Food exchange list based on 80-kilocalorie rice unit

The conventional food exchange list which has been used in most hospitals and nutrition related institutes in Taiwan is derived from that published by a Joint Committee of the American Diabetes Association, American Dietetic Association, and the Diabetes Section, U.S. Public Health Services in 1950. There are several disadvantages of using this conventional table as an educational tool for Chinese patients in Taiwan. Those disadvantages include ignorance of macronutrients, nonnutritional classification of food and variance in calories between food categories. Our food exchange list aimed to classify food items into carbohydrate, protein and fat-rich food groups isocalorically. First of all, a "rice-unit" is defined as a 1/4 bowl of cooked rice, which contains approximately 80 kcal. Second, 80 kcal derived from the "rice unit" was used as a basic calorie unit in this study for definition of carbohydrate-rich, protein-rich, and fat-rich food items. All of the following items contain approximately 80 kcal: 1/2 bowl of gruel, a small banana, two medium sized oranges, a slice of bread (carbohydrate-rich items), an egg, 38g of pork (protein-rich items) and two teaspoons of soybean oil (a fat-rich item). There are several benefits of using this recommended food exchange list: (1) Rice is the most important staple in the Chinese family. The recommended food exchange list is derived from rice to enhance practicality and compliance of the Chinese people in Taiwan. Moreover, the theory of a high carbohydrate, high-fiber diet recommended by the ADA in 1987 has been stressed in this study.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)