By Jianyu Hou, Freelancer based in Cleveland, OH. USA

Recently, I spent eleven days of my honeymoon, driving from Cleveland, Ohio to Winchester, Tennessee. As a Chinese native, I expected to taste a variety of local American cuisines, but that was not the case.

Along the highways in most areas, the only available choice was fast food restaurants: McDonald, KFC, Burger King, Wendy's.

When I was asked which one to choose, I answered, "I don't care. They are all the same." My stomach had troubles for the first few days, but raw veggies from a Save a Lot shop rescued me from constipation.

Many fast food customers told staff to discard veggies from their hamburgers. So many Americans don't eat fresh veggies in their daily meals, and just take vitamin pills instead.

Why do Americans engage in unhealthy lifestyles? My previous internship tutor, Cynthia Ries, CEO of Greater Cleveland Community Shares, said times were different when she grew up as a child. People grew veggies in their backyards and prepared three meals per day at home until the 1950s, when the highways started to expand nationwide.

Meanwhile, the fast food industry has expanded marketing campaigns. You can see so many fast food commercials on television, radio, magazines and online media. People are inundated with media messages not to eat healthy.


According to the latest statistics from City Fresh, nonprofit organization located in Ohio, American families only cook real meals two to three times per week on average. Mainly, they just eat fast food from restaurants or junk food from convenience stores.

Yet, the situation is different in China. In the 1990s, when American fast food companies first expanded their business in the country, out of curiosity, many Chinese joined long lines to order fried chicken, french fries, and hamburgers at McDonalds and KFC.

After the Chinese had subsided their interest in fast food, we insisted on cooking meals at home, using fresh food ingredients, or going to local Chinese restaurants for an authentic Chinese feast. Fast food companies couldn't change Chinese dietary habits, even though they have broadcast numerous commercials on the local media.

The Chinese have passed down the traditions of health preservation (Yang Sheng 養生) generation by generation for thousands of years. Health preservation is a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that has been much emphasized in Chinese daily living; especially through good eating habits, managing a balanced life schedule under the rules of nature, and simple homeopathic treatment procedures performed at home, such as cupping (拔罐) and pediluvium (足療).

Health preservation is one of the most popular topics in Chinese society, from TV shows to online social media, especially for the elderly and those who want to improve their quality of life. Beijing TV's daily show, Yang Sheng Tang (Health Preservation House) is the most popular health preservation TV show in China, which is regularly broadcast during dinner time. The team has invited many well-respected TCM doctors to teach the audience how to practice health preservation in different seasons, with down-to-earth language.

In early spring, the Chinese are told not to take off their winter clothes too early, since the Qi of Yin (陰氣) has not faded completely, and people are better off wearing thick clothes longer to adapt more easily to upcoming warm weather. In the summer, they tell the audience to eat more veggies and fruits that have been harvested during the summer, such as lettuce and watermelons.

TCM believes that plants flourishing in the summer must contain substances that help people stay cooler. People get the cool substances from those foods and stay cool. It's not healthy to eat food harvested beyond the current season. In late fall, the show reminds people to eat more fat and protein to protect the body against the cold.

In the winter, TCM doctors tell the audience to eat less salty food. The human body will get rid of more water to keep itself warm in a cold weather. Eating salty food will thicken the body liquid, causing hypertension.

TV shows, including Health Preservation House have enjoyed high audience ratings. Articles about health preservation have gone viral on Chinese social media sites, such as WeChat.

Thanks to the health preservation culture in China, it's hard to find overweight people who have been overfed by fast food. It's also good to realize that most Chinese media insist on promoting a traditional Chinese culture rather than going too commercialized.

Jianyu Hou, Freelancer based in Cleveland, OH. USA
 

( The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Panview or CCTV.com. )

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