In recent years, energetic diet has become popular. Many people think that drinking Jinglitang and eating raw vegetables can not only preserve health, but also prevent cancer. But are raw vegetables really that magical? Or will it be harmful to your health?
Whether you are a supporter of raw vegetables or not, you should understand the benefits and risks of raw vegetables before deciding how to eat them.
Raw vegetables are the most nutritious.
Wang Mingyong, an expert on energetic diet, analyzed that vegetables are rich in vitamin C, B vitamins, enzymes and minerals. Once heated, nutrients will be lost. "Raw vegetables will have higher nutrients than cooked food. For vegetables containing vitamin C, cooking at 80℃ will lose 80% of vitamin C, and the enzyme will be completely destroyed after heating.
Many people think that eating raw vegetables means eating vegetable salad, but it is not. Wang Mingyong said, "As long as vegetables are not heated, they are called raw." . But not all vegetables can be eaten raw, such as root vegetables, because they contain raw starch, which can only be eaten after heating, not raw. Vegetables suitable for raw food are mainly leafy vegetables and sprouts.
According to the dietary guidelines of the United States, vegetables and fruits should each account for 1 ∕ 4 of the food intake, that is, fruits and vegetables add up to half. Wang Mingyong plans his daily menu according to this dietary guide. "Vegetables should be more than fruits. My daily intake of vegetables accounts for about 30% of all food, and the remaining 20% is fruit. 」
Although he advocates eating vegetables raw, not all vegetables can be eaten raw in Wang Mingyong. My raw and cooked ratio is about 1: 1. For example, he recommends 1 day with 4 dishes and 3 fruits. He will choose 1 dish as raw food, then add fruit, and the other two dishes are cooked food, thus meeting the requirement of half-cooked.
Some vegetables can only be absorbed by heating cooked food.
Raw vegetarians believe that only by eating unheated vegetables can you get complete nutrition. Zhang, a nutritionist at Taipei Neihu Guotai Clinic, doesn't think so. She said that not all nutrients will be lost after heating, and vegetables rich in fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K and so on. Only cooking with edible oil or drenching with oil and vinegar sauce can be absorbed.
Generally, when vegetables are heated, nutrients will be lost, but tomatoes are just the opposite. Lycopene in tomatoes will release more lycopene when heated, which is more easily absorbed by the human body when cooking.
People who advocate eating vegetables raw think that the nutrients of vegetables will be destroyed after heating, but Zhang said, "It's not that serious, there's no need to worry too much. Vegetables should not be cooked at high temperature or for too long, and vegetables should not be heated repeatedly overnight, so that the nutrients will not be reduced too much. " Without heating, the nutrient content will drop from 100 to 0. "Eating fried or scalded vegetables can also get nutrition.
It is best to cook vegetables quickly, so as not to run out of nutrients after cooking for a long time and eat them in the stomach. It's really just calories, not nutrition.
Eating unheated food is susceptible to bacterial infection and illness.
In addition to eating more nutrients, some people think that eating raw vegetables can also reduce cardiovascular diseases and fight cancer. Yan Zonghai, director of toxicology at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Linkou, clarified that there was not enough medical and clinical evidence to confirm these claims.
Yan Zonghai said that the worry about eating raw vegetables is that these ingredients are easily contaminated by Escherichia coli and Salmonella without high temperature treatment. If there are parasites on vegetables, you may get parasitic diseases if you eat them. None of these bacteria can withstand high temperature. "As long as you heat it thoroughly, you can kill bacteria and parasites. 」
If you eat food contaminated by Escherichia coli, it will cause acute gastroenteritis, vomiting, diarrhea, stomachache and other symptoms. People with poor resistance, the elderly and children may cause sepsis. As for salmonella pollution, although it is not common, its symptoms are much more serious than ordinary gastroenteritis. Once infected, it may cause septicemia and require hospitalization.
In Taiwan Province Province, patients infected with parasites are quite rare, but parasites and eggs in the soil may attach to vegetable leaves during vegetable planting. If the vegetables bought are not cleaned and cooked, it is possible to eat live bugs.
