What do national leaders eat?

In the eyes of the public, what and how the central leaders eat is very mysterious and unattainable. Recently, the nutrition and health care expert for the Central leaders, Zeng Xuyuan, along with China's leading authority in nutrition, Li Ruifen, who has been working in nutrition for over 60 years and was the former head of the Nutrition Department at the Beijing Military Region General Hospital, have revealed the dietary health care regimen of the central leaders. It turns out that the leaders' menu does not include all kinds of delicacies and meats, but rather more coarse grains and less meat. It is precisely due to the scientific eating habits such as eating small meals frequently and consuming more coarse grains that have kept the average lifespan of China’s leaders among the highest in the world.

Zeng Xuyuan introduced a series of dietary methods used by the leaders, most of which can be easily followed by ordinary people. Eating 25 types of food every day. The reference here is to the variety of food, not 25 dishes. When preparing meals for the leaders, the principle of eating small meals frequently is emphasized; only when the food variety is "diverse" enough can the nutrition be balanced. Li Ruifen said that she now eats 25 to 30 different types of food every day, "a little bit of each is enough."

Li Ruifen stated that the leaders consume less meat from "four-legged animals." From a nutritional perspective, "the four-legged (pigs, cows, sheep) are not as good as the two-legged (chickens, geese), the two-legged are not as good as the one-legged (fungi), and the one-legged are not as good as the legless (fish)."

Zeng Xuyuan pointed out that regarding the autumn and winter seasons, it is suitable to eat some mutton or beef for "hot supplementation," or low-fat high-protein foods like chicken or rabbit meat. Among vegetables, root and tuber vegetables such as white radish, lily bulb, and taro are suitable for winter consumption. Additionally, more black-colored foods should be consumed, such as black sesame seeds, black rice, purple seaweed, and wood ear mushrooms.

Snacks should be added between meals. Eating small meals frequently has always been a promoted healthy eating concept, and the leaders are no exception. Zeng Xuyuan introduced that apart from eating until they are seven-tenths full during main meals, they also supplement their diet with snacks around 10:00 am and 3:00 pm.

For example, in the morning, they might have a small bowl of silver ear fungus and lotus seed soup or wheat bran, and in the afternoon, they drink half a cup of yogurt and eat a few nuts. Nuts are rich in protein and have good preventive effects on cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Chen Yun, who lived to be 91 years old, would eat thirteen peanuts, walk for thirteen minutes, and receive guests for three minutes every day.