Recently, the media exposed that eating nitrite will increase the incidence of gastric cancer by 3.6 times. However, the nitrite hazard is not as great as we thought. When purchasing a small number of times, do not soak when cleaning, pay attention to preservation and heating, can effectively reduce the content of nitrite in the dishes.
I. Where does the nitrite in food come from?
Most people talk about nitrite discoloration. In fact, nitrite is widely found in foods. There are almost no meats, but there are many vegetables. “The nitrate content in vegetables is ranked from highest to lowest, in order: Petiole> Leaf> Stem> Root> Flower> Tuber> Bulb> Fruit> Seed. This is due to the widespread presence of nitrogen in the natural world. At the same time, the content of nitrogen in plant fertilizers is extremely high. After plants absorb nitrogen in the natural environment, they synthesize amino acids through complex biochemical reactions. During this process, nitrates are essential. The reductase contained in the plant will convert part of the nitrate to nitrite. Therefore, nitrite is not produced by humans in the process of food processing and preservation in the later period, but is a substance originally existing in food.
The argument that "nitrite is carcinogenic" is in fact not comprehensive. When experts talk about nitrite, it's more about the toxicity of nitrite. The toxicity of nitrite is mainly due to its ability to oxidize hemoglobin to methemoglobin, which causes hypoxia and causes purpura. It is generally believed that adults may experience poisoning when they consume more than 200 mg of nitrite at one time. Infant intake of water or food containing too much nitrate may lead to a case of “blue baby disease,†which is also believed to be due to the conversion of nitrate into nitrite. The reason why nitrite is carcinogenic is that the protein ingested will decompose to amines, and nitrite will combine with these amines to produce nitric acid, which is a carcinogenic substance.
Second, nitrite in “overnight vegetables†is not sufficient to pose security concerns
In the scientific squirrel cloud unintentional author once discussed the phrase “overnight cuisineâ€, many netizens put their eyes on the “overnight†issue. Does this mean that there will be no nitrous acid on behalf of “overnightâ€? Salt problems and threats? In fact, overnight is only an expression of time interval, even if it is good to eat in the morning, the effect is similar to "overnight cuisine." "From the perspective of food science, it is not a question of staying overnight. The essence of the problem is what happens to the well-preserved food during the preservation process."
According to Fan Zhihong, an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at the Food College of China Agricultural University, “If you don’t flip it after cooking, put it in a 4 degree refrigerator. After 24 hours, spinach and other green leafy vegetables will rise from 3 mg/kg to 7 mg. "/kg", in fact, this is still a very low amount. Experiments have shown that the body's intake of 0.2g of nitrite may cause poisoning. According to Professor Fan Zhihong's determination, to achieve an amount sufficient to intoxicate, 30kg of spinach need to be ingested, obviously this It is impossible. Even if ammonium nitrate is synthesized from the amines in the protein and ingested, such a low content of nitrite will not synthesize excessive nitric acid, and the vegetable itself will contain nitrite. Very close. Therefore, on the issue of “causing cancer on overnight vegetablesâ€, netizens should not be excessively panicked but should be viewed in a dialectical and objective manner.
However, there are many netizens who are also concerned about the problem that “it is not enough for a single nitrite to poison, then it will lead to poisoning after a cumulative period of time.†Fan Zhihong explains that “nitrite itself has no carcinogenic effect. After being absorbed into the bloodstream, it has a half-life in the blood of only 1-5 minutes and is converted to nitric oxide (NO), which acts to dilate blood vessels and is beneficial for lowering blood pressure and preventing heart disease. Because it has already been broken down, there is no question of 'accumulating poisoning'. Therefore, once you have eaten all right, there will be no trouble at the back." Therefore, users do not need to worry about the problem of nitrite accumulation and poisoning.
Third, how to reduce the nitrite in the dishes?
Although according to Prof. Fan Zhihong's test, the nitrite content in each dish is not large enough to reach the amount that causes poisoning and harms people's health. However, with the excessive nitrogen fertilizer phenomenon existing in vegetable agriculture today, The nitrate value is also generally high, and the potential for cancer caused by the synthesis of nitrite amines from protein breakdown products is still present. Therefore, reducing the nitrite content in vegetables as much as possible is also a subject of concern. According to the general situation of Chinese families, it is very common to eat two or three times after a meal. The requirement to eat only once for a meal is obviously not in line with China's national conditions. Under such circumstances, what can we do? The way to reduce the nitrite content in the dishes?
First of all, purchase a few small quantities when buying vegetables.
According to studies, nitrite content is very low when fresh green leafy vegetables have just been bought, and the nitrite content reaches the peak after 1-3 days of storage at room temperature. If it is a refrigerator, nitrous acid will be after 3-5 days. The salt content peaked. Therefore, it is very helpful to reduce the nitrite content in the dishes by eating fresh vegetables as much as possible and not purchasing them over and over again. However, according to the test, the nitrite content of Chinese cabbage has declined after being stored for a long time, so there is no need to worry about the storage problem of Chinese cabbage.
Second, do not soak when washing vegetables.
According to the experiments of graduates from the China Agricultural University, the vegetables were washed and rinsed with detergent. The nitrite content in the vegetables was lower than that in the water after soaking for 20 minutes. In addition, prolonged soaking may cause damage to the leaves of the vegetables and cause loss of nutrition.
Third, the preservation of dishes is elaborate.
During the cooking of dishes, high temperatures may kill some of the bacteria in the vegetables, but in the process of eating, chopsticks and air will bring new bacteria to the dishes. The microbes in the dish will reduce the nitrate in the dish to nitrite, so the nitrite content will increase after a long time of cooking. At the same time, both the taste and nutrition are discounted more than the fresh dishes, which is why most experts think that The reason why eating overnight dishes is not good. Teacher Fan Zhihong’s suggestion is to reduce the amount of food that can be consumed immediately after the dishes are cooked or the amount of food that needs to be taken as the next day. Do not flip it out and store it in the refrigerator as soon as possible to reduce bacteria from chopsticks and air, thus reducing The role of microorganisms in the space, thereby reducing the production of nitrite.
Fourth, the heating of dishes must be thorough.
Overnight cooking is actually very particular. It is by no means “hot dishes†it means “food is getting hotâ€. Many times, people take the food out of the refrigerator and think that the dish is hot, but in fact, far The sterilization temperature is not reached, so if one heating does not kill the bacteria, the danger of the dishes will increase greatly when you eat the second time. Therefore, when heating, it is necessary to pay attention to heating thoroughly, thoroughly sterilizing, before it is more healthy.
In a media report “Don't eat overnight food, the risk of gastric cancer is 3.6 times higherâ€, the interviewee Dean Li Bin of Zhejiang Provincial Hospital emphasized that “bad eating habits, such as like spicy food, will destroy and damage the stomach. The mucous membranes cause gastritis, stomach ulcers, etc. At the same time, some carcinogens are found in some fried, preserved or overnight foods, and after damage and destruction of the gastric mucosa and subsequent exposure to these substances, it is likely to cause lesions." The cause of gastric cancer is not just that the nitrite in an overnight dish can cause cancer. It is also related to the individual's personal constitution and eating habits. 39 Health Network also reminded the majority of netizens that when accepting media information, they should also read the content of the report and must not read it out of context. In addition, rather than panicking the "carcinogenic theory" of Internet madness, it is better to correct one's own dietary habits and dietary attitudes to achieve a healthy diet, because balanced and varied diets are the basis of health.
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