Toxicologist: The risk of raw food is higher than that of cooked food.
Yan Zonghai doesn't recommend eating vegetables raw. He thinks the risk of eating raw vegetables is higher than that of cooked food. Although he has never touched raw food at all, he only eats it occasionally, such as eating out. When there is lettuce salad, he eats a little. He doesn't usually eat it on purpose. Raw vegetables are never in his diet plan.
Wang Mingyong, who advocates raw vegetables, has different views. "I have eaten raw vegetables for almost 20 years. I have never eaten parasites or pesticides in my life." He thinks that the probability of suffering from parasites in Taiwan Province Province is not high. As long as vegetables are cleaned, bacteria and parasites can be removed, and pesticides are more terrible than parasites.
Organic fruits and vegetables should be planted on unpolluted land, and chemical fertilizers and pesticides should not be used. When eating, just wash the bacteria and eggs left on the vegetables.
Choose rich or organic raw vegetables in the season.
When eating raw food, it is best to choose clean vegetables without pesticide residues, but the price of organic vegetables is much more expensive than ordinary vegetables. According to the sampling results of pesticide residues in vegetables sold by the Agricultural Committee in the past, beans such as green beans and cucumbers are often on the list, and fruits and vegetables that are prone to pesticide residues like this can choose organic ones.
As for the vegetables that are abundant in this season, because they are cheap, farmers will not sprinkle pesticides to increase the cost and there will be no pesticide residues when planting. If you want to eat vegetables raw this season, you don't have to buy organic ones. In addition, cauliflower is not easy to clean. Whether it is organic or not, Wang Mingyong will blanch it before eating it, instead of eating it raw.
Organic vegetables are expensive. If you buy "fake organic" in an organic store, you will really be cheated. Organic vegetables should be non-toxic and clean, but "fake organic" is often found in China. Some organic vegetables are planted without spraying pesticides, but if farmland or water sources are polluted, these vegetables are also unsafe. When people buy, they still try to find reputable stores.
According to Wang Mingyong's experience, organic vegetables have strong vitality and can be preserved for a long time. For example, ordinary Chinese cabbage will wither and turn yellow in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days, but organic Chinese cabbage is still fresh in ice for 5 or 6 days.
Pregnant women, young children and people with poor immunity should not eat raw.
Although raw vegetables can absorb high nutrition, not everyone can eat them. Yan Zonghai suggested that pregnant women, infants, patients with major diseases such as renal dialysis, end-stage cirrhosis and chemotherapy, and people with poor immunity should not eat raw vegetables, because if they eat parasites or Escherichia coli, they may cause serious symptoms and endanger their health.
Even if ordinary people want to eat vegetables raw, they should choose the right time. Wang Mingyong said that when you get up in the morning, your body is cold, so cold dishes or soup are not suitable for breakfast. If you want to drink soup in the morning, you should also drink it after breakfast. Don't drink Li Jing soup after meals, because some people will have frequent urination, cold hands and feet and feel unwell. Jinglitang is best eaten at noon, when the sun is heaviest and it is more suitable for eating cold food.
The best time to drink Wen Li Jing soup in winter is noon.
In winter, when the temperature is too low, some people will feel weak and cold when drinking Li Jing soup. Wang Mingyong thinks that when making Li Jing soup, you can add lukewarm water, so it won't be too cold. Although some people think that high temperature will destroy nutrients such as enzymes and vitamin C, this lukewarm temperature will not destroy nutrients.
Vegetarians who only eat raw vegetables and have a healthy diet will suffer from malnutrition due to insufficient intake of calories, protein and vitamin B 12. These people should not only pay attention to calories, but also eat more foods rich in plant protein, such as soybeans, to supplement protein. However, vitamin B 12 only exists in meat. Not eating meat will lead to vitamin B 12 deficiency, leading to pernicious anemia and other problems, while fruits and vegetables provide insufficient vitamin D and calcium, which need extra supplementation.
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