Autumn and winter, once again, it's the perfect season for hot pot~ Many people can no longer resist the deliciousness of hot pot and start heartily dipping away~ Although hot pot is delicious, do you know the correct way to eat it? Let's learn together~
The correct way to eat hot pot
★ It is not recommended to drink hot pot soup
From a medical perspective, it is not recommended to drink hot pot soup because the repeated boiling results in a high purine content. Many people will experience a transient increase in uric acid, and for patients with a history of gout, it can even trigger a gout attack after eating hot pot.
★ The cooking time should not be too long
Generally speaking, the oral cavity, esophagus, and stomach mucosa can only tolerate temperatures of about 50°C. Repeatedly boiled hot pot can reach up to 120°C or even higher. Furthermore, if the hot pot is cooked for more than an hour, the nitrite content in the broth increases. Repeatedly stimulating the gastrointestinal tract causes digestive fluids like gastric juice, bile, and pancreatic juice to secrete continuously, leading to gastrointestinal dysfunction and diseases such as chronic gastritis.
★ Hot pot should not be eaten while too hot
Many people are too impatient when eating hot pot; they eat food as soon as it's scooped from the pot and dipped in sauce, which can easily scald the digestive tract. In fact, the oral cavity, esophagus, and stomach mucosa can generally only tolerate 50°C-60°C, while the hot pot broth can be as hot as 120°C. If you eat the food as soon as it's cooked, it's easy to scald the mouth, esophagus, and stomach lining. Coupled with the stimulation of spicy flavors, it can easily induce inflammation and ulcers in various digestive organs. It is recommended to place the food from the pot in a small dish and let it cool slightly before eating.
★ The order of adding ingredients to the hot pot
It is recommended to eat some starchy foods first, such as potatoes or sweet potatoes. This can help control your portion size and also protect your stomach. It is suggested to blanch vegetables first, then eat meat. Do not be greedy for a fresh and tender texture and fail to control the cooking time, especially with raw meat and raw fish, which should not be taken out of the pot to eat immediately after a quick dip. It's best to have an extra pair of chopsticks: one for cooked food and one for raw food, to prevent bacteria or parasite eggs in the meat from directly entering the digestive tract and causing gastrointestinal infections.
★ Condiments are often high in salt
Many people, especially when eating hot pot, love to use various sauces, and a wide variety of strong-flavored sauces are available. Sauces like leek flower, fermented bean curd, and satay sauce are high in salt and easily stick to food, leading to excessive salt intake. It is recommended to use fresh chili, minced garlic, sesame oil, and other seasonings instead of sauces. This not only enhances the flavor of the food but also helps control salt intake.
★ Avoid drinking cold beverages
Generally speaking, both liquor and iced cold drinks can irritate the stomach. When combined with a steaming hot pot, the irritation to the gastrointestinal tract is even greater. Therefore, for drinks, you can opt for soy milk or yogurt to protect your stomach. However, for people with reflux esophagitis or gastrointestinal discomfort, yogurt is also not recommended.
★ Do not blindly order nourishing hot pot
"Nourishing" broths have always been a popular feature in winter hot pot restaurants, but generally, it is not recommended to use nourishing Chinese herbs such as Astragalus, longan, goji berries, or Codonopsis. Professor Zhang Zhong'ai from the Jinling Famous Doctor's Hall of Nanjing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Jiangsu Province said that nourishing Chinese herbs like Astragalus and goji berries can help improve resistance, but for people with colds or fevers, taking such nourishing herbs when symptoms are present is inappropriate. People with a "heat" constitution (who are prone to "internal heat"), those with heavy phlegm-dampness (obesity, thick greasy tongue coating), or those who often feel bloated and gassy in the stomach are also not suitable for taking nourishing Chinese herbs like Astragalus and goji berries.
Who is not suitable for eating nourishing hot pot?
✿ Children should not eat too much nourishing Chinese herb hot pot
Children eating too much of it can easily lead to "internal heat." Moreover, children have weak gastrointestinal function, and eating hot pot can be irritating to the stomach, easily causing gastrointestinal discomfort.
✿ Patients with chronic diseases should not eat hot pot with nourishing Chinese herb broths
Some people, such as those with hypertension, chronic pharyngitis, stomatitis, stomach diseases, ulcers, skin diseases, hemorrhoids, anal fissures, frequent nosebleeds, or gum bleeding, as well as those with a "yang-heat" constitution, should best avoid broths containing warming and nourishing Chinese herbs. These people are advised to choose a light broth, avoiding those that are too salty or too greasy.
A few tips for a healthy hot pot experience
※ Pair with cooling and neutral vegetables
Cooling vegetables generally include winter melon, loofah, rapeseed, spinach, cabbage, enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, lotus root, water bamboo shoots, bok choy, etc. While sweet potatoes, potatoes, and shiitake mushrooms are neutral vegetables. Pairing with cooling and neutral vegetables can have a cooling, detoxifying, and "heat-reducing" effect.
※ Add some tofu and white lotus seeds
Some tofu contains gypsum. Adding an appropriate amount of tofu to the hot pot not only supplements the intake of various trace elements but also allows the gypsum to exert its effects of clearing heat, reducing fire, relieving vexation, and quenching thirst. White lotus seeds are not only rich in various nutrients but are also a good remedy for the body's conditioning. It is best not to remove the lotus seed hearts when adding white lotus seeds, as they have the effect of clearing heat and reducing fire.
※ Drink yogurt after eating hot pot
After eating hot pot, you can drink some fermented yogurt. Yogurt can not only provide a protective effect on the gastric mucosa but also promote digestion.