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The researchers from the Seven Countries Study concluded that the Asian diet was most effective in lowering CHD rates.

Another example of dietary guidelines from Asia is that of China. The Chinese dietary guidelines were first launched in 1989 by the Chinese Nutrition Society. The Chinese dietary recommendations are illustrated by the “Chinese Food Guide Pagoda” (Figure 6.5), which consists of five gradually decreasing space levels, depicting the amount in which the foods of each level should be consumed.

The base of the pagoda is filled with cereals, such as rice, corn, bread, noodles, and crackers, as well as tubers. The next level includes fruits and vegetables, which should constitute the base of every meal, along with the cereals and tubers. Fish and shrimp, eggs, poultry, and meat should be eaten regularly, but in small amounts. The consumption of dairy products, beans, and bean‐derived foods should be consumed in moderation, while at the top of the pagoda is the intake of fats, oils, and salt. Moreover, the Chinese dietary guidelines highlight the need for adequate hydration, suggesting 1500–1700 ml of water everyday as well as adequate physical activity equivalent to 6000 steps/day. Large prospective studies suggest that green tea consumption is significantly and inversely associated with CVD and all‐cause mortality; black tea consumption is also significantly and inversely associated with cancer and all‐cause mortality. Vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish, and eggs are the food groups associated with reduced risk of all‐cause mortality.

The China‐Cornell‐Oxford Project, or simply the China Study, sought to explore the dietary habits along with the prevalence of age‐related diseases in 10,200 Chinese of both genders. The study found that rural populations adhering to this traditional dietary pattern manifested very low prevalence of heart disease, breast and prostate cancer, obesity, and osteoporosis, compared to Western societies. However, urban Chinese adhering to a more Western‐type diet with high intakes of animal‐derived foods were more likely to be obese and suffer from heart disease, as well as breast and prostate cancer. When all the analyses were completed, Dr. Campbell, the principal investigator of the China Study, commented: “In the final analysis, we have strong evidence from this and other studies that nutrition becomes the controlling factor in the development of chronic degenerative diseases” Indeed, in a systematic review of 18 studies on the prevalence and trends for MetS in the Asia‐Pacific region, more than 20% of the adult population had MetS.