It's unclear when it started, but people began to have a stereotypical view of nutrition in food. Whenever certain nutrients are mentioned, people immediately think of specific foods, and when certain foods are mentioned, people often think of a specific nutritional component associated with them.
For example, mention Vitamin C, and people immediately think of lemons and oranges; mention potassium, and people immediately think of bananas; mention carotene, and people will definitely think of carrots; mention spinach, and people immediately think of oxalic acid; mention celery, and people immediately think of lowering blood pressure... In reality, the health benefits of food cannot be so stereotyped.
Many nutritional truths about food will surprise us! Don't believe it? Take a look at the following examples of food nutritional value:
Who is the potassium champion in food?
The potassium in taro is about 50% more than in bananas. In fact, all tubers are excellent sources of potassium. Simply replacing a bowl of rice with potatoes of the same starch content can increase your potassium intake by 10 times! People with high urine output, such as diabetics, kidney stone patients, gout patients, and hypertensive patients, as well as those who eat too much salty food, can easily lose excessive potassium. Re staple foods with tubers is a great idea.
In fact, among green leafy vegetables, there are numerous varieties with higher potassium content than bananas, such as spinach, kale, lettuce leaves, water spinach, amaranth, and red kale. Since Chinese people have access to a rich variety of green leafy vegetables, why must they rely on bananas like Westerners who don't like eating vegetables?
The true good sources of magnesium
Magnesium is important for strong bones and controlling blood pressure, and is also known as the "anti-stress nutrient." However, when it comes to magnesium, people still usually think of bananas. In fact, it is only the champion of magnesium in fruits. Almost all dark green leafy vegetables are good sources of magnesium, with levels that can reach or even exceed those in bananas. The reason is simple: every chlorophyll molecule contains a magnesium ion, so the greener the color, the more magnesium it contains.
Another excellent source of magnesium is nuts and seeds. For example, eating 50 grams of watermelon seeds provides as much magnesium as eating 200 grams of green leafy vegetables. However, green leafy vegetables have only one-third the calories of bananas and about one-twentieth the calories of nuts. Therefore, if you're afraid of gaining weight, eating green leafy vegetables is the best choice to supplement potassium and magnesium.