Experts suggest that the food we needed in a day distributes into the three meals. And what is the role of lunch? A latest dietetics investigation reports that breakfast, lunch and supper suitably accounts for 30%, 40%, and 30% respectively. Besides, we should follow a good habit of having meals on time and avoiding carping at food. If office worker irrationally ignore the importance of lunch for a long time, it will lead to lack of necessary nutriment, decrease of resistance for disease and it is easier to fall ill. Though modern physic has made great progress, medicine only releases the pain but not effect a permanent cure.

At working day, most office workers choose take-away as their lunch. Especially at noon, people rush into the sea of restaurants which spread all over the street and alleyway. Have you ever notice whether this is bad for your health, even affects work efficiency? Now let us listen to the views of Professor Hu Chengkang, who comes from Public Nutrition and Development Centre.

Ⅰ. Five “No” in career-lunch

Excessive capsicum bad for health

Nowadays, Sichuan and Hunan food is popular around the country, which is peppery as well as delicious. The food is so peppery that consumers sweep tears, however they could not give up capsicum. Of cause, the sense of peppery comes from capsicum. Professor Hu Chengkang says that capsicum is good as well bad, like a coin. The positive effect is that it contains abundant Vitamin C and Fibre, low calorie, and carotene which is easily absorbed by body and good for protecting office workers’ eyes who usually use computers. Eating proper capsicum offers a good appetite. However, we should not eat it too much. Peppery food is unsuitable for gastric ulcer and for mouth and esophagus. Consuming excessive capsicum tends to make the esophagus heat and destroy taste bud, resulting in lost sense of taste.

Noodle is not the power

For who prefer to noodles, experts say, if only eat a bowl of noodle at noon, it is insufficient for absorbing proteid, fat, and carbohydrate which are three main nutriment, as well as short of mineral, vitamin. And noodles are easily assimilated by body, and we easily feel full and hungry. The calorie they provided is absolutely unsatisfactory, especially for those people who is off duty late or have plenty of work in the afternoon.

Fruit could not replace with lunch

In this case, Professor Hu considers that fruit and vegetable have advantages respectively, but they can not replace with each other. Each kind of vegetable contains adequate fibre which stimulates intestines and maintains metabolism regular in intestines. Besides, it also prevent some injurant (including carcinogens) from absorbing and help discharge it. It is a most convenient and effective method to guard against belly-bound for office workers.

No drink

Experts stress that those workers who love liquor very much must not drink at noon, or it would affect work efficiency and quality all the afternoon.

No too fast

Requiring speed of having meals is harmful, because it is disadvantage for body to assimilate nutriment and increase the burden of intestines. And it will reduce the speed of assimilating and absorbing, and have a negative effect on capacity of brain and strength. 

Ⅱ Being on time is most important

A lunch directly relates to health and work efficiency, so we should pay great attention to it. And how to have lunch appropriately? Experts offer some suggestion:

Eat less take-away food

Because most of take-away food are fried and is called as “Three High and Three Low”, including high calorie, high protein, high fat, and low mineral, low vitamin, low fibre.

Dining on time

It is important to have lunch on regular time. The regular time for lunch is between 11.am and 13.pm. But you should remember that you had better have meals at the same time in a day to adapt to exertion and accommodation of intestines.

Maintain eight point of full

 Career meals give priority to lunch. But experts suggest maintain eight-tenth full. Because blood are collected into stomach to help absorb after lunch, during this period the brain are short of oxygen. If you eat too much, it will extend the time of short of blood and oxygen, and reduce efficiency.

Absorb nutriment scientifically

We should pay attention to nutrition distribution and eat more food containing protein and cholesterin, such as meat, fish, birds, eggs and soybean. These kinds of food help brain maintain subtile and improve capacity of understanding and memory. You could also eat some low-fat food, including muscles, fresh fruit or juice. Make sure to consume milk, soya-bean milk or eggs which contain high-quality protein and strengthen reactivity ability