Milk should be eaten, not drunk. Only drinking chicken soup and not eating the chicken is wrong... In our daily diet, many practices are actually unscientific, but people are not aware of these misconceptions. Experts from organizations such as the Jiangsu Science Writers Association and the Nanjing Science Creation Association are preparing to launch the "Health Science Lecture Tour into Communities" this month to go to residential areas and help residents correct some common health misconceptions.
Milk should be eaten, not drunk
When it comes to how to consume milk, many people are dismissive, "What's there to say? Just gulp it down." Professor Xie Yingbiao from Nanjing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine says this is unscientific. There are proper methods for consuming milk. It should be promoted to 'eat' milk rather than 'drink' it. This means having milk with starchy foods like steamed buns or bread. Chew the milk slowly in your mouth before swallowing, allowing it to fully mix with saliva digestive enzymes. This can also slow down its stay in the stomach, allowing it to undergo enzymatic action with gastric juices and be slowly released into the intestines, which facilitates absorption. If you gulp down milk, it is not good for intestinal absorption. It is best for the elderly to eat milk at night.
Professor Xie Yingbiao says that many people are accustomed to drinking milk in the morning. However, from the perspective of calcium supplementation, for the elderly, milk should be consumed at night, preferably before bedtime. This is because consuming milk at this time coincides with the body's state of low blood calcium. The calcium in the milk can then provide "timely assistance," changing the state of insufficient calcium intake without having to draw from the body's bone calcium. It can maintain blood calcium balance, prevent bone decalcification, and help prevent osteoporosis and fractures. If the elderly can consume 2-3 cups of milk daily, they can obtain the essential calcium their bodies need.
It's also wrong to only drink chicken soup and not eat the meat
Many people believe that the essence of meat dishes is in the soup, so they only drink chicken soup and discard the chicken. This is actually a common misconception. Professor Xie Yingbiao says that chicken, duck, goose, pigeon, and rabbit meat are rich in protein. The even distribution of fat throughout the tissues is an important reason why poultry meat is delicious. The soup from poultry contains more nitrogen extractives, which is why chicken and duck soup are relatively flavorful. The essence of meat dishes is protein. However, when exposed to high heat or for too long during stewing, protein coagulates. Only a small amount of protein dissolves into the soup, while most remains in the meat. Therefore, it is incorrect to only drink the soup and not eat the meat.
It's best to eat fruit before a meal
At the end of a meal in a restaurant, waitstaff will often bring out a plate of fruit. Many residents have also adopted this habit, believing that eating fruit after a meal aids digestion. In fact, this is also unscientific. Experts say that eating fruit after a meal can, over time, lead to digestive disorders and easily cause diarrhea. This is especially true after eating foods high in certain metals, such as crab and shellfish. You absolutely cannot eat fruits high in vitamin C at this time, because vitamin C is a reducing agent that can reduce high metal compounds to their elemental form, directly impacting your health.
If you change the time for eating fruit to before a meal, it can help maintain the body's normal immune function. Many components in fruit are water-soluble, such as vitamin C, and are more easily digested and absorbed when consumed before a meal. Another advantage of eating fruit before a meal is that the feeling of fullness from the fruit will cause you to eat less. However, it should be noted that some fruits are not suitable to be eaten on an empty stomach before a meal. For example, tomatoes, persimmons, oranges, hawthorn, and bananas should not be eaten when the stomach is empty.