Shishan Health Meal Sets [photo/ Si Xinran]

Faculty orders meals. [photo/ Si Xinran]

Faculty members select meals. [photo/ Chen Xiangyu]

Many line up to have a try. [photo/ Chen Xiangyu]

On April 7th at noon, Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU) hosted the World Health Day themed event, debuting the university’s version on the renowned “Mediterranean Diet” with the introduction of the “Shishan Healthy Recipe”.

Together with students, Gao Chi, party secretary of the university, Zhang Qifa, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Vice Presidents Yao Jianglin and Guo Gangqi came to visit the health promotion exhibition and enjoy the healthy diet.

“Refined rice and flour may cause insulin resistance,” “It’s better to drink a little bit of wine,” “For future health, we must act now,”—the health promotion exhibition at the entrances of canteens triggered fierce discussion among faculty and students. It elaborated on the advantages of Mediterranean diet and gave advice on healthy diet, sleep and exercises. In addition, students learned how to do hands-only CPR and ways to prevent HPV infection. Student Wang Qian said, “Before this activity, I had little knowledge about Mediterranean diet, but now I see how important health is, and I will pay more attention to this issue.”

Mediterranean diet is renowned for its healthful blend of diverse and nutritious foods, including whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, oils high in unsaturated fatty acids, moderate amounts of fish and poultry, small amounts of red meat, no processed meat, refined rice and flour, added sugars. In this event, HZAU showcased its own version of “Mediterranean diet” on the first floor of Huiyuan canteen and the second floor of Zhuyuan canteen. According to Zhang Chunying, deputy general manager of HZAU Logistics Support Department, the healthy meal sets primarily feature black rice as the staple, with three main meat options (chicken breast, fish, beef). Every set includes staples, meat, vegetables, whole grains, fruits and other dishes (bean products, corn kernels, etc.). The portions for each category are standardized and tailored for a balanced diet.

Mr. Gao and Mr. Zhang came to taste these healthy meal sets and exchanged ideas with faculty and students. Mr.Gao noted, “The Shishan Recipe is a good example for us to develop healthy diet habits. To live a healthy life, we must act now.” Many faculty members including Peng Shaobing, Tan Wenfeng, Xu Qiang and volunteers in Preventive Treatment Action also had a try. Peng commented that Sole Fish Healthy Set was a “good bang for your buck”, recommending others to give it a taste.

“It’s a fresh experience,” “ It tastes good,” “ It boasts excellent taste, color and flavor,”—these comments demonstrated that healthy meal sets were well-received. Shi Xiujuan, a faculty member and volunteer from the College of Biomedicine and Health introduced, “Our aim is to introduce healthy meal sets based on the Mediterranean diet, incorporating Chinese cooking methods.” Postdoctoral student Wang Lei shared his feelings, “The healthy meal sets are really good. As many people are under over-nutrition, it provides a healthy choice for us.”

Jin Anjiang, vice dean of the College highlighted that carrying out health promotion exhibition and developing healthy meal sets are tangible outcomes of the Preventive Treatment Action. And after this, through further optimization, these related projects would be extended to other places.

On the same day, organizers held an activity themed “Health For the Future, Action For the Present”. It included three parts—health promotion exhibition, Shishan Healthy Recipe recommendation, and “My Health Action” collection.

World Health Day endeavors to draw the attention of all nations to health issues and inspire individuals globally to take notice and take action to enhance current health standards, ultimately advancing human well-being. Accordingly, this activity introduced the concept of genome precision nutrition for preventive treatment, as proposed by Mr. Zhang, who advocates for using genetic information to customize nutrition strategies for disease prevention. The activity aimed to promote public health care services, raise awareness about health prevention, and assist faculty members and students in leading healthy and fulfilling lives.

Lasting from April 7 to 12, the initiative was proposed by HZAU Culture Development Office, hosted by the College of Biomedicine and Health, the College of Life Science and Technology, the College of Food Science and Technology and University hospital and Assets Management and Logistics Support Department.

Source: http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2024/0408/69367.shtml

Translated by: He Fan

Proofread by: Fu Shipeng

Supervised by: Jin Bei