Street sugar fried chestnuts cause cancer? Read the truth about chestnuts in one article

Editor's note: Autumn and winter are coming, the temperature drops, people gradually feel the cold, at this time a variety of nut delicacies have appeared, usually eat more, has a good tonic effect on the body, nuts are rich in protein, oil, minerals, vitamins, for human growth and development, enhance physical fitness, prevent diseases have excellent effects.

Nuts with such nutritional properties can provide enough calories for people to protect themselves from the cold during the cold season. What could be more wonderful than a handful of fragrant nuts on a cold autumn and winter day? Nut health and cold resistance delicious, but there are also a lot of precautions and necessary common sense, this edition for you to introduce a variety of popular nuts, popular science their nutritional content and recommended eating methods.

6 chestnuts = 1 bowl of rice?

Street sugar fried chestnuts cause cancer?

Read the truth about chestnuts in one article

Chestnuts are a much-loved food, especially in autumn and winter, when the aroma of sugar-fried chestnuts fills the streets, and buying a pack to hold in your hand smells, tastes delicious and warms. The more people eat it, the more legends about it. Some people say: 6 chestnuts = 1 bowl of rice. Some people also believe that eating too much sugar-fried chestnuts on the street will cause cancer. So, are these claims credible? Here we will talk about those rumors of chestnuts.

Chestnuts are relatively simple in nutrition and are not superior

It is only suitable for energy as a "staple food"

In the market, people give chestnuts many "health effects", mostly from the nutrients rich in chestnuts themselves. In fact, these are just good intentions, and there is not enough evidence-based medical evidence to support them. The so-called "chestnuts are rich in XX ingredients and have such and such an effect" is just far-fetched.

First of all, "XX ingredients have certain physiological effects" and "ingesting XX ingredients can prevent and cure diseases" are two different things.

Secondly, there are many foods "containing XX ingredients", and chestnuts are not even an "excellent source".

Both chestnuts and rice are carbohydrate-based, with limited fat and protein content. Compared with rice, raw and cooked chestnuts contain significantly higher nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. From this point of view, the "nutritional value" of chestnuts is more comprehensive than rice, but strictly speaking, the nutritional value of different foods is not good or bad, the key is the combination of dietary structure.

Simply put, chestnuts and rice are relatively simple in nutrition, only suitable as a "staple food" to provide energy, and the overall "nutrition" is not superior.

6 chestnuts = 1 bowl of rice?

The two cannot be directly compared quantitatively

It is often seen that "6 chestnuts equals 1 bowl of rice". However, chestnut and rice are different species of food, and it is difficult to directly compare the quantity. That said, discussing how many chestnuts are "equal to" to how much rice is not realistic.

However, in order to discuss the quantitative relationship between the two, we can start with energy and compare it.

Generally, the weight of a cooked chestnut kernel is about 6 grams, the larger chestnut is heavier, and the smaller chestnut is lighter, and 6 chestnuts are about 35 to 40 grams. According to the nutrient content data in the standard version of the "Chinese Food Composition Table" (first edition), the energy of cooked chestnuts is 214 kcal/100 grams, and the total energy of the edible part of 6 chestnuts is roughly between 75 and 85 kcal.

The energy of "1 bowl of rice" is closely related to the size of the bowl and the moisture content of the rice. According to the average caloric value of "steamed rice" in the nutrition content data (116 kcal/100 grams), we estimate that the "small bowl" of the general restaurant is almost 100 grams of rice. Such a "1 bowl of rice" is not much different from the "75 to 85 kcal" of 6 chestnuts.

If you consider that some chestnuts are relatively large, 6 weigh more than 40 grams, and on the other hand, some rice is very absorbent, and the water content of rice is higher (so the energy is lower), the statement that "6 chestnuts (energy) is equal to 1 bowl of rice" is somewhat exaggerated, but not outrageous.

However, it is not reasonable to conclude from this aspect alone, "6 chestnuts = 1 bowl of rice", and there are other nutrients that are also at play, and the two are similar in energy, but not the same.

Street sugar fried chestnuts eat too much carcinogenic?

The traditional process is to add sugar with vegetable oil

Regarding "sugar-fried chestnuts eat too much to cause cancer", it is said that paraffin is added to sugar-fried chestnuts on the street, and industrial paraffin contains a variety of heavy metals and organic pollutants.

Paraffin wax is an additive that can be used in food processing, but "food grade paraffin" is required. The traditional process of stir-frying chestnuts with sugar is to add sugar with vegetable oil, not paraffin. However, paraffin liquid instead of oil can also make chestnuts smooth and shiny and less expensive, so there may be some unscrupulous traders who use paraffin, and they use low-cost industrial paraffin.

For this kind of behavior, we mainly rely on the food safety supervision department to regulate the inspectorate, and it is difficult for consumers to judge by themselves. After all, the "identification method" that consumers can learn, unscrupulous traders can often learn, and will also take corresponding means to "fake the truth".

For consumers, the real way to protect themselves is to choose the most reliable merchant as possible. For example, a large-scale, licensed shop that has been operating in one place for many years is more likely to be reliable than a roadside stall. A fully licensed shop with a fixed address façade does not mean that "absolutely fine", but compared with the "roadside stalls" that are outside the supervision, the possibility of "trick-or-treating" is still much smaller.

Of course, if you only occasionally eat some sugar and fried chestnuts, you don't have to be too entangled. After all, whether it is paraffin wax or vegetable oil/sugar, it is mainly distributed on the surface, especially chestnuts that do not open their mouths, and cannot enter the kernels. The last "eaten in the mouth" is only the part that sticks to the hand when peeling, and then glues to the chestnut. From the perspective of "trying to avoid risks", we must avoid buying such "substandard products", but if we just want to eat, the actual "risk" is still not large.

What should I pay attention to when eating chestnuts?

Predisposition to aflatoxin

Chestnut energy is not low. If you use it instead of "staple foods" such as rice and steamed buns, it is a good choice, but to be used as a "snack", you should control the amount of food.

Chestnuts, as a nut, are also susceptible to Aspergillus flavus, which produces aflatoxin. Therefore, pay attention to choosing chestnuts of high quality and intact. If you find moldy, discolored particles, do not eat them again.

Now, there are some larger brands on the market that have made chestnuts into pre-packaged foods through modern processes. Compared with the "sugar-fried chestnuts" on the street, they lack some "pot gas" and "pyrotechnic gas", but from the perspective of food safety, they are better regulated, the possibility of legal regulation in processing technology and packaging storage is much higher, and safety is often better guaranteed.

In general, chestnut and rice are different foods, and it is not reasonable to compare directly in quantity. If you compare it in terms of energy, then the statement that "the energy of 6 chestnuts equals 1 bowl of rice" is a little appalling, but it is not unreasonable.

Regarding the statement that "street sugar fried chestnuts eat too much carcinogenic", if individual unscrupulous traders use industrial paraffin to fry chestnuts, theoretically, the heavy metals in them will cause certain damage to human health, but in fact, paraffin will only be wrapped on chestnut skin, people can contact a very small amount, do not bite the chestnut skin directly with the mouth, occasionally eat it, the risk of cancer is minimal, so there is no need to worry too much.

Text/Yun Wuxin Food Engineering Ph.D. science writer

Audit/Yong Zhao (Professor, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University)

Article by "Science Debunks Rumors"