素食营养误区（2）--碳水化合物

糙米饭不单不让人发胖
而且还能帮助减肥

碳水化合物也是时下很容易被误解的营养素。

我们在饭桌上常常会听到这样的话：

“请别给我饭，我吃了碳水化合物会发胖。”

又或者

“马铃薯糖份太高了，吃了会患糖尿病！”   

其实，

碳水化合物和其他营养素一样，

如果吃得不当， 

都会造成各类的疾病。

问题不在碳水化合物，

而是方法。

如何吃得妥当，

得要守着以下原则：

（一）  选择粗粮：

 粗粮里的复合性碳水化合物和纤维一起吃到肚子里，

 需要多一点时间消化，

 减低突然血糖升高的几率。

 那么，就不容易有多余的血糖转换为脂肪，而发胖了。 

 反之，

 如果食用精炼的谷粮，

 因为没有纤维缓冲糖份的吸收，

 血糖因此飙升，

 而容易被转换为脂肪。

 粗粮的例子有：糙米、燕麦、小米、荞麦等等。

（二）  选择含丰富矿物质的食物：

 一般上，食物里丰富的矿物质能够帮助细胞吸取糖份，

 而辗转降低血糖，减低过高血糖转换脂肪进而导致糖尿病的几率。

 矿物质丰富的食物包含未经精炼的

 根类食物如：红萝卜、番薯、木薯、甜菜根等。

 这些根类蔬菜虽然含有高量糖份，

 可是不至于让人发胖因为里头除了含有纤维，

 还有很丰富的矿物质。

（三）  避免所有制成品：

 制成品（如：饼干、蛋糕、面条、罐装饮料等）

 在制作的过程中一般都会去除纤维（为了细滑口感），

 还有，有意无意，丢失大量的矿物质（因为矿物质的减少会帮助防腐）。

 所以，如果制成品里头含有高量糖份（尤其是精炼单糖），

 那么，吃了就会对身体有害。

（四）  学习如何品赏天然原味：

 有些人会习惯吃高糖份的食品，达到舌尖的快感。

 所以会常常给添加糖份，导致卡路里过剩。

 每一种天然食品都含有各自独特的风味，

 静心细细品尝原味，会有另一番的喜悦。

（五）  配合适量运动：

 糖份摄入的多寡与运动量有密切的关系。

 每天运动30分钟，至微微出汗，

 自然不会有多余糖份导致现今社会常见的代谢综合症

（包括糖尿病、痴肥、高血压）

素食常被误会是蛋白质低、碳水化合物过剩的饮食，

关键不是素食出问题，

而是现代人追随方便、口感

而用错方法进食和平时少运动的问题。

下一期，我们继续探讨脂肪的误区。

祝和乐

其銚

{福慧人生}

The Pitfalls in Vegetarian Nutrition(2) - Carbohydrates

Brown rice helps manage weight
in contrary to white rice

Carbohydrates is another nutrient 

which is commonly misunderstood. 

At dining tables, 

often we would overhear remark like these: 

“Please don’t serve me rice, I will put on weight if I take carbohydrates. ” 

Or 

“Potato has got too much carbohydrates, it will cause diabetes.” 

Actually, carbohydrates, like other nutrients, 

will always cause diseases 

when consumed in the wrong way. 

Carbohydrate has never been the culprit, 

it is the methods of consumption that cause troubles. 

How do we consume carbohydrates appropriately? 

Below are some rules to observe: 

(1) Prefer unpolished grains: 

Unpolished whole grains 

containing complex carbohydrates and dietary fibres, 

require a bit more time to digest. 

This in turn reduces the chance 

of spiking the blood sugar level. 

When blood sugar level is not upset, 

there will not be excess sugars to be converted into fats, 

eventually causing issues of weight gain. 

In contrary, 

when we consume refined polished grains, 

as there is no dietary fibre 

to slow down the absorption of sugars, 

the blood sugar level spikes up, 

eventually leading to fat accumulation. 

(2) Prefer mineral rich foods: 

Generally, minerals facilitate the cellular intake of sugar, 

and in turn reduces blood sugar level, 

avoiding conversion of excess carbohydrates into fats, hence diabetes. 

Mineral rich foods 

include non-refined root vegetables, 

e.g. carrots, sweet potatoes, tapioca, beetroot etc. 

These root vegetables, 

although contain high amount of carbohydrates, 

do not cause weight gain issue, 

due to their rich minerals on top of fair amount fibres in them. 

(3) Avoid processed foods: 

Processed foods 

such as biscuits, cakes, noodles and canned beverages, 

are usually deprived of fibres (to improve mouth feel), 

and minerals (less mineral content will prolong shelf life). 

