These 4 major "health hazards" in the kitchen may cause cancer!

The kitchen is where every household goes in and out every day.

But there may also be dangerous health risks lurking

And more than one!

Come and find out the "health killer" in the kitchen

1

It’s best to throw away these 4 overnight dishes if you can’t finish them

Zuo Xiaoxia (Chief Physician of the Nutrition Department of the Eighth Medical Center of the General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army): Many people have the habit and experience of eating leftover food. If they can't finish the food, they will continue to eat it the next day or the day after, and never throw it away until it becomes spoiled. In fact, this kind of "saving" can easily cause harm to the body. On the one hand, leftover food not only loses a lot of nutrients, but also easily breeds bacteria. For people with weak gastrointestinal function, they are prone to diarrhea after eating; on the other hand, leftover food for too long will produce nitrite. When it enters the stomach, it will react with protein to produce carcinogenic nitrosamines. Long-term consumption may cause cell mutations and induce gastric cancer.

Especially these 4 overnight dishes, it is best to throw them away if you can’t finish them:

Overnight greens:

After being stored for a long time and reheated, vegetables lose a lot of nutrients such as vitamins and chlorophyll, their taste changes greatly, and they are more likely to spoil. Moreover, compared with meat, fruit and other foods, green leafy vegetables themselves have a higher nitrate content. If they are left for too long after being cooked, the nitrate will be reduced to nitrite under the decomposition of bacteria, which is not good for health. If they are not stored properly, the nitrite content may exceed the standard. 2. Overnight seafood: Crabs, fish, shrimps and other seafood are high-protein foods. If they are not eaten on the same day and eaten overnight, protein degradation products may be produced, which may irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa, cause gastrointestinal discomfort, and easily damage liver and kidney function.

3. Overnight Tremella and Mushrooms: Whether it is indoor cultivated Tremella or wild Tremella and mushrooms, they are foods that contain a lot of nitrates. If they are left for a long time after being cooked, the nitrates will be reduced to nitrites when bacteria decompose them. Intake of a large amount of nitrites can cause cancer and reduce the activity of red blood cells, causing hypoxia and anemia, which is not good for health. 4. Overnight potatoes, taro, steamed buns: Potatoes, taro, steamed buns and other foods that contain a lot of starch are relatively easy to breed bacteria after processing. If you can't finish these things at the last meal, you can eat them at the next meal, but it is best not to eat them overnight. If you must leave them overnight, seal them and freeze them.

Correct approach:

1. No leftovers:

When leftovers are bound to occur during a meal, vegetables should be eaten first, especially cold dishes. Leftover meat or non-vegetarian dishes can be saved for the next meal, but they should not be kept for more than 3 days.

2. Refrigerate while hot: The longer leftovers are left at room temperature, the greater the risk of bacterial growth, and some bacteria produce toxins that may not be killed by normal home cooking. Therefore, when the dishes are cool enough to not burn your hands, you can pack them in fresh-keeping boxes and put them in the refrigerator. Don't wait until they are completely cold before putting them in the refrigerator.

3. The location of leftovers in the refrigerator is also critical: keeping raw and cooked food separate can prevent some parasites and bacteria carried in raw food from falling onto leftovers and other cooked food when taking them, thereby reducing the risk of cross infection.

4. Reheat thoroughly before eating: Leftovers must be thoroughly reheated before eating. Heat the entire dish to 100°C and keep boiling for more than 3 minutes. Meat requires special attention.

5. Reasonable combination: When heating leftover meat, add more onions, ginger and garlic, which have a certain bactericidal effect. In addition, pair it with some fresh fruits and vegetables and drink some green tea, which is rich in vitamin C and tea polyphenols, which help decompose nitrite.

2

Stacking tableware may cause harm to your body

Lin Guole (Chief Physician of Basic Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital): The Household Appliance Research Institute once conducted a group of experiments, which set up two groups for comparison. The experimenter first disinfected the tableware and applied sterile broth on the surface of the tableware. Then the tableware was divided into two groups. One group of dishes was directly stacked up and stored in the cupboard after washing, and the other group was placed upright on the shelf after washing and placed in a ventilated place. The comparison three days later showed that the total number of colonies in the upright tableware was 8000 cfu/set, which met the relevant hygiene standards of our country, while the number of bacteria in the stacked tableware was 560,000 cfu/set, which was 70 times that of the upright tableware. If the dishes are not stored properly, some bacteria and viruses may breed, which has a great impact on our body.

Acute effects in the short term: breeding of pathogenic bacteria, such as E. coli, Salmonella, norovirus, rotavirus, all of which may cause acute gastroenteritis, vomiting and diarrhea, and even dehydration, shock, and endanger life. Long-term effects: breeding of mold, such as aflatoxin, a class of carcinogens, long-term exposure may cause cancer, in addition, bowls and chopsticks are also the medium for the spread of Helicobacter pylori, many stomach diseases, gastric ulcers and even gastric cancer are related to Helicobacter pylori. Correct approach: If tableware is stacked and a lot of water accumulates, and the room temperature is suitable, bacteria will grow wildly. If the tableware is stored upright, the water is easy to drain, and even if there is a little food residue, it is not easy to breed bacteria.

3

It is recommended to replace the aluminum inner pot of the rice cooker after the coating is damaged

Xiong Jinping (Professor of the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology): Aluminum metal has the characteristics of uniform heating and fast heat transfer, so it is the preferred material for the inner pot of rice cookers. However, the aluminum inner pot is in direct contact with food. If the pot is burnt or aluminum ions are dissolved, it will damage the deliciousness of the food and human health. Therefore, there will be a layer of protective coating on the surface of the inner pot. Therefore, the most common combination of the inner pot of household rice cookers is aluminum inner pot + coating. Once the coating falls off, the risk of direct contact between food and aluminum inner pot increases. Long-term use may cause the body's aluminum intake to exceed the standard, causing harm to the body, or the food may stick to the surface of the aluminum inner pot and burn, which not only affects the taste of the food, but also has certain harm to the human body.

Correct approach: If the rice cooker uses an aluminum inner pot, when some white circles appear on the bottom and walls of the inner pot, some small black pieces will fall off if you scrape it gently with your hands, which means that the inner pot coating has been damaged to a certain extent. If the black coating of the inner pot has fallen off in pieces and a very obvious silver-white area appears in the inner pot, it means that the inner pot coating has fallen off very seriously. Regardless of whether the coating is seriously damaged or not, it is recommended to replace the rice cooker if economic conditions permit; if it is not replaced, it is recommended to only cook neutral foods, such as rice and porridge, but try not to cook acidic and alkaline foods and salty foods, such as soups and braised foods, especially when the coating is severely damaged, you should pay more attention to this.

4

Not using the range hood correctly when cooking

Hu Chengping (Professor of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, and State Council Special Allowance Expert): When cooking in a closed kitchen environment, if high-temperature frying and other cooking methods are used, the PM2.5 air pollution test value is close to 800ug/m³ on average. Short-term inhalation of oil smoke can have a strong irritation to the mouth, nose, eyes, and mucous membranes, and long-term inhalation is the culprit for inducing lung cancer.

Correct approach:

1. It is recommended to use healthier methods such as steaming, boiling and stewing instead of frying, stir-frying, cooking and deep-frying to avoid repeated cooking;

2. When choosing a range hood, you should consider the air volume (determines the speed of exhausting oil smoke), wind pressure (ability to resist backdraft), and environmental noise;

3. It is recommended to open the range hood early and close it late, and the waste oil in the oil storage box should be poured out in time;

4. Clean the range hood duct and filter regularly.