Nowadays, more and more people like to eat vegetables, especially raw ones—like in salads, sandwiches, and so on. This is because they are rich in vitamins. But eating vegetables raw actually has its hidden dangers. Don't know? Let us explain it to you one by one.
1. Don't just focus on vitamins when eating vegetables
Why eat vegetables? The benefits of vegetables can't be fully explained by the seven traditional categories of nutrients plus the thousands of chemical compounds found in modern plants, because their natural combinations can only be obtained from whole, unprocessed produce. Therefore, every small vegetable and every fruit is so wonderful, and it's far more complex than a simple competition of whose vitamin content is higher. Therefore, only by eating them regularly and in a balanced way can you fully get the nourishment from vegetables.
2. Eating raw vegetables has hidden dangers
Eating raw vegetables is popular because people firmly believe this avoids the loss of nutrients caused by cooking. But the problem is that while the nutrients in the vegetables are preserved without processing, so are the toxic and harmful substances.
For example, vegetables from the Brassica family contain small amounts of goitrogenic substances, which can interfere with the thyroid's absorption and use of iodine. Like other Brassica vegetables, cauliflower also contains small amounts of goitrogenic substances. There are also cruciferous vegetables like radishes and soybeans. When they enter the human body, their metabolism produces a thyroid-toxic substance—thiocyanate—which can cause insufficient thyroid hormone secretion and a compensatory enlargement of the thyroid gland.
And these thyroid "killers" from vegetables are all afraid of heat. Proper cooking can effectively avoid the danger. Blanching vegetables and then serving them cold, stir-frying them quickly, or making them into soups or fillings can both preserve nutrients and reduce toxins.
3. Which vegetables use more pesticides
Many people love to eat cowpeas, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, amaranth, peppers, and eggplants, and pests love them too, especially cowpeas and eggplants. However, these vegetables may have residual pesticides, affecting food safety. Vegetables like pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, onion, crown daisy, scallion, cilantro, lettuce, and tomatoes are much safer because they don't need to be sprayed with pesticides to repel pests.
In addition, the level of nitrate contamination in roots, stems, and leaves is far higher than in flowers, fruits, and seeds. Therefore, try to eat more gourds, fruits, beans, and edible fungi, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, edamame, and shiitake mushrooms. Also, be sure to supplement with some vitamin C to block the formation of nitrites, which reduces the potential danger of leafy greens.