'EastDiet' — a homegrown way to better health

At neighborhood markets in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, summer mornings begin long before the city has fully woken.

Stalls brim with freshly harvested lotus seed pods, leafy greens glistening with dew, seasonal mushrooms, freshwater fish from nearby rivers and ponds, and tofu and vegetables that have long been staples of local kitchens.

For generations, these foods have simply been part of everyday life in the eastern coastal region south of the Yangtze River. They were never marketed as "superfoods" or assembled according to a scientifically designed nutrition plan. Rather, they emerged naturally from a landscape rich in waterways, fertile farmland and a deep respect for the seasonal availability of produce.

Now, modern science is looking at whether this traditional way of eating may offer important lessons for the future of public health.

A study recently published in Nature Health has identified what researchers call the "EastDiet" — an eating pattern associated with lower risks of obesity and cardiovascular disease and rooted in the food traditions of China's eastern coastal region.

Led by Professor Zhu Shankuan at Zhejiang University's School of Public Health, the study was conducted in collaboration with the National Institute for Nutrition and Health under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Nutrilite Health Institute.

The findings suggest that people who adhere to this diet have a roughly 22 percent lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, and a 17 percent lower risk of central obesity. Among men, the protective effect was even stronger, with cardiovascular risk reduced by as much as 36 percent.

What makes the discovery even more interesting is that the EastDiet was not created in a laboratory or developed as a meal plan. Instead, researchers identified it by analyzing the eating habits of thousands of ordinary people.

The study seeks to answer an increasingly important question: beyond the Mediterranean diet, is there a healthy diet deeply rooted in Chinese culture and lifestyle that can also be validated by modern science?

Zhu said this question was the starting point of the research.

"The concept of the EastDiet was not something we designed ourselves," he said. "We didn't begin with a predetermined answer and ask people to follow it. We wanted to see whether a healthier dietary pattern already existed within the real population."