Soft Bread
When choosing bread, the principle to remember is "choose hard over soft." Harder breads generally have relatively lower energy content because soft breads typically have higher sugar and fat content. From a health perspective, whole wheat bread with a "coarse" texture, a "hard" feel, and rich in dietary fiber is a good choice. Such bread not only makes you feel full easily but also aids in bowel movements.
Crispy Cookies
Similar to bread, when selecting cookies, one should opt for varieties with light flavors and low fat and sugar content. The simplest way to determine the fat content of a cookie is to observe its crispiness. Cookies with low crispiness (i.e., harder cookies) generally have lower fat content, and vice versa, with higher oil content.
White Steamed Buns
White, soft, and delicate steamed buns are favored by many, but from a health perspective, such buns may have adverse effects on human health. Good quality flour is not too white but rather creamy white or slightly yellow. Therefore, overly white buns may have been treated with bleaching agents, and excessive softness may indicate an overuse of "aluminum-based leavening agents."
Fatty Pig's Trotters
Plump, white pig's trotters always look so tempting. However, these trotters are likely the result of chemical treatment. When soaked in a sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) solution, pig's trotters become swollen and large. They are then bleached and preserved with hydrogen peroxide (hydrogen peroxide), and finally, colored with sodium nitrite to create the "fatty" trotters. These three chemicals can all be harmful to health. Authentic, good quality pig's trotters should be light yellow and smaller in size.
Bright Green Seaweed
Seaweed on the market today varies greatly in color and thickness. Normal seaweed should be brownish-green or yellowish-brown. Seaweed processed through blanching, cooling, salting, and dehydration appears dark green. Some bright green seaweed available on the market may have been soaked with artificially added colorings (such as basic green and copper sulfate). Special attention should be paid when selecting, and it is best to avoid purchasing them.
Red-Cooked Meat
The braised meats and pig's trotters in supermarket displays are bright red and tempting, but these cooked foods may contain a significant amount of nitrites, posing a major health risk. Nitrites act as preservatives and colorants, and their addition makes the meat tender and pink, improving its appearance. Normal braised meat has a darker color only on the surface, whereas meat treated with nitrites is red from the inside out and has a ham-like flavor. When selecting, one can judge based on color and taste.