From a nutritional perspective, some traditional Chinese food pairings are not only unbeneficial to human health but can even be harmful.
Stewed Beef and Potatoes: The different levels of stomach acid required to digest these two foods will prolong their retention time in the stomach, thereby extending the time for digestion and absorption.
Tofu with Scallions: The calcium in tofu combines with the oxalic acid in scallions to form a white precipitate—calcium oxalate, which simultaneously makes it difficult for the body to absorb calcium.
Eggs in Soy Milk: The mucoprotein in eggs can bind with trypsin in soy milk, thereby losing its nutritional value.
Adding MSG to Scrambled Eggs: Eggs themselves contain a large amount of glutamic acid, the same component as MSG, so adding MSG when scrambling eggs is unnecessary.
Eating Carrots with Alcohol: The abundant carotene in carrots, when entering the body with alcohol, can produce toxins in the liver, leading to liver disease.
Mixing Red and White Radishes: White radishes are extremely high in Vitamin C, but red radishes contain an enzyme that destroys ascorbic acid, which will break down the Vitamin C in white radishes.
Eating Radishes with Fruits: Radishes, upon metabolism, produce a substance that inhibits the thyroid gland—thiocyanate. Plant pigments in fruits like oranges, pears, apples, and grapes are decomposed by bacteria in the intestines into hydroxybenzoic acid, which can enhance the thyroid-suppressing effect of thiocyanate, inducing or causing goiter.
Seafood with Fruits: Eating seafood with fruits containing tannic acid not only reduces nutritional value but also makes the calcium in the seafood combine with the tannic acid, forming a substance that is difficult to digest, which can cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, and nausea.