Taboo One: It's better to cook half a pot extra than to have one bowl less
Many people always worry that there won't be enough food when cooking, fearing their family will go hungry, hence the mindset of "It's better to cook half a pot extra than to have one bowl less." When there's more food, the family tends to eat more. While it's fine to eat a bit more at lunch, eating too much for dinner can easily trigger certain illnesses. Hong Zhaoguang, a health expert highly regarded by the public, once said: "Walk 8,000 steps a day, sleep 8 hours a night, eat until 80% full for three meals, and drink eight glasses of water a day." The part about eating until 80% full for three meals is a reminder not to overeat. Throughout history and across the world, there have been hundreds of methods to extend one's lifespan, but most are ineffective. The only truly recognized and effective method for prolonging life is what we call a "low-calorie diet," which means eating until 70-80% full.
Additionally, if family members still feel hungry after a meal and want to eat something, they can have some fruit half an hour after dinner.
Taboo Two: A good chef's secret is salt
Many people have long held the belief that "salt brings flavor," "a good chef's secret is salt," and "salty food goes well with rice." They prefer saltier foods, commonly known as having a "heavy palate." However, long-term intake of large amounts of salt has significant and harmful effects on health. It not only induces high blood pressure but can also lead to gastritis, peptic ulcers, upper respiratory tract infections, and other diseases. Furthermore, excessive salt intake is the main culprit behind osteoporosis. This is because the kidneys excrete excess sodium in urine daily. For every 1,000 milligrams of sodium excreted, about 26 milligrams of calcium are also lost. Therefore, the more sodium the body needs to get rid of, the greater the calcium depletion, which will inevitably affect normal bone growth.
Although as people pay more attention to diet and health, more and more are aware of the dangers of a high-salt diet and carefully control the amount of salt when cooking. However, to make a low-salt and healthy diet, simply using less salt is not enough; one must also be wary of foods with high salt content.
Taboo Three: The more vegetable oil, the better
Many people have become aware of the dangers of animal fat and rarely use animal fat or consume fatty meat. However, the amount of cooking oil used has not decreased; on the contrary, it is on the rise. Currently, the vast majority of households use vegetable oil for cooking. Although this is a significant improvement over using animal oil, vegetable oil is also very high in calories. 100 grams of vegetable oil contains as much as 900 kcal, whereas 100 grams of pork has only 395 kcal. Excessive calorie intake significantly increases the risk of obesity, high blood lipids, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and malignant tumors. The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends a daily intake of cooking oil of only 25 grams per person. However, the current average actual intake for urban and rural residents has reached 41 grams, and it's even higher in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
Furthermore, although vegetable oil contains a large amount of linoleic acid, which helps lower cholesterol levels in the blood, vegetable oil is an unsaturated fat. Consuming too much of it can easily form peroxidized lipids in the body. The accumulation of this substance can lead to diseases like cerebral thrombosis and myocardial infarction, and may even induce cancer.