Parents, these 6 foods you think are healthy are actually not very nutritious!

"Eating more of this is good for your health!" In life, parents always carefully select the foods they think are healthy. However, many foods are covered with the coat of "healthy", but in fact they have no nutrition. This article will take stock of the foods that parents think are healthy, but in fact they are "not so good".

Rice oil is "nutritious and good for the stomach"

Rice oil generally refers to a layer of fine, sticky, ointment-like substance floating on the surface of rice porridge after it is cooked. It can be understood as a thick liquid after dehydration and concentration.

Many people think that rice oil is very nutritious, comparable to "ginseng soup", and can also nourish the stomach.

Although this thing looks oily, it is not oil. From a nutritional point of view, rice oil contains starch, water-soluble protein, free amino acids, minerals, water-soluble vitamins and other nutrients, and the content is relatively low. It mainly provides carbohydrates and water.

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The nutrients contained in rice oil are already present in rice and are not special at all. There are no new special health-care ingredients. Don't expect to supplement much nutrition by drinking rice oil.

Bone soup, chicken soup, etc. are "nutritious and tonic"

When you are sick, make a pot of chicken soup. When you want to supplement calcium, drink bone soup... Parents often say: "Drink more soup, the nutrients are all in the soup."

In fact, the largest content in soup is water, followed by fat, and a small amount of protein, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Most of the nutrients are not as rich as dry matter.

Take Crock Pot Chicken and Crock Pot Chicken Soup as an example↓

Although the potassium content of soup is higher than that of meat, it is not outstanding. If the flavor is strong and a lot of salt is added, the salt intake of a bowl of chicken soup is likely to exceed the standard.

Many people believe that bone soup can supplement calcium. Studies have shown that even if bone soup is heated at high pressure for 2 hours, not much calcium will dissolve in the soup, not to mention simply boiling the soup. Even with vinegar, the calcium content in bone soup is still very low, only 1/21 of that in milk. On the contrary, the fat, purine and sodium content are not low.

According to the "Chinese Dietary Nutrient Reference Intake", the recommended daily calcium intake for adults over 18 years old is 800 mg. If you want to take in enough calcium by drinking bone soup, you need to drink at least 80 bowls a day (4-inch bowl, one bowl is about 200 grams of soup).

Juice "sweet and sour vitamin C supplement"

Be sure to tell your parents to drink less fruit juice and eat more whole fruits!

The change from whole fruit to juice also changes the nutrition. After juicing, the nutrients are slightly lost, such as the decrease of vitamin C. Some people have studied the loss of vitamin C after juicing.

Data shows that the stronger the fruit's acidity, the lower the loss of vitamin C. If the residue is discarded after juicing, dietary fiber will be further lost. But this is not the biggest problem. The most important thing is that juicing fruit is not friendly to blood sugar.

The sugar in fresh fruits originally exists in the cells and is called "endogenous sugar". After juicing, the cell walls are destroyed and the sugar is released outside the cells, becoming free sugar. Free sugar has a great impact on blood sugar and can easily increase blood sugar.

So, don't equate drinking juice with eating fruit.

Honey "treats constipation and nourishes the skin"

Honey has many halos, such as relieving constipation, beautifying the skin, and losing weight...so it was once considered a healthy food.

In fact, from a nutritional point of view, there is nothing special about honey. 75.6% of honey is sugar, including glucose and fructose, and there is 22% water, a small amount of fat and protein, etc. The calorie content is as high as 321 kcal/100g.

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One tablespoon of honey is about 20 grams. If you drink it with water, you will take in nearly 70 kcal of calories, which is almost equivalent to eating a large apple. It is not reliable for weight loss. Honey has no beauty effect and may even cause acne outbreaks in some people.

As for relieving constipation, it does not work for everyone. People with fructose intolerance may experience osmotic diarrhea because honey is rich in fructose, which creates the illusion that honey can relieve constipation.

Drink brown sugar water to "replenish iron and blood"

According to the Chinese Food Composition Table, the iron content in brown sugar is 2.2 mg/100 g, rock sugar is 1.4 mg/100 g, and white sugar is 0.6 mg/100 g. In this comparison, the iron content in brown sugar is indeed slightly better than that in other sugars.

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However, the iron in brown sugar is non-heme iron, which has a poor absorption rate. Usually, a cup of brown sugar water uses 1 piece of brown sugar, about 5 grams, and the iron intake is about 0.1 mg, which is far from the 18 mg iron requirement of an average adult woman per day. In terms of nutrition, drinking brown sugar water to supplement iron and blood is actually useless.

The key is that brown sugar, like white sugar, is added sugar, so you should try to reduce your intake. Drinking too much will not only cause tooth decay, but also increase the risk of obesity.

Preserved fruits are "sweet and sour, delicious and nutritious"

Many people believe that candied fruits are made from natural fruits, have a sweet and sour taste, are delicious and can provide nutrition, and should be considered a healthy snack.

In fact, this is not the case. Most candied fruit products contain high levels of sugar and salt, and colorants and flavors may be added to maintain the appearance and aroma of the product.

Image source: Screenshot of e-commerce platform

Although each candied fruit is small in size, it is very substantial, almost "weighed" by sugar and salt, and has a high calorie count.

Image source: Screenshot of e-commerce platform

The calories consumed by eating 100 grams of the candied fruit in the picture are almost the same as a large bowl of rice. At the same time, you will also consume nearly 60 grams of sugar and 2.2 grams of salt. The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" recommends a maximum of 50 grams of added sugar per day, and salt should be controlled within 5 grams. It is very easy to exceed the limit by eating candied fruits!

Moreover, in the process of fruits being processed into candied fruits, a lot of nutrients will be lost and they may also contain heavy metal residues, such as lead and aluminum.

Although these foods may have certain nutritional value in some aspects, they are not as "healthy" as some people think. A properly matched diet and controlled intake of sugar, salt and fat are the key to staying healthy.

References

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[3] Zhang Zhiping, Pan Zhaoguang. Analysis of vitamin C loss rate in freshly squeezed juice[J]. Guangdong Chemical Industry, 2017, 44(17): 80-81.

[4] Pan Lina. Changes of vitamin C in French kiwifruit juice processing[J]. Food Industry Science and Technology, 1993(5).

[5] Lu Daoli, Li Guowen, Chen Shulai, et al. Study on the stability of vitamin C in strawberry juice during processing and storage [J]. Food Research and Development, 2004, 25(006): 121-123.

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[7] Li Lanfang, Wei Mengting. Investigation and analysis of the quality of edible peanut oil[J]. Chinese Journal of Health Inspection, 2015, 25(20): 3575-3576.

[8] Zhang Yuwei, Huang Shihan, Huang Jiayu, et al. Association analysis between consumption of peanut oil and risk of liver cancer[J]. Modern Preventive Medicine, 2023, 50(24): 4453-4456+4462. DOI: 10.20043/j.cnki.MPM.202306206.

[9] Wang Fang, Song Sheng, Dai Xuan, et al. Analysis of the quality and risk status of candied fruit food[J]. Food Industry, 2023, 44(12): 325-330.

Planning and production

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered nutritionist

Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center