A recent survey shows that nearly half of all premature deaths worldwide are linked to excessive oil intake, as too much oil can lead to various chronic diseases. Many people don't know why they develop conditions like arteriosclerosis, heart attacks, or coronary heart disease, but it's often because they consume too much oil. Excessive oil intake can easily lead to high cholesterol, high blood lipids, atherosclerosis, and coronary heart disease. Here is a list of dishes that cardiovascular experts never order; be sure to save this list and avoid ordering them next time.
These dishes are too oily and should not be eaten often
1. Braised Eggplant
Braised eggplant is the most fragrant and goes best with rice. But what you may not know is that eggplant's porous structure makes it very "oil-absorbent".
2. Di San Xian (Three Freshes from the Soil)
The main ingredients of Di San Xian are potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers. However, all these ingredients need to be deep-fried. After being fried, the eggplant absorbs a large amount of oil like a sponge. This dish may sound like a "vegetarian dish," but after being deep-fried, its oil content can be even higher than a bowl of glistening braised pork belly.
3. Dry-fried Green Beans
Dry-fried green beans may seem unrelated to deep-frying, but they are often fried as well. Fried dry-fried green beans not only exceed the recommended calorie intake but can also pose safety risks. During frying, the green beans might be burnt on the outside but raw on the inside. If the green beans are not thoroughly cooked, it can lead to food poisoning.
4. Fried Lotus Root Boxes
Although lotus root is considered a healthy ingredient, its starch content is similar to that of a potato. Moreover, it is coated in batter. Starchy foods, when fried at high temperatures, can produce carcinogens like acrylamide. At the same time, the lotus root boxes absorb a large amount of oil, making them harmful to health if consumed excessively.
5. Boiled Fish and Boiled Meat
Boiled fish and boiled meat are the two most commonly ordered "boiled dishes," but as anyone who has eaten them knows, they are not boiled in water but in oil. Although the boiled meat soup has oil on top and water at the bottom, when you pick up the meat, the oil from the top clings to the meat and vegetables, which is very unhealthy.
6. Dry Pot Dishes
Dry pot baby bok choy, dry pot tofu skin, dry pot cabbage—these are some of the most commonly ordered dry pot dishes. However, to achieve the characteristic "numbing, spicy, fresh, and fragrant" flavor, most ingredients need to be "pre-fried." This significantly increases the oil content of dry pot dishes. Furthermore, dry pot dishes are usually kept heated for a long time, causing most of the oil to be absorbed by the ingredients.
7. Mao Xue Wang (Spicy Blood Curd)
Mao Xue Wang can be considered a famous Chongqing dish, and it is also a very "oil-absorbent" dish. All the ingredients are almost cooked in oil; it's no exaggeration to say that every bite is like drinking oil.
8. Guo Bao Rou (Sweet and Sour Pork)
This is a Northeastern Chinese dish. The pork tenderloin is sliced, marinated, coated in a batter, and then deep-fried until golden brown before being stir-fried with a sauce. The pork is fried in hot oil multiple times, so its high-oil nature is self-evident. Therefore, for the sake of your health, it's best to eat it less often.
These foods are beneficial for cardiovascular health when eaten regularly
Almonds: Prevent platelet aggregation. Research has found that eating nuts just once a week can reduce the risk of heart disease by a quarter, with almonds being particularly recommended. How to eat: Grind almonds into a powder and mix them into salads or dishes to add texture and fully absorb their nutrients.
Corn and Corn Silk: Corn silk has a diuretic effect that helps stabilize blood pressure. How to eat: Wash the corn, add water, and cook it into a porridge. Boil the corn silk in water to make tea.
Job's Tears: Lower cholesterol. Job's tears are as effective as oats at lowering cholesterol. It is a water-soluble fiber that can accelerate the liver's excretion of cholesterol. How to eat: Job's tears soup can be high in calories, so it's best to cook them into rice.
Spinach: Prevent cardiovascular disease. Spinach is rich in folic acid, which is more effective at preventing heart disease than other nutritional supplements. How to eat: The best way to preserve folic acid is to stir-fry it quickly over high heat to retain the most nutritional value.
Wood Ear Mushroom: Anticoagulant. Research has found that wood ear mushrooms contain nine anticoagulant substances, similar to the effects of onions and garlic. How to eat: Soak dried wood ear mushrooms in water, wash them, shred them, blanch them in hot water, and then season with shredded ginger, sugar, white vinegar, and soy sauce for a cold salad.
Kelp: Prevent vascular blockage. Kelp is a water-soluble fiber that can accelerate the excretion of cholesterol and prevent arteriosclerosis. How to eat: Kelp itself contains sodium, so use less seasoning when eating it.
Celery: Lower blood pressure. The apigenin in celery has a protective effect on the cardiovascular system. Moreover, the leaves have a higher vitamin C content than the stalks. How to eat: Choose tender leaves, blanch them in hot water, and they can be used in cold salads or as a side dish.
Black Sesame: Prevent vascular hardening. The unsaturated fatty acids in black sesame can maintain vascular elasticity and prevent atherosclerosis. How to eat: Chew them. The nutrients in sesame seeds are hidden in the shell, so they must be crushed to be effective.
Corn ribs soup