From July 10th to 11th, the "Global Innovation Forum on Plants and Human Health" was held in Macao. The forum was co-organized by Macau University of Science and Technology, the Chinese Association of Chinese Medicine of Macau, and the Macau Nutrition Association, focusing on four themes: plant and human nutrition, plant and metabolic health, plant and human aging, and plant and sustainable development.
Academician Yang Baofeng of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Academician Chen Shilin of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Academician of the European Academy of Sciences and Professor Zhang Youming of Shandong University, Academician of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and Associate Vice President of Macau University of Science and Technology Professor Zhu Yizhen, Academician of the Academy of Canada and Health Sciences and Academic Vice President of Wenzhou Medical University Professor Song Weihong, Professor Zhu Shankuan of Zhejiang University, Professor Xu Lin of Sun Yat-sen University, Professor Huang Wenxiu of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Chen Jia, Vice President of Amway Asia Technology and Technology Innovation Center, attended the ceremony.
This forum brought together top experts from global medical and health authorities, and experts and scholars have expressed that Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have a long cultural origin of traditional Chinese medicine and unique development heritage. In recent years, the broad and profound wisdom of Chinese traditional Chinese medicine has been continuously integrated with modern life science and biotechnology, and has become an important force to promote the integrity and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine. Accelerating the modernization and internationalization of Chinese herbal medicine products and bringing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to global consumers is facing a rare historical opportunity.
Relying on the open and integrated innovation ecology of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a mature and complete upstream and downstream industrial system of big health, and the convergence of resources from academia and industry, the forum will jointly tap the power of plant health, promote interdisciplinary cooperation and exchanges, accelerate the verification and transformation of scientific research and innovation achievements, and inject scientific impetus into the improvement of human health.
The conference chair and associate vice president of Macau University of Science and Technology, Professor Zhu Yizhen
In view of the hidden "killer" of public health - metabolic syndrome, which has attracted more and more attention in recent years, this forum released the "Expert Consensus on Metabolic Health Index": a scientific, quantitative and easy-to-use evaluation tool to help everyone dynamically grasp their own metabolic health status.
The "Expert Consensus on Metabolic Health Index" was released
The Power of Plants: Exploring New Secrets of Human Health
Soy isoflavones, lycopene, apple polyphenols, curcumin, anthocyanins, quercetin...... They have a common name, phytochemicals. They are a large group of substances other than currently known nutrients (such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, etc.), mainly found in vegetables, fruits, legumes, fungi and other plants.
Professor Zhu Yizhen said that scientific research has confirmed that phytochemicals are very important for health maintenance, and the nutrition community calls them phytonutrients or plant functional components, and the main physiological effects include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, scavenging free radicals in the body, delaying aging, regulating immunity, improving blood lipids and blood sugar and other metabolism, and reducing the risk of chronic diseases. For example, motherwort has obvious efficacy in lipid-lowering and stroke treatment, and quercetin has a significant effect in inhibiting the progression of Alzheimer's disease and anti-aging.
To date, the total number of naturally occurring plant functional components is not fully understood, but it is estimated that there are 6-100,000 species. From the earliest "useless substances", to the later "active ingredients", until the current "functional ingredients", the scientific community's understanding of phytochemicals has undergone a profound change, and the function, effective dosage, and health effects of phytochemicals on the human body are gradually being discovered.
In the forum, covering traditional Chinese medicine, modern nutrition, modern medicine and other disciplines, for obesity, metabolic syndrome, anti-aging, Alzheimer's disease, leukemia and other health and disease issues of public concern, Zhu Yizhen, Zhu Shankuan and other experts made special reports, based on a large number of scientific experiments and cohort studies, from the target of plant functional components, mechanism of action, dose-effect relationship, timeliness relationship and other dimensions, to provide cutting-edge insights and evidence-based evidence, deciphering the "code" of plants to improve human health.
According to Chen Jia, this year marks the 90th anniversary of Amway's Nutrilite brand, which is based on Chinese traditional Chinese medicine theories and traditional health philosophy. For nearly a century, Nutrilite has continued to explore the benefits of Chinese herbal medicine for human health, forming a full-chain innovation capability covering the selection and breeding of Chinese herbal medicines, organic cultivation of plants, to formula safety and efficacy, to process development and quality control, and to build a core R&D system that integrates traditional wisdom and modern science. Metabolic health and anti-aging are the areas that Nutrilite is currently focusing on in terms of R&D using plant functional ingredients.
