Drinking soup for health maintenance: Generally, it is appropriate to drink more for breakfast, as people lose more moisture after a night's sleep. Half a bowl of soup before lunch and dinner is advisable, especially at night, as drinking too much can lead to frequent urination and affect sleep.
Myth 1: Soup with Rice
When we chew food, the purpose is not only to crush it for swallowing, but more importantly, to moisten it with saliva. Saliva, produced through chewing, contains many digestive enzymes that aid digestion and absorption and are very beneficial to health. With soup-soaked rice, the rice becomes soft and can be swallowed without chewing. Therefore, the food often enters the stomach without undergoing the digestive process of saliva, increasing the burden on the stomach's digestion. Over time, this can easily lead to stomach discomfort.
Myth 2: Drinking Soup and Discarding the "Sediment"
Experiments have shown that after cooking foods high in protein, such as fish, chicken, and beef, for six hours, the soup may appear very rich, but the protein dissolution rate is only 6%-15%. This means that over 85% of the protein remains in the "sediment." In other words, no matter how long the soup is simmered, the nutritional value of the meat does not completely dissolve into the soup. Therefore, it is necessary to eat an appropriate amount of meat after drinking the soup.
Myth 3: Liking to Drink Freshly Cooked Hot Soup
Freshly cooked soup is often very hot, and many people prefer to drink it this way, believing it warms the stomach and body. In reality, the mucous membranes of the human mouth, esophagus, and stomach can only withstand a maximum temperature of 60°C. Exceeding this temperature can cause mucosal burns and even lead to malignant changes in the digestive tract mucosa. Therefore, soup below 50°C is more suitable.