Too Sweet: Sugar—has the effects of making dishes sweet, increasing nutrition, making the surface of the finished product smooth, and turning golden or brown-yellow after heating. During exercise, a moderate amount of sugar needs to be supplemented to increase blood sugar levels, supply energy, save the consumption of muscle glycogen, reduce the proportion of energy supplied by proteins and fatty acids, and delay the onset of fatigue. Sugar water can also stimulate the stomach and intestines to aid digestion.
Contraindications: Excessive sugar intake can lead to cavities and trigger obesity, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and even promote cancers such as breast cancer. Diabetics and patients with hepatitis should try to consume as little as possible.
Sugar is a staple food in every household, but hidden in its sweetness are potential threats to human health. In daily diets, those who have a preference for sweets often suffer from various diseases due to excessive sugar consumption.
Too Sour: Vinegar—mainly serves to increase sourness, aroma, umami, and to balance richness, remove fishiness, and eliminate off-flavors. Vinegar can promote metabolism, and consuming vinegar is one of the effective ways to prevent arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure. Vinegar can also stimulate the appetite and promote the secretion of digestive fluids, while also having strong bactericidal properties. It can kill various bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli within 30 minutes. Eating more vinegar can also maintain the acidity of the intestines, achieving the effect of removing harmful bacteria. Steaming vinegar indoors has a certain preventive effect against colds; gargling with vinegar water can treat mild pharyngitis. For scalds, rinsing with vinegar can relieve pain and swelling, prevent blistering, and leave no scars after healing.
Contraindications: Vinegar should not be consumed in large quantities, especially by patients with stomach ulcers, who should avoid drinking vinegar to prevent harm to the body. When eating mutton, vinegar should also be avoided, as it can weaken the medicinal effects of both and may produce substances harmful to the human body.
Too Salty: Widely used in cooking, but generally not used alone. It can remove fishy odors, reduce greasiness, enhance flavor, whet the appetite, and increase appetite. At the same time, it has astringent and styptic effects, which can aid digestion. The salty taste is the base for most complex flavors, earning it the title "king of a hundred flavors." Since the time of the Yellow Emperor about 5000 years ago, salt has been known and consumed. Not only are most dishes inseparable from the salty taste, but even flavors like sweet and sour, and hot and sour require the addition of an appropriate amount of salt to make them rich and palatable.
1. Salt—enhances umami, reduces greasiness, and has antibacterial and preservative properties. The main component of salt is sodium chloride, and a certain amount must be consumed daily to maintain metabolism, regulate the acid-base balance between body fluids and cells, and promote human growth and development. In addition, iodized salt is beneficial to the thyroid gland. Gargling with light salt water not only treats and prevents oral diseases such as sore throat and swollen gums but also prevents colds. Drinking a glass of salt water upon waking in the morning can relieve constipation. Contraindications: Daily salt intake should not be too high, with 6 grams or less being appropriate.
2. Soy Sauce—mainly salty, with a combination of fresh aroma. It enhances the flavor, freshness, aroma, and color of dishes, and can also supplement nutrients. The amino acids in soy sauce are a major nutrient for the human body, especially some essential amino acids that the body cannot synthesize and must be obtained from soy sauce. In addition, if a certain part of the body is scalded, applying soy sauce can relieve pain and detoxify; for swollen and painful fingers, soaking them in a mixture of heated soy sauce and honey can relieve pain and reduce swelling.
Contraindications: When taking medications for cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases such as Eunonyl and Moclobemide, soy sauce should not be consumed at the same time, as it can cause side effects such as nausea and vomiting. Salt is an essential condiment in people's daily lives. Without it, food would be tasteless, and one might feel weak. However, excessive long-term intake can easily affect health.
The sweet taste was formerly called "Gan" (甘). In Chinese cuisine, it is used more frequently in the south. In cooking, it can be used alone to make sweet foods or as part of various complex flavor profiles to make food sweet and delicious. It can also remove bitterness and fishiness and has a certain effect of reducing greasiness.
Too Spicy: Chili is actually a tactile pain sensation rather than a taste. Due to habit, it is also considered one of the "five flavors." Chili is a representative of the spicy flavor and is an ideal seasoning that stimulates the appetite and adds nutrients, and is deeply loved by people in humid and low-lying areas. It can enhance aroma and color and stimulate the appetite.
1. Chili—The spicy component in chili, capsaicin, is nutritious and can enhance the appetite, making it widely used in cooking. Chili contains various alkaloids that can stimulate the oral mucosa, promote saliva secretion and gastric motility, which is beneficial for food digestion; chili contains more antioxidants that can prevent cancer and other chronic diseases, while also helping to clear the respiratory tract and treat colds. Long-term consumption of chili can enhance an individual's ability to resist aging.
Contraindications: It should not be consumed in large quantities, otherwise it can cause nervous system damage and digestive tract ulcers. At the same time, patients with esophagitis, pharyngitis, toothache, hemorrhoids, tuberculosis, and high blood pressure should eat it in moderation.
2. Sichuan Pepper—has the effects of removing fishy odors, eliminating off-flavors, and enhancing aroma. Sichuan pepper contains various volatile oils and aromatic substances. In addition to its good effect of removing gamey and fishy odors, it also relieves joint pain and toothache and has the effect of warming the middle burner to dispel cold.
Contraindications: Because Sichuan pepper is a "hot" seasoning, it can make people feel agitated and intolerable, causing some illnesses in the digestive and urinary tracts, so it is not suitable for consumption in summer.
3. Pepper—has the effect of being aromatic with a hint of spiciness, delicious and appetizing. Pepper can strengthen the stomach, promote gastrointestinal motility, enhance the appetite, accelerate blood circulation, and detoxify and reduce inflammation. When you have a cold, chewing some pepper every 4 hours can suppress the worsening of the cold.
Contraindications: Pepper is pungent, hot, and drying. People with excess liver fire or a yin-deficient, hot body type should avoid eating too much of it. Those with febrile diseases should avoid eating pepper. Patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases should also not eat it. In addition, when cooking pepper with meat, the time should not be too long, because it contains piperine, chavicin, volatile oil, and fatty oil. Overcooking will cause the spicy and aromatic flavors to evaporate.
Too Umami: Umami is a delicious taste that people strive for in their diet, which can produce a comfortable and pleasant feeling. Umami mainly comes from amino acids, nucleotides, and succinic acid.
1. Chicken Essence—Chicken essence is rich in nutrients, such as abundant amino acids, proteins, and vitamins.
Contraindications: 1. Because chicken essence itself contains a small amount of salt, less salt should be added when using it.
2. The metabolic product of the nucleotides in chicken essence is uric acid, so patients with gout should use it sparingly.
3. Chicken essence is less soluble than MSG. If it is not used in soups, it should be dissolved first before use.
4. Chicken essence contains salt and is highly hygroscopic. After use, it should be sealed to prevent the nutrient-rich chicken essence from growing a large number of microorganisms, which in turn can contaminate food.
2. Oyster Sauce—Made from oyster juice, also known as oyster oil. It has a delicious and slightly sweet taste with a special aromatic fragrance and is mainly used in savory dishes. In addition to containing 5% to 8% crude protein, oyster sauce also contains various nutrients such as carbohydrates, organic acids, iodine, calcium, and vitamins. It contains as many as 17 types of amino acids, including 8 essential amino acids for the human body.