Why is vietnamese food healthy

Further, many Vietnamese adults are lactose intolerant. Most Vietnamese children growing up in the U. Vietnamese in America may be susceptible to weight gain, high cholesterol and diabetes. Vietnamese desserts often include coconut milk and coconut oil — high in saturated fat.

Vietnamese with diabetes may not realize that an excess of sweets can make their illness difficult to control. Vietnamese in the U. Pork and chicken is cheaper here than in Vietnam. Further, if a Vietnamese patient already has diabetes, it may be difficult to change their diet, since rice — which converts to sugar and elevates blood sugar — is such a staple of the diet.

The Vietnamese diet can be high in sodium, with its reliance on fish sauce and MSG as common condiments, and low in fiber with its lack of whole grains. Pregnant Vietnamese women typically eat a healthy diet, although health care workers should make sure they are getting enough calcium. Vietnamese women tend to not breast feed their babies, or breast feed them for less than six months, believing that formula is more nutritious for their infants. Some Vietnamese may bottle feed infants for longer than six months.

Many Vietnamese women believe that breast-feeding will cause their breasts to sag. Providers may want to educate patients on the benefits of breast feeding. Infants are typically introduced to solid foods around the sixth month, when they are given thin rice gruel. Minced meat or vegetables are gradually introduced into the thin congee around the ninth month. More solid food — vegetables, fruits, small pieces of tender meat — are given typically after the baby turns 1.

Health care workers should keep an eye on overweight tendencies in children. In Vietnamese culture, chubby children are considered healthy and a sign of prosperity. Vietnamese parents may also want to spoil their children by taking them to fast-food restaurants — sometimes daily.

Many Vietnamese soups and starters like fresh spring and summer rolls are low in sugar less than 5g per serving. Eating Vietnamese food often will certainly help cut the intake of sugar each week.

By cutting calories and eating less fat. Giant bowls of pho noodle soups have between and calories each, and less than 3g of fat per serving, which means you could eat one every day for lunch or dinner as part of a calorie controlled, low-fat diet.

Follow us. Terms Privacy Policy. Part of HuffPost Lifestyle. All rights reserved. Not only is Vietnamese food delicious, but it is also really healthy. They are intact inside the broth except for the B1 vitamin, B3 and C that are partially altered , a gold mine full of nutritive ingredients. The broth is as important as other ingredients of the pho. It is a source of water and thus hydrates and cools the body.

Just like nomads in the desert drink hot tea: a hot brew cools and hydrates the body better than cold water. The body reacts to hot liquids with several cooling processes perspiration, transpiration and more efficient digestion. Banh mi is a sandwich that can be made in a multitude of ways depending on where you eat it. More often, it contains a source of protein pork, chicken, ham , some vegetables lettuce, carrots, green bean sprouts , bread and sometimes industrial soft cheese.

You should be careful in making sure the ingredients added are not processed food pate, sausages, cheese and that not too much sauce is added particularly if it contains MSG, sugar, or fat. You could replace the processed cheese with a yogurt. It is not bad if the portion is reasonable and it can complement well a banh mi , nutritionally speaking. Contrary to pho , banh mi does not hydrate the body well.

You can accompany it with a fresh drink while you eat such as a lime juice, coconut water or sugar cane juice. Do the herbs added to the recipes have nutritional or health benefits cilantro, mint, thai basil? Aromatic herbs contain a lot of antioxidants and vitamins, whatever they are, often with a higher concentration than that found in most fruits and vegetables.

It is because they smell good that they are so interesting because the aromatic molecules, the ones responsible for the good smell, are also directly responsible for the medicinal properties of those herbs. Aromatic herbs contain a lot of antioxidants and vitamins, whatever they are. They have diuretic, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. Not only do they contain very little calories, they are an interesting source of fiber and contain phytosterols that could help, if taken in high dose, reduce the cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

However, the overall daily intake is relatively small compared to other ingredients. Not very easy! Still, if you consume herbs all day long at different meals, it will cover part of your nutritional needs. I would recommend to consider them for what they are, aromatic plants. They can make your dishes more tasty and delicious. The healthy part is a bonus. Thai basil is an excellent diuretic and anti-inflammatory. Mint can help if you have nausea and it helps digesting, just like coriander.

There is a Vietnamese paradox: even though Vietnamese food is naturally healthy, full of flavors and nutrients, the trend is towards artificially flavored, industrially processed and nutrient enriched food.