Hence, if there are high amount of carbohydrates 

(especially simple sugars) in the processed foods, 

it will cause harm to the body. 

(4) Learn how to appreciate the innate flavour: 

Some individuals have got higher affinity to sweet food, 

in order to please their palate. 

Hence, they habitually add extra sugar in food, 

leading to excess calories. 

Every type of food contains its own unique flavour. 

With careful tasting, 

the innate essence could offers a different enjoyment. 

(5) Doing adequate exercise: 

The suitable amount of carbohydrate 

correlates the amount of exercise one does. 

A daily exercise routine of 30min, 

with light sweating, 

will prevent excess sugar accumulation that 

may lead to metabolic syndromes 

(commonly seen modern world, 

including diabtetes, obesity and high blood pressure). 

Vegetarian diet is often perceived as a diet 

deficient in proteins and excessive in carbohydrates, 

but the problem has never lied in the vegetarian philosophy. 

It's root cause is the inappropriate methods of eating and living, 

due to blind pursuance of 

convenient fast food, 

indulgence in taste, as well as 

the lack of exercise. 

In the next article, we will discuss about the pitfalls of fat consumption in a vegetarian diet. 

The Veg School’s new courses in 2014H2 will be commencing very soon. 

The calendar of the courses could be viewed in The Veg School’s latest mobile application, downloadable at http://m.TheVegSchool.net

