Traditional Dietary Habits of Different Regions in Mainland China and Their Impact on Health

The vastness of China's geography is reflected in its rich culinary traditions, which have evolved over centuries of history, with each region possessing unique ingredients, flavors, and cooking techniques, all of which quietly reflect local agricultural practices, climatic conditions, and cultural influences, resulting in distinctive regional cuisines. Well-known regional cuisines such as Cantonese, Lu, Szechuan and Zhejiang are not only the source of people's daily diets, but are also an integral part of shaping people's health and well-being. Different dietary habits and cultural backgrounds can directly affect people's dietary choices and even their health. This paper analyzes the nutritional structure and dietary habits of typical cuisines such as Cantonese, Lu, Sichuan, and Zhejiang cuisines from the perspectives of nutritional composition and epidemiology, and explores their relationship with chronic diseases (e.g., hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases), with the aim of providing the public with scientific dietary health guidance. Literature research and data analysis were conducted to investigate this topic. It was found that the differences in the use of ingredients, cooking methods and seasoning habits of different cuisines significantly affect their potential effects on human health.