Chen Jia, Vice President of Amway Asia Technology Innovation Center
Be wary of the hidden "killer" of health - metabolic syndrome
At present, the increasing prevalence of non-communicable chronic diseases has become a major global public health problem. More than half of the mainland is overweight and obese, with hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia, resulting in a high incidence of metabolic syndrome. According to the Guidelines for the Combined Diagnosis and Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome released in 2023, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in people aged 20 and above in mainland China is as high as 31.1%. Professor Song Weihong said that metabolic problems are the root of all diseases.
According to the definition of the World Health Organization, metabolic syndrome is a pathological state characterized by abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, high uric acid, etc., due to the combined action of genetic factors and environmental factors.
Diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome:
l Abdominal obesity: waist circumference ≥ 90 cm for ≥men and 85 cm for women;
l BMI ≥ 25, high blood glucose: fasting blood glucose above 6.1 mmol/L and/or 2-hour postprandial blood glucose ≥7.8 mmol/L, or diabetic patients who have started treatment;
l High blood pressure: above 140/90 mm Hg, or patients with confirmed hypertension;
l l Fasting triglycerides above 1.7 mmol/L;
l l Fasting HDL cholesterol below 1.04 mmol/L (female) and 0.9 mmol/L (male);
Metabolic syndrome can be diagnosed if any 3 or more of the above 5 diagnostic criteria are met by the doctor's diagnosis and judgment.
Metabolic Health Index Released Establish a scientific quantitative evaluation tool
In order to support the prevention of chronic diseases and to meet the active health needs of the public, Nutrilite Nutrition & Wellness supported the expert group of the Forum to release the "Expert Consensus on Metabolic Health Index", which is applicable to the dynamic assessment and monitoring of metabolic health, provides a comprehensive quantitative evaluation tool for metabolic health, and lays the foundation for guiding and promoting a reasonable diet and healthy lifestyle.
Metabolic health index, which includes seven core biochemical indicators: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fasting blood glucose level, blood lipid (total cholesterol, total triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) level, blood pressure level (including the use of antihypertensive drugs), uric acid level, and history of fatty liver disease; and four indicators related to lifestyle habits and congenital factors: smoking, alcohol consumption, age, family history of metabolic diseases, after weighted calculation, the index standard is 0-100 points, and the scores are divided into four grades: excellent 85~100 points, average 60~84 points, poor 40~59 points, severe 0~39 points.
Metabolic Health Index Questionnaire
Professor Zhu Yizhen introduced that the establishment of the metabolic health index helps the public to actively recognize metabolic health risks, actively assess metabolic health status, and actively prevent the occurrence of metabolic risk factors, so as to improve the overall health literacy of the society, reduce medical resources and economic pressure, and promote the overall health of the public.
Amway has developed an innovative product for the improvement of metabolic health, the core raw materials are plant proteins (chickpea protein, mung bean protein, brown rice protein) that are strongly related to human metabolism, and contain phytonutrients (apple polyphenols) that enhance metabolism, which can reduce total cholesterol, blood lipids, and insulin resistance at the cellular level, and regulate the metabolic balance of glycolipid proteins. Improve metabolic disorders and maintain metabolic homeostasis.
Develop a healthy lifestyle and build a line of defense for metabolic health
WHO research shows that health and longevity depend on lifestyle 60%. A healthy lifestyle is the best "regimen" and an important means to prevent and improve metabolic syndrome.
In the face of obesity, blood sugar, blood lipids, blood pressure, uric acid and other metabolic challenges, it is necessary to intervene through scientific diet, moderate exercise and healthy lifestyle to curb the risk of metabolic disorders progressing to metabolic diseases.
Reasonable diet: eat a good breakfast, eat a balanced diet, and control the intake of high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt, and high-purine foods;
Eating balance: reduce sedentary time and increase moderate-to-high-intensity physical activity;
Quit smoking and limit alcohol: avoid risk factors for metabolic disorders;
Mental balance: reduce stress, improve sleep, maintain an optimistic and positive attitude towards life;
Environmental health: Reduce air pollution and improve air quality.
Chen Jia introduced that Amway adheres to the vision of "helping people live a healthier and better life", responds to the national strategy of "Healthy China", takes "comprehensive health promoter" as the company's development positioning, and promotes the transformation of public health in mainland China from treatment to prevention as an important strategic starting point.
In recent years, Amway has continued to increase the training of its big health entrepreneurs, bringing together more than 2.7 million health companions through the online "Health Charity Academy", and more than 60,000 nutrition and health consultants trained and certified by the Chinese Nutrition Society, creating hundreds of thousands of "big health communities" by them, disseminating scientific health knowledge, providing personalized health solutions, promoting the formation of healthy living habits, and driving the public to continuously improve health literacy and practice healthy lifestyles. Healthy communities full of vitality have become grassroots units to promote the construction of healthy cities and healthy China, bringing health to thousands of households and driving millions of people to enjoy a healthy and beautiful life.