促进健康早餐食谱运动

There are a good number of licensed or unlicensed street vendors who sell breakfast items in Beijing. An elderly woman surnamed Li, who rushed to buy her breakfast - a fried egg filled pancake and a cup of soy bean milk - from an unlicensed street vendor, said she had just sent her granddaughter off to school and didn't want to waste too much time eating.

Mrs. Li said ever since she had retired, she usually ate breakfast at home rather than on the go.

"Since I was told I have a high cholesterol level, my doctor suggested a decrease in the intake of eggs. In addition to some bread, I usually have a black sesame dessert, soy bean milk or regular milk for my breakfast and eat very little fried food."

In fact, a popular breakfast item for Beijingers contains a combination of fried bread sticks and soy bean milk or steamed stuffed buns known as "baozi" and porridge.

Qiu Hua is the owner of a store in west Beijing that sells steamed stuffed buns for breakfast. He is proud that his steamed dumplings sell so well.

"Lots of people buy my steamed stuffed buns. People have realized the importance of eating breakfast, so now I offer more varieties of the breakfast buns, including green vegetable stuffed buns. The stuffing inside is all very fresh, and sometimes also contains eggs and meat."

But do fried bread sticks or "youtiao" make for a healthy breakfast? And is the nutritional value supplied by steamed stuffed buns enough to sustain a person's energy throughout the morning?

Wang Yvmei, a nutrition expert who researches nutritional formulas, took part in an educational campaign Friday in Beijing to inform the public of the importance of a healthy breakfast. She said a breakfast that is low in nutritional value leads to a lack of energy to support an entire morning of work or study.

"For instance, children often appear absentminded in class, but their parents have been unable to find out what's behind this phenomenon. I think the root cause in reality is a lack of a nutritional breakfast."

Bu Lijun, a guest professor at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences shares Wang's concern. She has made a proposal based on survey results about what constitutes a healthy breakfast.

"The result of my survey shows that Beijing residents, particularly white-collar workers, usually rush to purchase their breakfast from vendors who prepare food on the street, or else they only bring some bread with them. In fact, one's breakfast should contain four types of nutrition, namely grain, milk products, protein as well as vegetables and fruit."

But Bu adds that Beijingers do not have to abandon their tradition of eating steamed dumplings for breakfast.

"At least the steamed stuffed buns contain protein and grain. And it would be a perfect choice for breakfast if they complemented them with fruit, milk and a spoonful of protein powder."

The Chinese Nutrition Society estimates a person's daily nutritional intake should include 21 grams of protein during breakfast because the first meal of the day supplies 25 to 30 percent of the total energy needed for a day's activities.

For CRI, I'm Wei Tong.