The Journal

Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: Lifestyle

Media Credit: Stew Smith

Chinese takeout can be tempting, especially for college students who are sleep deprived and too busy or tired to cook a full dinner at the end of the day. But before you make that call to your favorite Chinese restaurant, you may find the research on Chinese restaurants in America might sway you to dust off your wok and cook your own meal.
According to a 2007 report on Chinese food from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), those tasty dishes can pack more fat and calories than several McDonald's' fried McChicken sandwiches. These foods which have been Americanized are hardly the healthy equivalent of what you would eat while visiting China or other Asian countries. American versions of lemon chicken, eggplant in garlic sauce and fried rice are saltier, greasier and unhealthier than the Far East authentic versions.
The Asian food pyramid is something to consider when choosing Asian foods. The Harvard School of Public Health, Cornell University and Oldways Preservation Trust, a Boston-based food issues think tank, joined together to create a pyramid which reflects an authentic rural Asian diet. These food groups include elements of Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and other regional cuisines.
The China-Cornell-Oxford project, a study that surveyed a large population of rural China on factors such as dietary, lifestyle and disease characteristics, showed that Asians who follow this diet have some of the world's lowest rates of heart disease, cancer and obesity. Many other studies continue to back up these findings.
The Asian food pyramid is centralized around traditional ingredients and follows the Chinese principle of fan and t'sai, which is an expression of balance and harmony in food. Fan, or foods such as noodles, rice or grains, should equal half of every meal. T'sai, or the other half of the meal, should consist of vegetables, beans, fruit, nuts and small amounts of animal protein.
The pyramid, starting from the largest section, or bottom should include rice, noodles and whole grains as the base of all meals. Between 25 to 80 percent of calories come from consuming rice in some Asian diets and makes up a large portion of
the pyramid.
The second section of the pyramid consists of vegetables, fruit, beans and nuts. There are many items to choose from including bok choy, celery, pea pods, Chinese broccoli, soybeans or cabbage. These are eaten daily. American-style Asian restaurants are not stingy with these ingredients, but they are often loaded with sauces which contain alarming amounts of sodium. According to the CPSI report, in one vegetable entrée covered in sauce, you can expect up to one and a half times the daily recommended amount of salt. In Asia, vegetables and nuts are flavored with spices or other delicate seasonings.

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