How can you eat nutritiously and boost your immune system? Here, we have specially gathered health information on diet and nutrition to help you stay healthy.
Vegetables stored for a long time—
Fresh vegetables gradually lose some vitamins when stored at home. For example, spinach loses 84% of its vitamin C when left at 20°C for one day. To preserve vegetables, store them in a place that is away from light, well-ventilated, and dry.
Discarding the part richest in vitamins—
For example, with bean sprouts, some people only eat the sprouts and discard the bean halves. In fact, the bean halves contain 2-3 times more vitamin C than the sprouts. Also, when making vegetable dumplings, squeezing out the juice causes a loss of over 70% of the vitamins. The correct method is to mix the cut vegetables with oil first, then add salt and seasonings. This way, the oil coats the vegetables, and the filling won't release its liquid.
Stir-frying with low heat—
Vitamins C and B1 are sensitive to heat and boiling. According to measurements, vegetables stir-fried over high heat lose only 17% of their vitamin C. If they are then simmered, the vitamin C loss increases to 59%. Therefore, it's best to stir-fry with high heat. This not only makes the vegetables look and taste better but also minimizes nutrient loss. Adding a little vinegar during cooking also helps preserve vitamins. Some vegetables, such as cucumbers and tomatoes, are best eaten raw in a salad.
Not eating cooked vegetables immediately—
Some people, to save time, like to cook dishes in advance and keep them warm in the pot until everyone is ready to eat or reheat them for the next meal. In fact, vitamin B1 in vegetables can lose 25% during the process of keeping them warm.
Cooked cabbage can lose 20% of its vitamin C when kept warm for 15 minutes, another 10% after 30 minutes of保温, and another 20% after an hour. If the vitamin C in the vegetable is already reduced by 20% during cooking, and 25% dissolves into the cooking water, and then it is kept warm on the stove for another 15 minutes, losing another 20%, the total loss would be 65%. This leaves very little vitamin C left in the vegetable.
Many people love to eat vegetables but not drink the vegetable broth. In fact, when cooking, most vitamins dissolve into the broth. For example, after stir-frying bok choy, 70% of its vitamin C is in the cooking water. When fresh peas are boiled in water for 3 minutes, 50% of the vitamin C dissolves into the water.
Washing vegetables after cutting—
When washing and cutting vegetables, if you cut them first and then rinse, a large amount of vitamins will be lost into the water.
Preferring stir-fried dishes—
Some people, in order to lose weight, avoid fat and prefer vegetables stir-fried with meat. Recent research has found that vegetables with high water content have air-filled cells, while meat cells are filled with water. Therefore, vegetables are more absorbent of oil. A plate of stir-fried vegetables can often contain more oil than a plate of fried fish or fried pork ribs.
Eating a vegetarian diet without meat—
Nowadays, more and more people are adopting a vegetarian diet, which is undoubtedly beneficial for preventing arteriosclerosis. However, being a vegetarian without proper planning is not necessarily a good thing. Modern science has found at least four major disadvantages to a vegetarian diet: one is the lack of necessary cholesterol, and a moderate amount of cholesterol has anti-cancer properties; two is insufficient protein intake, which is a risk factor for digestive tract tumors; three is insufficient intake of riboflavin, leading to vitamin deficiency; and four is a severe lack of zinc, which is a very important trace element for ensuring a healthy immune system. Most vegetables are low in zinc.
Liking to eat raw vegetables without washing them—
The contamination of vegetables is mostly from pesticides or mold. Pesticide poisoning from eating vegetables happens from time to time. Vegetables are also hosts to mold, which is often insoluble in water and can even survive in boiling water. It can penetrate several millimeters into the surface of the vegetable. Therefore, vegetables must be washed and soaked thoroughly in clean water, peeled, and you should discard more old, yellow, and rotten leaves—do not be stingy, especially when eating them raw. Otherwise, it will harm your health.