In Hainan, where the weather is hot and humid all year round, people tend to prefer clear nourishing, fresh and sweet, and light flavors in their diet. However, many people are unaware that the "order of eating" can undermine the healthiness of the ingredients they consume.
The daily eating routine of most Hainanese people is to first finish the rice, then eat the vegetables, and finally drink the soup. While it may be convenient and satisfying, it is also the hidden culprit behind heavy dampness, post-meal drowsiness, weight gain, and unstable blood sugar levels.
Li Chao, Director of the Weight Management Center at Hainan Chengmei Hospital, reminds us that the order of meals can directly affect the digestive burden on the intestines and stomach, postprandial blood sugar fluctuations, and the rate of body fat accumulation.
Suggested meal order: light soup → seasonal vegetables → seafood, meat, and protein dishes → miscellaneous grains and staple foods
Step 1: Start with half a bowl of clear soup to awaken the intestines
Hainan people cannot do without soup, such as winter melon seafood soup, conch soup, and assorted clear tonic soup, which are refreshing and refreshing. However, drinking soup after a meal is the most harmful to the spleen and stomach.
Drinking soup after a full meal can directly dilute gastric juice and increase the digestive pressure on the intestines and stomach. In the humid and hot weather of Hainan, it is most likely to lead to dampness accumulation, abdominal distension and indigestion, and a heavy body. Over time, the spleen and stomach become increasingly weak, and the belly fat also sneakily accumulates.
✅ Correct way to eat:
Ten minutes before a meal, drink a small half bowl of warm and light broth with minimal oil and sugar. Avoid drinking thick, simmered broth. This can lubricate the esophagus, awaken the intestines and stomach, moderately increase satiety, prevent overeating later, and help the body gently metabolize dampness.
Step 2: Eat seasonal greens to stabilize blood sugar and promote peristalsis
Hainan is evergreen all year round, and seasonal vegetables such as water spinach, sweet potato leaves, kidney beans, and wax gourd are readily available, making it the most affordable health food.
Many people eat by "starting with meat, wolfing down rice, and casually picking at vegetables". This way of eating allows refined carbohydrates to enter the body quickly, causing blood sugar to spike instantly, intestinal peristalsis to slow down, and in hot and humid weather, it is easy to experience constipation, indigestion, and general fatigue.
✅ Correct way to eat:
Start your meal with vegetables to utilize the rich dietary fiber, which can delay gastric emptying, slow down sugar absorption, and stabilize postprandial blood sugar levels. At the same time, it promotes intestinal peristalsis, improving issues such as indigestion and edema commonly associated with a damp-heat constitution. It is recommended to include nearly half of your meal as vegetables, providing a filling base that is refreshing and light.
Step 3: Eat high-quality proteins such as seafood and Wenchang chicken
Relying on the sea, Hainan's seafood, Wenchang chicken, and Jiaji duck are all low-fat and high-quality proteins, inherently very healthy.
If you eat meat or seafood directly on an empty stomach, the combination of high protein and fat will directly irritate your intestines and stomach, causing digestive stress. If not metabolized completely, the accumulated fat will increase the burden on your body.
✅ Correct way to eat:
After preparing the intestines and stomach with vegetables, consume meat and seafood. At this time, digestion is gentler, nutrition is better absorbed, and it is less likely to accumulate fat. Try to choose cooking methods such as steaming, braising, and clear soup, avoid deep-frying and braising with heavy oil and salt, and adhere to the dietary essence of Hainan's nourishing and health-preserving cuisine.
Last step: Eat staple food in small portions, and combine coarse and fine grains for better health preservation
White rice and rice noodles are the staple food soul of Hainanese people. However, refined rice and flour raise blood sugar quickly. Eating staple food on an empty stomach can cause a sudden rise and fall in blood sugar, stimulating insulin secretion, which is most likely to lead to weight gain and metabolic problems.
✅ Correct way to eat:
Eat the main course last, by which time your stomach will already be filled with soup, vegetables, and meat. Naturally, the intake of the main course will decrease, leading to a gentler rise in blood sugar. In daily meals, you can mix white rice with corn, sweet potatoes, and miscellaneous grains, combining coarse and fine grains to reduce the burden of refined carbohydrates and better meet long-term health maintenance needs.
Expert Introduction
Li Chao, Master of Nutrition
Director of Weight Management Center
Medical expertise
Specializes in nutritional intervention for overweight or obesity, impaired glucose tolerance (prediabetes), diabetes, hypertension, hyperuricemia, hyperlipidemia, wasting and malnutrition, sarcopenia, peri-operative period of tumors, peri-chemotherapy period of tumors, peri-radiotherapy period of tumors, tumor recovery period, constipation, diarrhea, liver disease, and kidney disease.