Production: Ruan (Director of Science and Technology Communication Department of Kexin Food Health Information Exchange Center)

Producer: Computer Network Information Center

As the weather gets hotter and hotter, people begin to pay attention to alleviating the summer heat. Many parents with children are afraid that their children will be hot and want to give them some drinks to relieve the heat.

Recently, a news about "Grandma poisoned her granddaughter with melon and fruit water that had been put in for 4 years" swiped her parents' circle of friends. The reason is that grandma thinks "wax gourd water" is a "treasure" to relieve summer heat, so she feeds the baby about 100 ml of wax gourd water which has been put for 4 years, resulting in nitrite poisoning.

Wax gourd water is made by cleaning fresh wax gourd, cutting it into small pieces, putting it in a clay pot, covering the lid tightly, adding red mud to seal the gap, putting it in the shade, and then opening it for drinking after three or four years. After a long period of fermentation, precipitation and dissolution, wax gourd becomes melon juice.

I don't know if wax gourd water can relieve summer heat, but it is true that drinking wax gourd water is easy to be poisoned. The production process of wax gourd water will produce a lot of nitrite, which can easily lead to nitrite poisoning if drunk.

The toxicity of nitrite mainly lies in that it can oxidize hemoglobin into methemoglobin, leading to hypoxia and cyanosis. If a normal person ingests a large amount of nitrite in a short period of time, it is easy to cause acute poisoning, so that the low-iron hemoglobin with normal oxygen-carrying capacity in the blood is oxidized to methemoglobin, and the oxygen-carrying capacity is lost, resulting in tissue hypoxia, which is called "methemoglobinemia". Under normal circumstances, poisoning reactions may occur when adults ingest more than 200mg of nitrite at a time.

In addition, the risk of nitrite poisoning in children is much higher than that in adults under the same circumstances. This is because children's digestive system and methemoglobin reductase system are not yet mature, so they are more prone to methemoglobinemia caused by nitrite, which is also commonly known as "blue baby syndrome". This is a rare symptom, mainly manifested in the fact that hemoglobin can not bring oxygen to various tissues of the body, resulting in purple skin and lips. Because the "methemoglobin reductase" in infants has not yet formed, it can not alleviate the symptoms of blue fingers and toes caused by excessive intake of nitrite. Once hypoxia affects the brain, it will leave many sequelae, which may lead to mental retardation and dyskinesia.

Similar poisoning incidents have occurred from time to time in parts of Guangdong, China. There are some customs and habits in these areas, such as homemade melon water, plums and cabbage. In the production process, it is easy to produce nitrite because of the long brewing time with well water and tap water.

In fact, the "drink" that is healthy and can achieve the effect of relieving summer heat is boiled water. The human body should consume 6 to 8 cups of boiled water every day. Boiled water contains no sugar or calories and can be directly absorbed by the human body. It is the best "drink" in summer.

Children's drinks should not only be alert to poisoning, but also pay special attention to health problems.

The American Healthy Eating Research (HER) published a Guide to Healthy Drinking for Children in Early Stage, analyzed 9 kinds of common liquid drinks such as water, 100% fruit juice, original pasteurized milk, soy milk and sugar drinks, and gave professional guidance and suggestions.

According to the guide, the most suitable liquid drinks for children are breast milk, infant formula, original pasteurized milk and water. This guide provides detailed advice for children of different ages:

/kloc-infants under 0/.6 months: only drink breast milk or formula milk, without adding any liquid drinks, including water.

2.6 12-month-old children: After adding complementary food, you can drink a little water (about 1 18.3 236.6mL per day) instead of other liquid drinks.

3. 12 24-month-old children: It is recommended to drink whole milk and boiled water. If you can't eat fresh fruit, you can drink 100% pure juice every day, but it is best not to exceed 1 18.3mL.

4.2-year-old and 5-year-old children: boiled water, low-fat/skim milk are the first choice, followed by a small amount of 100% pure juice.

The same is true for children after 5.5 years old. China's dietary guidelines also advise people to drink boiled water as much as possible, 5-7 cups a day (1000- 1700 ml).

There are many kinds of children's drinks on the market. In addition to the recommended liquid drinks, it is best not to give children these three kinds of drinks.

1. sugary drinks

As long as there is sugar in the ingredients list, including fruit juice drinks, sports drinks, Sweet Caffe, sugary tea drinks, soda water, carbonated drinks, milk tea and so on. Children should be given as little as possible.

Eating too much sugar is not only bad for children to develop good eating habits, but also harmful to their health. Excessive intake of sugar not only easily leads to tooth decay, but also eventually turns into fat accumulation, which makes children more likely to gain weight. In the long run, they are more likely to suffer from diseases such as diabetes and dyslipidemia.

If you really want to drink sweet things, it is recommended to give priority to children's sugar substitute drinks. It can give children sweet enjoyment, but without sugar, it will not increase energy intake and will not lead to dental caries.

2.caffeinated drinks

Coffee, tea, soft drinks (such as cola) and energy drinks all contain caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant, which will endanger the health of minors. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises children and teenagers not to drink coffee. Therefore, as parents, we should also help our children control the intake of caffeinated drinks such as coffee and tea.

3. Alcoholic beverages

Alcohol is a carcinogen, which is harmful to children. Whatever the reason, children should be kept away.

References:

Chen, He Yunfa, et al. Research progress of nitrite in food [J]. Trace elements and health research, 2019,36 (3): 48-49,54.

Liao defeng Toxicological effects of nitrate and nitrite and research progress of detection technology [J]. Biology Teaching, 2013,38 (12): 4-6.

[3] Shang. Wax gourd soaked in water (nitrite poisoning) 1 case report [J]. Particularly healthy, 2020(20): 142, 144.

Kuang Yuzi, Lan Guisen. Treatment experience of two cases of nitrite poisoning caused by wax gourd extract 139 [J]. Liaoning Medicine and Clinic, 2000, ():139.

[5] Children's early consumption of healthy drinks

[6] Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center, Institute of Nutrition and Health of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Communication Branch of Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, etc. Coffee and health knowledge [J]. Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2018,52 (11):1658.