White porridge nourishes the stomach? Be careful that the more you drink, the more harm it will cause! The key to drinking porridge healthily is to do these 5 things!

When it comes to keeping fit in autumn and winter, drinking porridge has always played an important role. As the weather turns cooler, many people start to make porridge. White porridge, lily porridge, eight-treasure porridge...all kinds of porridge are everyone's favorite. However, how nutritious is porridge? Can drinking porridge really keep fit?

01

Can drinking porridge nourish the stomach?

Many people believe that drinking porridge can nourish the stomach and maintain health, because porridge is very thin and soft, giving people a feeling of being easy to digest.

However, drinking porridge to nourish the stomach is not recommended.

The water content of porridge is usually above 80%, and it is cooked quite soft. When the stomach is uncomfortable, drinking porridge may be a little beneficial. But for normal people who have no stomach problems, it is better not to drink porridge for a long time.

In fact, the stomach needs regular "exercise". If you eat easy-to-digest porridge, soft rice, or mushy noodles for a long time, your stomach will not exercise regularly, and its digestive ability will degenerate and become worse .

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For normal people, if there is no problem with gastrointestinal function, there is no need to rely on special food to nourish the stomach. Eating and drinking normally, chewing slowly, and ensuring nutrition are good for the stomach. There is no need to specifically "nourish the stomach".

02

White porridge is easy to cook, but the least healthy

Among all kinds of porridge, white porridge is the most common one. After all, it is the most convenient. It only requires a little white rice and water, and there is no need to prepare a lot of complicated ingredients. However, white porridge is actually the least healthy .

Nowadays, white rice is refined rice. In the refining process, the vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber are very few, and the nutritional value itself is very low. After being cooked into porridge, it will only be worse.

From a nutritional point of view, porridge contains a lot of water, especially when it is cooked thinly, and the rest is mainly gelatinized starch (carbohydrates). Its nutritional composition is very simple , and it can basically only provide energy and water to the human body. Other nutrients such as protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc. are very small.

Moreover, after being cooked into porridge, the white rice is cooked and the digestion speed of white porridge is faster than that of white rice, which is not good for blood sugar control, makes you hungry quickly, and is not conducive to energy control . Even as a staple food, it is not a good staple food. Therefore, even if you drink porridge, you should try to eat less or no white porridge. Copyrighted pictures of the library, unauthorized reproduction

03

Is porridge junk food?

There are also people on the Internet who say that porridge is junk food, so is it still okay to drink porridge? In fact, this is also going to the other extreme.

1. Reasonable matching is crucial

In nutrition, there is no such thing as junk food. The key is the combination . Drink a small bowl of porridge, a meat bun, some vegetables, an egg, a glass of milk and a piece of fruit. The overall combination makes this breakfast very nutritious and comprehensive.

Therefore, whether you can eat porridge or not, the key is to have a reasonable combination.

2. The type of porridge is very important. The nutritional value of white porridge is low, but it does not mean that all porridge is bad. As long as you pay attention to the combination, porridge can also be made healthy. For example: 1) Multi-grain porridge. If the ingredients of the porridge are cleverly matched and processed, and beans, other grains or potatoes are added, the nutrients contained in a bowl of porridge can be greatly enriched . For example, it can supplement enough dietary fiber and other nutrients, and the sense of fullness is stronger, which can better control the amount of food intake.

Moreover, cooking whole grain porridge may also be beneficial for people to eat whole grains . Although whole grains and beans have high nutritional value, they are not refined and generally have a tight texture. When cooking rice, many people find it hard to chew; after cooking porridge, the texture of the ingredients is soft and more acceptable to more people. For children, eating whole grain rice may be too hard and rough, but drinking whole grain porridge is easier to accept.

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2) Oatmeal

Nowadays, many people use milk or yogurt, add some whole-grain cereal, and some dried fruits and fresh fruits to make oatmeal porridge in the morning. The content of protein, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals in this porridge is also greatly increased, and the overall nutritional value is improved by more than one level.

Please note that the cereal here is recommended to be pure oatmeal, not snack oatmeal.

3) Meat porridge

There are also some meat porridges, such as lean meat porridge and shrimp porridge, which add some meat and some vegetables, and the overall nutritional value is greatly improved.

Therefore, not all porridge is inedible. The key lies in the type and combination of porridge.

04

How to drink porridge healthily?

Whether you eat at home or out, if you want to drink porridge healthily, it is important to do the following:

1. Drink porridge in moderation

Porridge has a lot of water and a large volume, so drinking porridge easily takes up space in the stomach . If you drink a large bowl of porridge, you may not be able to eat much other food, which can easily lead to unbalanced nutritional intake. Therefore, when eating porridge for breakfast, try not to eat too much, just a small bowl to leave some room for other foods in the stomach.

2. Try not to add salt, sugar and alkali

Salt and sugar are not good for health, and alkali will destroy the B vitamins in porridge . Therefore, try not to add sugar, salt and alkali when cooking porridge.

3. Cook porridge with high nutritional value, not just plain porridge

It is recommended that when cooking porridge, you might as well try a variety of combinations of ingredients , and don’t always cook plain porridge limited by traditional ideas. This way, the porridge will be more delicious and healthier.

4. Eat porridge with a balanced diet

Porridge is just a staple food. Don't just eat porridge with pickles, steamed buns, fried cakes, or deep-fried dough sticks. Not only is the nutrition single (it almost only provides energy), but it also easily leads to excessive sodium intake .

When eating porridge, you must pay attention to the combination. You can pair it with some vegetables , such as cold spinach, blanched kale, etc.; then add some foods containing high-quality protein , such as milk, shredded tofu, assorted vegetables, braised beef, blanched shrimps, etc., and then add some fruits . This will be much healthier.

5. Pay attention to the "date pit perforation" when drinking porridge

When the elderly and children drink porridge, they need to pay extra attention to the hard things in the porridge, such as beans and jujube pits. Jujube pits are especially thin and long, hard, and very sharp at both ends. If swallowed accidentally, they can easily puncture the gastrointestinal tract, causing perforation, suppuration, heavy bleeding, and even life-threatening .

References:

[1] Chen Dong, Wei Qiang, Tian Fei, Jia Xinjian. Analysis of diagnosis and treatment of 24 cases of intestinal perforation caused by swallowing jujube pits in children[J]. Advances in Modern General Surgery of China, 2021, 24(10):796-799+804.

[2] Zhang Nianzu, Wang Huizhen, Zhang Taoyuan, Fan Daosheng, Wang Lili. Foreign bodies in the esophagus (analysis of 1000 cases)[J]. Shanxi Medical Journal, 1984(05):317-318.

[3] Zhou Liang, Hou Guangjun, Geng Xianjie, Zhang Xianwei. Clinical analysis of 8 cases of digestive tract perforation caused by ingestion of jujube pits in children[J]. Journal of Clinical Pediatric Surgery, 2017, 16(03): 301-304.

[4] Huang Qi, Liu Liming, Liu Zhongyan, Sun Jianjun, Jing Wei, Li Xinping. Analysis of 17 cases of intestinal perforation caused by jujube pit in adults[J]. Chinese Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, 2017, 20(01):94-96.

Author: Ruan Guangfeng, Director of the Science and Technology Department of the Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center

Review｜Han Hongwei, Researcher at the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center