijing Top Hospital, also says the leaders eat very few animals with four legs. Speaking from nutrition, those with four legs (pigs, cows, and sheep) are not as good as those with two legs (chicken, goose), those with two legs are not as good as those with one legs (mushrooms). Those with one leg are not as good as those with no legs (fish). When planning meals for the Leaders, they are very particular about less food and more frequent meals. Only when there’s a wide variety of different foods can nutrition be balanced.

70% full with main meals with two snacks (morning tea, afternoon tea)

An example of the menu arranged for the leaders would be: Half a glass of milk in the morning, a small dish of vegetables, salted steamed twisted roll with sesame paste, a small bowl of millet porridge or lotus thick soup. For lunch, a mixture of over 10 types of foods and about 50g red bean with rice. For dinner, carrot shreds boiled in soup with fish ball and millets.

Snacks are added in between the two meals.

Leaders are only 70% full with their main meals. At 10am and 3pm, they have a snack. In the morning, they would have a small bowl of white fungus with thick lotus soup or wheat bran (oats), half a glass of yoghurts and a few nuts (cashew, walnuts, etc). The eldest Leader enjoyed life until he was 19 would have 13 peanuts and walk 13 minutes. He would meet guests for only 3 minutes. His wife, a nutrition specialist, follows the principles of “Using Five Fruits to Help”, getting him to eat 2 bananas or other fruits after his meal.

When cooking food – less deep frying/frying, don’t drink wine with an empty stomach.

The cooking methods are equally important. Use the methods of steaming, boiling, simmering, mix and blanch as the main. These cooking methods will ensure that no nutrition will be lost and ensure a very low fat diet. That does not mean the Leaders do not eat any fried/stir-fried foods. However, they only eat that once a week and no matter what the cooking method is, the principles that he follows are: Less salt, less fat, high fiber.

Besides everything mentioned above, Leaders also eat a lot of brain healthy and heart protective foods. For example: Beans and legumes, almonds, sesame, walnuts, red wine and such. Before the leaders drink the wine, they would eat foods with vitamin B. That is because the alcohol can damage the gastric mucosa, causing a lack of vitamin B group in the body. That’s why he before he drinks wine, he will eat coarse grains, miscellaneous grain crops/coarse cereals (other than wheat/rice), lean meats or peanuts.

Healthy eating plus exercise leads to a long life.

Only focusing on eating is nowhere near enough. The reason why some old leaders can continue leading such a long life is because of exercising. Continuing to exercise is extremely important. A very old general of 102 years old would play tennis until he was 88. He would play 4/5 rounds each week, each time about 2 hours. Nowadays, the China Communist Party’s leader places a high importance on exercising. Hu Jingtao plays ping pong very well. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao showed off his baseball skills when visiting Japan.

Even though the Leader’s foods are simple, but the origin of the food must be safe. From what we’ve heard, the water and rice the Chinese Leaders eat and drink all comes from a specific supply area.

Translated from: http://news.xinhuanet.com/food/2009-04/13/content_11175406.htm