10 Mistakes in Eating Vegetables
Vegetables are a common sight in daily life and one of the essential foods in our daily diet. Vegetables can provide the human body with a variety of vitamins and minerals, which are a necessity for the body. However, eating vegetables also requires certain methods; otherwise, the nutritional value of the vegetables will be lost, and it would be as if we ate them for nothing. 10 Mistakes in Eating Vegetables, you must pay attention to. Eating vegetables wrong is like eating garbage, avoid these 10 mistakes in eating vegetables!
Mistake 1: Cutting before Washing
Nowadays, most people choose to cut vegetables before washing them, believing that washing first might not get them clean enough. But did you know? Many nutrients and beneficial substances in vegetables are water-soluble. When vegetables are cut into small pieces, a large amount of nutrients will be lost into the water during washing. This way, we cannot achieve the goal of supplementing the body's nutritional elements by eating vegetables. The correct method is to wash, then cut, and then cook. This way, nutrients are less likely to be lost.
Mistake 2: Squeezing out the Vegetable Juice
When making fillings for dishes like wontons or buns, some vegetables need to be finely chopped, which causes a large amount of juice to be released. Some people squeeze out the vegetable juice for shaping or convenience, but this practice is unscientific. This way, 70% of the vitamins and minerals in the vegetables are discarded. The correct method is to chop and mix the vegetables with ingredients like dried tofu, mushrooms, or meat, allowing the vegetable juice to seep into the other fillings. This not only makes the buns more delicious but also retains the nutrients fully in the buns for the body to absorb.
Mistake 3: Long-Term Storage of Vegetables
Storing vegetables for a long time will cause fresh vegetables to wilt. Wilted vegetables not only taste bad, but most of their vitamin C is also destroyed. The harmless nitrates in vegetables can be converted into nitrites, which can turn normal hemoglobin into methemoglobin, losing its oxygen-carrying capacity. In severe cases, it can cause cyanosis of the nails, lips, and even the whole body, along with symptoms like shortness of breath. Therefore, for the sake of your health, vegetables should be eaten as fresh as possible.
Mistake 4: Improper Refrigeration
Now that the weather is hot, many people store the vegetables they buy in the refrigerator. In fact, the suitable storage temperature for most vegetables is 3°C-10°C, and cucumbers should not be stored below 10°C. If stored in a refrigerator at around 4°C, the cucumber's color will darken, its body will become soft, and a transparent, gel-like liquid will be visible after cutting. By then, the cucumber's flavor will be completely gone.
Mistake 5: Blindly Eating Raw Vegetables
In the hot summer, people's appetite may decrease, and sometimes eating some raw vegetables seems like a quick solution. However, some vegetables are naturally toxic and cannot be eaten raw; they must be cooked to destroy the toxins, such as sword beans, lentils, potatoes, and bean sprouts. Vegetables that can be eaten raw must be non-toxic and uncontaminated, such as varieties with a good texture like radishes, tomatoes, and cucumbers. However, the vast majority of vegetables on the market today have been sprayed with pesticides. Although people are accustomed to soaking vegetables before washing, this only removes about 30% of the pesticides. Eating such vegetables raw can harm your health. Therefore, vegetables should not be eaten raw, even those that can be eaten raw.
Mistake 6: Cooking for Too Long
Some vitamins in vegetables, such as vitamin C, are easily oxidized and decomposed by heat and cannot be cooked for too long. Even when stir-fried over high heat or heated for a short time with a lid on, some of these vegetables will lose nutrients. If cooked for a long time, the loss of vitamin C will be even greater, meaning very little vitamin C will be absorbed by the body.
Mistake 7: Eating Leftovers
Thrifty people might save unfinished vegetables for the next meal, but by then, the nutritional value of the vegetables is almost gone. Measurements show that after 15 minutes, the vitamin C in stir-fried green vegetables decreases by 20%; after 30 minutes, the loss is 30%; and after an hour, it drops by 50%. Moreover, leftover vegetables are prone to spoilage and can easily cause food poisoning. It is best to cook and eat immediately for both hygiene and nutrition.
Mistake 8: Adding Too Much Oil
Many people believe that a dish won't taste good if not enough oil is used, so they add a lot. However, just like animal oil, every gram of vegetable oil produces 9 kilocalories. Consuming too much can induce obesity or lead to high blood lipids, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular diseases due to excessive calorie intake. Therefore, the amount of oil used for cooking should be appropriate. The recommended daily intake is 25 grams per person, not exceeding 30 grams.
Mistake 9: Throwing Away the Vegetable Broth
When cooking, about 30%-70% of the vitamin C and some water-soluble nutrients dissolve into the broth. If the vegetables were blanched before stir-frying to remove oxalic acid, nitrites, and pesticides, and if not too much oil and salt were used during cooking, then drinking the broth is harmless.
Mistake 10: Eating Too Much
Vegetables cannot be eaten in excess because most are difficult to digest, especially those high in crude fiber like bamboo shoots, celery, and broad beans. Eating large amounts can aggravate gastrointestinal conditions in patients, and it can easily trigger gastric bleeding or esophageal variceal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis. A large amount of fiber can also affect the absorption of calcium and zinc, especially in pregnant women and children in their growth and development period. The protein in most vegetables is "incomplete protein," lacking many essential amino acids needed by the human body. To lose weight, if one stops eating adequate high-quality animal protein and its fat-soluble vitamins A and D for a long time, it can easily lead to malnutrition. The recommended daily intake of vegetables is 300-500 grams; it is not advisable to eat too much.
10 Mistakes in Eating Vegetables, you must know. Eating vegetables wrong is like eating garbage; the nutrition is not absorbed, and eating vegetables has no effect on supplementing the body's nutritional elements. Therefore, you must avoid these 10 mistakes in eating vegetables.