Chinese cuisine has always been a source of pride for us, but it must be said that some cooking methods pose potential health risks. Based on the opinions of nutrition experts both in China and abroad, our country's dietary customs mainly have the following nine shortcomings, which need everyone's attention:
1. Eating too salty
According to statistics, the average daily salt consumption per person nationwide is over 10 grams, with the highest in the Northeast region, reaching 18 grams. The World Health Organization recommends that salt intake should be controlled to below 5 grams per day. Eating too salty can significantly increase the incidence of diseases such as high blood pressure and stomach cancer.
2. Consuming too much MSG
MSG increases the human body's intake of sodium, which is harmful to the body. Therefore, when eating soups and other dishes, it is advisable to use substitutes like chicken essence or mushroom essence instead of MSG.
3. Mostly eating in groups
Chinese people like to serve each other food, which increases the probability of disease transmission.
4. Preference for animal offal
Animal offal contains relatively high cholesterol, which is an important factor in inducing and aggravating atherosclerosis.
5. Mostly using cooking methods like stir-frying, pan-frying, deep-frying, etc.
Chinese people like stir-fried and fried foods, which increases the risk of cancer.
6. Preference for red meat with high fat content (pork, beef, mutton)
The proportion of eating white meat (fish and chicken) is relatively small. In recent years, the proportion of Chinese people eating white meat has been increasing year by year, which is a good phenomenon.
7. Many people in various regions like to eat preserved foods such as salted fish, cured meat, and pickled vegetables
This not only increases salt intake, but also because preserved foods contain more nitrites, it increases the risk of cancer.
8. Preference for various braised meats
However, the spices added when making braised meats, such as cinnamon, star anise, fennel, cloves, and Sichuan peppercorns, are not only warming and can easily cause "heatiness" (上火), but also contain a certain amount of safrole, which has certain mutagenicity and toxicity and can easily cause cancer. Therefore, people with colds, fever, inflammatory diseases, and chronic liver disease should eat less braised meat.
9. Many unhealthy eating habits exist in banquets
People are accustomed to drinking large amounts of baijiu at banquets, or overeating, or smoking and drinking at the same time. In some regions, there is also the bad custom of serving food from the communal plate. These habits not only cause waste but are also extremely detrimental to health, easily inducing various diseases.