During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, reporters found that healthy consumption is becoming the new protagonist of the year that runs through dining tables, gifts, home, and travel. From the "light oil and salt reduction" at the New Year's Eve dinner to the "health gift box" for visiting relatives and friends, from the smart monitoring devices commonly used at home to the functional tonics sought after by young people, a consumption transformation from "tongue and stomach protection battle" to "national health bureau" is driving holiday consumption into a new stage of quality, health, and rationality. The New Year's Eve dinner has launched an upgraded battle to protect the stomach. Once upon a time, the Spring Festival dining table was equipped with "big fish and meat, heavy oil and sugar" as standard, and "eating too much and getting tired" was the norm. After the holiday, "stomach protection battle" became a compulsory course for the whole nation. This year's Spring Festival, many people's New Year's Eve dinner menus have become increasingly healthy, with green, balanced, and nutritious becoming the mainstream of holiday dining tables. According to the 2026 Chinese Spring Festival Food Consumption Trend Report, 72.3% of consumers focus on labels such as "low sugar, low fat, low salt, and no additives" during the Spring Festival, 68.7% of consumers prefer organic, green, and original food, and 59.8% of consumers actively reduce the purchase of high oil, high sugar, and high calorie food. Ms. Su, a resident of Tianjin, told reporters, "This year's New Year's Eve dinner, steamed, blanched, and stir fried dishes have replaced braised and fried dishes. The whole family loves to eat them, young and old, preserving the flavor of the New Year without adding burden to the digestive system." The changes in Ms. Su's home are a microcosm of the increasing number of family dining tables. Experts point out that the trend of healthy eating during the Spring Festival is in line with the promotion of a healthy lifestyle of "three reductions and three health" (reducing salt, oil, sugar, healthy mouth, healthy weight, and healthy bones) for the whole nation. The scientific dietary concept of controlling the daily salt intake of adults within 5 grams, cooking oil 25-30 grams, and added sugar not exceeding 50g (preferably below 25g) is moving from professional advice to family practice. Liu Pengju, deputy chief physician of the Clinical Nutrition Department at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said that during the Spring Festival, diet can balance health and deliciousness. For example, ingredients such as tofu and dried tofu are rich in vegetable protein, which can be used to replace some meat and reduce fat intake; Snacks should prioritize natural and less processed categories, with low sugar fruits and original nuts as the main ingredients. The consumption should be controlled to better maintain nutritional balance. The core scene of the New Year custom is that health preserving New Year's goods become new gifts for visiting relatives and friends. In the gift list of more and more people this year, traditional tobacco, wine, tea, and Dim sum gift boxes take the second place. Nutritional supplements, intelligent health equipment, and organic food gift boxes have become the first choice for gifts. "Giving health" takes the place of "showing off", which has become a new consensus of holiday interpersonal exchanges. Previously, during Chinese New Year visits to relatives and friends, cigarettes and alcohol were given as gifts. Now, smart blood pressure monitors and nutritional supplements are given as gifts, which are both practical and thoughtful, making elders happier. ”Mr. Li, a resident of Tangshan, represents the current consumption concept of most people in his gift giving choices. According to the Consumption Insight and Prospect of Chinese Spring Festival 2026 released by market research and consulting firm Mintel, 58% of consumers regard health as the primary consideration of gift giving, far exceeding the concern for decent appearance, 76% of consumers give priority to the actual needs of the recipient, and health care has become the core value of gift giving. According to Meituan Medicine's health data, health consumption has become a common choice for three generations of people, including the elderly, middle-aged, and young, during this year's Spring Festival. Overall, the per capita health consumption of all age groups has increased year-on-year, with post-95s becoming the main consumer of health products, with users aged 30-35 accounting for nearly 30%. From the perspective of hot selling categories, on the eve of the Spring Festival, the order volume of ass hide glue on Meituan's drug buying platform increased nearly four times month on month, and the order volume of protein powder and amino sugar chondroitin increased by 118% and 80% respectively. Industry insiders point out that healthy consumption has become the new protagonist of this year's New Year's customs. This is not only a change in consumption trends, but also represents that more and more people are redefining the meaning of festivals in a more rational and scientific way, endowing New Year's customs culture with new connotations of health. Experts on the normalization of health consumption and the reconstruction of New Year's customs and industrial ecology suggest that the explosive popularity of health consumption during the Spring Festival is not a short-term holiday craze, but an inevitable result of long-term consumption upgrading, which will continue to reconstruct the cultural and industrial ecology of New Year's customs. Industry analysts believe that there will be three core trends in health consumption during the 2026 Spring Festival: firstly, the trend towards health as a necessity, with health becoming the fundamental consideration in all consumption scenarios, and all categories such as food, gifts, home furnishings, and travel transitioning towards health; Secondly, the consumer group is becoming younger, with the younger generation leading the trend of healthy consumption and driving product iteration towards refinement, portability, and functionality; The third is channel integration, linking online instant retail with offline physical stores, making healthy consumption more convenient and inclusive. The improvement of residents' health literacy and policy guidance have jointly promoted healthy consumption to become the new mainstream of consumption during this year's Spring Festival. This trend will promote accelerated innovation in industries such as food, health products, and health equipment, enabling traditional enterprises to accelerate their health transformation and adapt to new market demands. For the industry, the dividend of healthy consumption continues to be released. Food companies are intensifying their research and development of low sugar, organic, and additive free products, while health product companies are focusing on precision and scenario based nourishment. Health equipment companies are upgrading towards intelligence and aging friendliness. Domestic brands are rapidly breaking through with their localization and high cost-effectiveness advantages. From the passive response of the "stomach protection battle" to the active pursuit of the "health preservation bureau", healthy consumption has not only become the new protagonist of the New Year's customs, but also a clear label of consumption upgrading in China. Experts say that in the future, healthy consumption will continue to penetrate daily consumption scenarios, and the culture of Chinese New Year customs will be deeply integrated with health concepts. A new era of consumption that is healthier, more rational, and warmer is accelerating with the footsteps of the Chinese New Year of the Horse. (New Society)