Ginger, as an important condiment, is also an indispensable health food on the dining table. Besides its ability to flavor food and warm the stomach, it also has excellent antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, heat-relieving, and detoxifying effects. As the saying goes, "too much of a good thing can be bad," and excessive consumption or improper consumption of ginger can affect your health, and in severe cases, can be as toxic as arsenic and even carcinogenic. The following will introduce several incorrect ways to eat ginger, and I hope everyone will pay attention to them in their daily diet.
Ginger is a typical example of a food-medicine homology.
Ginger is a very common ingredient in daily life and can also be called a traditional Chinese medicine. It is a typical example of food-medicine homology, with very high edible and medicinal value. Ginger is a very important seasoning in Chinese culinary culture. Whether cooking meat or vegetarian dishes, the spicy taste and special aroma of ginger can add another dimension to the dishes, and some dishes cannot even be cooked without it. Not only that, ginger can also be made into pickles and served as a dish on its own.
On the other hand, ginger is also a traditional Chinese medicine. Many women have the experience of drinking ginger brown sugar water during menstruation to relieve menstrual cramps, and many friends with colds and flu also use ginger brown sugar water to dispel cold. This is one of the medicinal values of ginger. Ginger is warm in nature and pungent in taste, and it acts on the spleen and lung meridians. It has effects such as inducing sweat to release the exterior, warming the middle jiao to strengthen the spleen, stopping coughs and vomiting, and warming the lungs to strengthen the heart. It is very effective for relieving colds, menstrual pain, aversion to cold and vomiting, and gastrointestinal discomfort caused by excessive consumption of cold foods.
Ginger contains safrole, and excessive consumption can cause cancer.
In addition to common nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, ginger also contains many special nutrients, such as phytoantibiotics with antibacterial effects, volatile oils that inhibit cholesterol absorption, and gingerol with antioxidant effects. However, it is worth noting that in addition to the several nutrients that are beneficial to human health mentioned above, ginger also contains an ingredient called safrole.
Safrole is a food additive, a colorless or pale yellow liquid with a camphor-like smell. It naturally exists in spicy seasonings such as ginger, fennel, star anise, cinnamon, and Sichuan pepper. It is low in toxicity but can be carcinogenic at certain levels. Therefore, excessive consumption of ginger may increase the risk of cancer, especially liver cancer. Research by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shows that safrole can cause liver cancer. By adding 0.04% to 1% safrole to the feed of mice for 150 days to 2 years, liver cancer can be induced in the mice. If safrole encounters an oxidant in the body, it will produce safrole oxide, which has stronger carcinogenic activity, and also significantly increases the possibility of humans developing liver cancer. Therefore, in the usual cooking process, ginger must be used in moderation and avoid unlimited use.
How to neutralize the harm caused by safrole to the human body after excessive consumption of ginger? The best way is to eat fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruits and vegetables can effectively inhibit the combination of safrole and oxidants, thereby reducing the probability of safrole being converted into safrole oxide, and thus reducing the carcinogenic effect of safrole. Therefore, everyone must eat more fruits and vegetables after eating ginger.
The toxins produced by rotten ginger can also cause cancer.
In life, many people believe that "rotten ginger doesn't spoil its flavor," so even if the ginger is a bit rotten, they will cut it off and continue to use it. In fact, this is a very dangerous practice, and long-term consumption may lead to cancer. Rotting ginger will also produce toxins, and even after cutting, there is still a possibility of causing cancer. In severe cases, it can even lead to esophageal cancer and liver cancer. Therefore, once ginger becomes rotten, don't be reluctant to throw it away. Be sure to avoid eating rotten ginger.
If you want to be healthy, this is how to eat ginger.
First, keep the skin.
Friends who have cooking experience must have had this experience: when using ginger for seasoning, they will peel it. In fact, this will greatly reduce the nutritional value of ginger. In fact, the properties of ginger skin and ginger flesh are completely different; one is cool in nature, and the other is warm. The "Medical Forest Collection" once recorded "Ginger skin is pungent and cold," and the theory of traditional Chinese medicine also says "keeping the ginger skin makes it cool, removing the ginger skin makes it warm." Therefore, when eating ginger, try to keep the skin to exert the more comprehensive nutritional value of ginger.
Second, don't eat it when you have "internal heat".
Everyone knows not to eat ginger when you have "internal heat," but many friends with yin deficiency and internal heat do not know that they should not eat ginger. Ginger is warm in nature, so it is not advisable to eat ginger when the weather is hot or when the body has "internal heat".
Conclusion: The edible and nutritional value of ginger is not unfamiliar to everyone. However, "too much of a good thing can be bad." Although ginger is good, eating it incorrectly can be as toxic as arsenic. Eating too much or eating rotten ginger can also cause cancer. Therefore, in daily life, do not misunderstand the health-preserving saying "eat ginger in the summer" and blindly consume more ginger. Be sure to eat it in moderation and in the right amount.