1. Don't Always Have Porridge for Every Meal
This is a common mistake among the elderly. While drinking porridge in moderation is beneficial, it shouldn't be consumed at every meal. Porridge is a liquid food and is nutritionally inferior to rice of the same volume. Moreover, porridge "isn't filling," so you may feel full after eating it, but you'll get hungry again soon. Over the long term, this can lead to malnutrition in the elderly due to insufficient energy and nutrient intake. Therefore, it's important to maintain a balanced diet even when drinking porridge. Making the porridge thicker, pairing it with meat and vegetables, or having some snacks between meals can all help supplement energy.
2. Iced Porridge Is Not Recommended
Iced porridge is a popular summer food, but it is not suitable for the elderly or children who have a "cold" and weak constitution. Drinking too much iced porridge can not only block the body's sweat pores, making it difficult to expel metabolic waste, but it may also affect gastrointestinal function.
3. Diabetics Should Drink Porridge in Moderation
Diabetics tend to get hungry more easily, and porridge is digested quickly, which can easily make people want to eat again soon after a meal. Porridge is also easily absorbed by the body in a short period, leading to a rapid increase or fluctuation in blood sugar. Diabetics should drink porridge in moderation, with only a small bowl each time.
4. Those with a Stomach Condition Should Drink Less
Many people believe that porridge is good for the stomach. However, this view is not entirely accurate. Because porridge doesn't require much chewing, it doesn't stimulate the secretion of saliva in the mouth that aids digestion. Furthermore, the high water content in porridge dilutes stomach acid in the stomach, accelerates stomach expansion, and slows down stomach motility, which is also not conducive to digestion. Therefore, patients with stomach problems should not always drink porridge and should instead choose other easily digestible foods, chewing slowly to promote digestion.