Vegetables are something people eat every day, but only by choosing the right vegetables can you supplement your body with nutrients. Below are 9 common misconceptions about eating vegetables that everyone must pay attention to!
1. Not drinking the vegetable broth.
When stir-frying, a large amount of nutrients from the vegetables dissolve into the broth. It's a real waste not to drink it.
2. Eating raw vegetables without washing them.
With the increasing severity of vegetable contamination from pesticides and residual bacteria, it's best to wash and peel raw vegetables thoroughly before eating.
3. Cutting vegetables before washing them.
Some people, to save time, cut vegetables first and then give them a quick rinse. This method also causes a large amount of vitamins to be washed away into the water.
4. Stir-frying with low heat.
Vitamin C and B1 are sensitive to heat. Therefore, avoid stir-frying with low heat for a long time; you should use high heat. Furthermore, adding a little vinegar helps preserve the vitamins.
5. Not eating the vegetables immediately after they are cooked.
Many people like to leave cooked food in the pot to keep it warm or in a thermos, eating it some time later. This also leads to a significant loss of nutrients.
6. Preferring stir-fried vegetables.
Many people on a diet believe that stir-frying vegetables with meat can reduce fat intake. In fact, vegetables absorb oil more easily. Some vegetables are more suitable for eating cold, such as cucumbers and tomatoes.
7. Throwing away the part with the most vitamins.
Some conventional ways of processing vegetables also affect their nutritional content. For example, some people discard the bean sprouts to eat only the shoots, but the bean sprouts themselves contain 2-3 times more Vitamin C than the shoots.
8. Storing vegetables for a long time.
Some elderly people like to do a big weekly shopping and store vegetables at home to eat slowly. While this saves time and is convenient, it's important to know that vegetables lose a large amount of nutrients for every day they are stored. For example, spinach loses up to 84% of its Vitamin C after just one day at room temperature (20°C). Therefore, the storage time for vegetables should be minimized. If you must store them, choose a dry, well-ventilated, and light-proof place.
9. Being a vegetarian and not eating meat.
Nowadays, there are more and more vegetarians. Although it helps prevent arteriosclerosis, being exclusively vegetarian is also not right:
First, the human body needs to ingest a certain amount of cholesterol from meat daily, and a moderate amount of cholesterol is even beneficial for cancer prevention.
Second, a purely vegetarian diet can lead to insufficient protein intake, which can easily cause digestive tract tumors.
Third, it can lead to a deficiency in Vitamin B2.
Fourth, since vegetables are generally lacking in zinc, vegetarians are also prone to severe zinc deficiency. A better approach is to eat a balanced diet according to your own body's needs. This way, you can achieve the benefits of a vegetarian diet while avoiding the potential harm it may cause.