Dietary Caution: When Cooking Porridge for the Elderly, Never Add Alkali
Edible alkali is solid, round, and white, and it dissolves easily in water. It is not a common condiment, but rather a food leavening agent and meat tenderizer. It can quickly rehydrate dried ingredients, soften fibers, remove the sour taste from dough, and when used appropriately, it can greatly enhance the color, aroma, flavor, and shape of food, thereby stimulating people's appetite.
Alkali can remove the sour taste from dough and make steamed buns fluffy and white, but too much will cause the buns to turn yellow or crack, and the taste will become bitter.
There are many tricks for cooking porridge for the elderly, and some people have the habit of adding alkali, which saves time, makes the porridge thick and sticky, and improves the texture, making it easier for the elderly to digest. Experts warn that adding alkali to porridge accelerates the destruction of vitamins in the grains, especially vitamin B1. For the elderly, drinking such porridge means it has no nutritional value.
Vitamin B1 is known as the "spiritual vitamin" because it has a beneficial effect on nerve tissue and mental state. Like all B vitamins, excess B1 is not stored in the body but is completely excreted. Therefore, it must be supplemented daily. A deficiency in vitamin B1 not only makes one prone to beriberi and constipation but can also cause symptoms such as fatigue, forgetfulness, and anxiety. A long-term deficiency can also affect the function of the heart and muscles. Therefore, for the elderly, whose nutrient absorption is already weak, adding alkali to porridge makes absorption even worse.