In our daily food menu, vegetables are an indispensable part, as they are super nutritious. But did you know? If you don't eat them correctly, they can also be harmful to your body! Below, let me tell you about the wrong ways to eat vegetables!
1. Often eating tomatoes before a meal
Tomatoes should be eaten after a meal. This way, the acidity can be significantly reduced when stomach acid mixes with food, avoiding an increase in intra-gastric pressure that can cause gastric distension, leading to symptoms like abdominal pain and stomach discomfort in babies.
2. Mixing carrots with radishes to make a puree
Do not grind carrots and radishes into a puree together. This is because carrots contain an enzyme that destroys vitamin C, which will completely break down the vitamin C in the radishes.
3. Excessive consumption of carotene
Although carotene is very nutritious for babies, it's important to consume it in moderation. If a baby drinks too much vegetable juice made from carrots or tomatoes, it can lead to carotenemia, causing the skin on the face and hands to turn orange-yellow. This may be accompanied by loss of appetite, unstable mental state, irritability, and even restless sleep, along with night terrors, crying, and talking in one's sleep.
4. Washing mushrooms too thoroughly or soaking them in water
Mushrooms contain ergosterol, which turns into vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. However, if you don't over-wash or soak them before eating, you won't lose many of their nutritional values. Also, you should not cook mushrooms in an iron or copper pot, as this can lead to nutrient loss.
5. Eating undercooked bean sprouts
Bean sprouts are tender, delicious, and nutritious, but they must be thoroughly cooked. Otherwise, eating them can lead to adverse reactions such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and dizziness.
6. Giving babies too much spinach
Spinach contains a large amount of oxalic acid, so it's not suitable for babies to eat too much. Oxalic acid combines with calcium and zinc in the body to form calcium oxalate and zinc oxalate, which are not easily absorbed and excreted. This affects the absorption of calcium and zinc in the intestines, easily causing calcium and zinc deficiency in babies, leading to poor development of bones and teeth, and can also impact intellectual development.
7. Giving babies bitter gourd that hasn't been blanched in boiling water
The oxalic acid in bitter gourd can hinder the absorption of calcium from food. Therefore, you should blanch the bitter gourd in boiling water first to remove the oxalic acid before eating it. Babies who need a large amount of calcium supplementation should not eat too much bitter gourd.
8. Storing cooked chives for too long
Chives are best cooked and eaten immediately; they should not be stored for long. If stored for too long, a large amount of nitrate in them will turn into nitrite, causing a toxic reaction. In addition, babies with indigestion should not eat chives.
9. Stewing green leafy vegetables for too long
Green leafy vegetables should not be stewed for too long during cooking. Otherwise, the nitrates in them will turn into nitrites, which can easily cause food poisoning in babies.
10. Cooking frozen vegetables for too long
Most frozen vegetables have already been blanched, so they don't need to be cooked for a long time. Otherwise, they will become mushy and lose many of their nutrients.