or 

http://TheVegSchool.net/TVS-VNC-HY.pdf

Many blessings,

Kee Yew

pureland2012-at-gmail.com

{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

素食营养误区（1）-- 蛋白质

荞麦含优良蛋白质

许多人对素食的认识尚浅的时候，

会有对素食产生种种的误解。

有的会因为现代健康教育体系的不完善，

有的会因为传媒的误导，

有的会因为个人成长经验中对饮食的片面认识，

而认为素食是不完整的饮食，

造成来营养不良。

其实，

只要翻阅科学书本和一些科学文献，

就能确定素食是否会带来营养的不均衡。

然而，

毕竟素食不是先进社会的关注课题；

充其量，只是饭桌上的闲聊话题，

没有多少人会认真的寻根究底，

因此素食的误解就很难化解；

有时，经人们以讹传讹，误解还可能加剧。

众多素食误解与误区里头，

最为常见的是对蛋白质的错误认识与摄取方式：

蛋白质， 

在生物学的观点里，

是无处不在的。

只要是生物，涵盖动物、植物、藻类、菌类、细菌， 

都含有蛋白质。

原因很简单，

因为所有生物都是由细胞组成的，

而细胞一定是由蛋白质构成的。

所以，我们常听到“素食者不吃肉就没有蛋白质”，

那是完全不正确的。

素食在蛋白质的课题上，

应该关注的是蛋白质的量与质。

草本饮食里头，

虽然每一种植物都有蛋白质，

可是有的植物部位所含的蛋白质会比别的部位来得多或少。

除了一些特殊的例子，一般上，

 叶类（例如：菜心、小白菜）、

 花类（例如：金针花、霸王花）、

 果类（例如：番茄、茄子）和

 茎类（例如：西芹、百合）的蛋白质

比起

 根类（例如：番薯、木薯）和

 种子类（例如：黄豆、小米）

来得少。

所以，如果有必要增加蛋白质的摄取，

就得多吃根类和种子类。

蛋白质的质地指的是蛋白质所含的18种氨基酸成分的完整性。

如果某种食物的蛋白质含有18种氨基酸，

那就被视为优质蛋白质。

如果欠缺一两种氨基酸，
那就被视为欠佳。

一般上，科学家认为肉类的蛋白质（含18种氨基酸）

会比植物蛋白质来得优质，

因为植物蛋白质（除豆类和某些种子）都缺一两种氨基酸。

因此，我们就常听到说应该多吃肉补充蛋白质，

素食的“劣等”蛋白质会造成营养不良。

但是，那只是一种片面的论调。

每一种植物所缺的氨基酸都不同，

吃素时，只要广泛地配搭蔬菜谷粮，

互补各自氨基酸的不足，

18种氨基酸在草本饮食里头就不会有所缺。

如何配搭可参考http://TheVegSchool.net/Veg-Pyramid.pdf

另外，

很多素食者因为担心蛋白质摄取不足

而天天吃大量黄豆、豆腐、豆类和豆奶。

这样子的茹素习惯不好。

因为豆类虽然蛋白质丰富，

但是”酸性”很高。

“酸性”指的是食物造成体内代谢负担的作用。

如果饮食内的酸性食物比例偏高，

体内负担高的情况下，

就会造成器官早衰退或容易生病。

如果发育期的儿童或有病的人需要补充蛋白质， 

建议多从优良蛋白质高（即含18种氨基酸）的碱性谷粮着手。

例子有：小米、小小米、苋菜籽和荞麦。

这一类别的谷物，可以天天吃，

强身健体而不会给身体代谢的负担。

有了正确的素食知识与见解，

我们才知道蛋白质在草本饮食里头根本不是一个问题，

茹素的信心也就不会动摇了。

下一期，我们会探讨碳水化合物的误区与谜思。

祝安好   

其銚
pureland2012-at-gmail.com

{福慧人生}

The Pitfalls in Vegetarian Nutrition(1) - Proteins

Buckwheat a humble source of
quality proteins

Due to little exposure, 

many people have a lot of misunderstanding about Vegetarian Nutrition. 

Some may have been influenced 

by the incomprehensive health education system, 

some may have been misled by the media, 

while others may have been illusified by 

their own personal experience, 

when they perceive vegetarian diet being incomplete or mal-nutritive.

In fact, if one were to spend some time flipping 

through some science text book or scientific publication, 

it’s easy to find out that plant based diet is nutritious. 

However, because vegetarianism is not deemed 

as a concerned issue in our modern society, 

even though, some people may raise the topic on a dining table, 

eventually not many will seriously research into vegetarianism. 

This is why the misunderstanding 

of vegetarian nutrition is always persistent, 

if not worsen by “hear-say” across dining tables.

Among all pitfalls and myths about vegetarianism, 

the most common one is about proteins:

Proteins, from biological perspective, 

is ubiquitous (i.e. everywhere). 

As long as the food we take is a living thing, 

including animals, plants, algae, fungi and bacteria,  

it contains proteins. 

Simply, all living things 

are made up of cells and cells must be made of proteins! 

Hence, when we hear that vegetarians 

are not getting any protein as they don’t consume meat, 

we know it’s absolutely incorrect.

Regarding proteins, 

vegetarians, however, have to take note 

of how to take the right quantity of the right quality proteins:

In plant based diet, 

although, all plants contain proteins, 

but the distribution of proteins across different plant parts is not even. 

With some exceptions, in general, 

  leaf (e.g. Choy-sum, Bak-Choy), 

  flower (e.g. Lily flower, Ba-wang-hua), 

  fruit (e.g. tomato, eggplant) and 

  stem (e.g.celery, Lily bulb) contain less proteins 

than 

  root (e.g. sweet potato, tapioca) and 

  seeds (e.g. soybean, millet). 

Therefore, if there is a need to increase proteins intake, 

one will need to take more of the root and seeds.

The quality of a protein refers to 

the completeness of all 18 types of amino acids 

that make up the protein. 

If a food item contains proteins with 18 types of amino acids, 

then it’s deemed a source of good quality protein. 

If a protein contains less than 18 types of amino acids, 

then it’s deemed as sub-quality protein. 

In general, scientists perceive that meat proteins 

(containing all 18 types of amino acids) 

is always better than plant proteins

(with some exceptions like beans and some seeds).

This is because

plant proteins are usually lack of one or two types of amino acids. 

That is why we often hear the remarks that, 

in order to improve proteins intake, 

one must consume meat, and that 

the poor quality of plant proteins will cause malnutrition. 

But, those are very biased notions. 

Every plant food is lack of different amino acids. 

In a plant based regime, 

one is encouraged to diversify 

the intake of different vegetables and grains, 

so that each plant food will complement each other. 

There is never an issue of amino acid deficiency. 

To learn about the basics of a balanced vegetarian diet, please visit http://TheVegSchool.net/Veg-Pyramid.pdf

On another matter, 

a lot of vegetarians are over-worried about proteins deficiency 

to the extent of compulsively consume 

large amount of soybeans, tofu, beans and soy milk. 

This is not recommended for a vegetarian. 

Although beans are very high in proteins, 

they are also very “acidic”. 

“Acidic” food refers to food 

which causes metabolic burden in our body. 

If our overall intake of acidic food increases, 

leading to our metabolic burden worsening, 

our internal organs will age faster or become susceptible to diseases.

For developing children and sick people who needs a lot of proteins, 

it’s suggested that they take alkaline grains with good quality proteins 

(ie with all  18 types of amino acids). 

The examples are millet, quinoa, amaranth seeds and buckwheat. 

These staple grains can be taken on daily basis and 

will not cause substantial metabolic burden to the body.

With these proper knowledge and critical analyses 

about plant based diet, 

we now understand that proteins 

has never been an issue and 

should not deter our confidence in a plant based regime.

Next, we will discuss about the pitfalls and myths about carbohydrates in a vegetarian diet.

    

Well regards,

Kee Yew

pureland2012-at-gmail.com 

{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}