The emergence of refrigerators has brought great convenience to our lives and satisfied our desire to be thrifty. Many people will put leftover meals in the refrigerator and continue to eat them for the next meal. , however, some people say that this kind of overnight dish cannot be eaten, and eating too much can cause cancer.
The reason why it is said on the Internet that overnight meals can cause cancer is because leftovers overnight may produce nitrite, which is carcinogenic. In fact, this statement is one-sided.
Because most of the food in life contains nitrite, especially green leafy vegetables, fertilization during the planting process will produce nitrite, plus the nitrite content in unprocessed vegetables Relatively speaking, the longer it is left, the higher the nitrite content will be.
In fact, nitrite does not do much harm to the body. At most, it can cause headaches and dizziness. However, excessive intake of nitrite reacts with food to form nitrosamines. Nitrosamines It becomes a first-level carcinogen.
Of course, this does not mean that the intake of nitrosamines will cause cancer in the body. It also depends on whether the amount of intake reacts to form nitrosamines in the body. Generally, per kilogram of overnight vegetables, The highest nitrate content is 7 mg. The human body needs to consume 0.2 grams of nitrite to cause poisoning. If calculated according to this amount, it would take more than 100 kilograms of leftovers a day to poison the body. Therefore, eating one Eating vegetables overnight does not cause cancer, but it is not recommended for everyone to eat them regularly.
Of course, some overnight vegetables have a relatively high nitrite content and are not recommended for everyone to eat. However, the nutritional value of some overnight vegetables does not decrease after reheating. It would be wasteful to throw them away directly.
Seafood
With the improvement of living standards, many families eat seafood more and more often, but many times they cannot eat much seafood. However, when we buy seafood, we do not I won’t buy a small amount because the price of seafood is relatively high. After eating leftover seafood, most people are reluctant to throw it away and put it in the refrigerator to continue eating it the next day.
However, seafood such as fish, shrimp, shellfish and crabs left for too long will decompose the proteins in them and produce some harmful substances to the body, which can easily cause allergic reactions and increase the damage to the kidneys and liver. If seafood is left for too long, a large number of bacteria will breed, increasing the risk of acute gastroenteritis, causing diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting and other food poisoning phenomena.
Stem and leaf vegetables
In daily life, our common stem and leaf vegetables include spinach, rape, Chinese cabbage, leeks, etc. It is not recommended that you eat these green leafy vegetables after they have been left overnight. Eat, because they have been left for too long, a large amount of nutrients such as vitamins and fiber have been lost, and the nitrite content in green leafy vegetables is very high. After being left for a long time, the nitrite content will double. Eating stems and leafy vegetables overnight can damage the gastrointestinal tract.
Fungus food
Various fungus ingredients are more popular in autumn and winter. Many people like to make hot pot or spicy soup, such as enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, fungus, etc., with nutritional value High, tastes good, and eating it properly can enhance the body's resistance and immunity.
However, these fungus foods are easy to deteriorate after being left for a long time, and will also produce a harmful bacteria called Pseudomonas cocotoxin, which will produce rice yeast after metabolism. Toxins such as toxins, which are carcinogenic, can damage the health of the liver and kidneys, and even cause death.
In addition to the above three dishes, everyone also needs to pay attention to the fact that overnight sauerkraut, half-cooked eggs, cold vegetables, etc. are not recommended.
If you want to continue eating the leftovers in the next period, they must be cooled and stored in the refrigerator. Meats and vegetables must be stored separately to avoid odor transfer and the growth of bacteria. Before eating, It must be fully heated. It is best to boil or fry it at high temperature for three minutes to kill the bacteria and parasites inside, which is healthier.
Reminder again: the refrigerator is not a panacea, not all food can be put in the refrigerator, and the refrigerator also needs to be cleaned regularly to avoid moisture and mold, and to prevent odor transfer.