Text: Bai Xiaosheng
Editor|Caifeng Bai Xiaosheng
Life-saving vegetables turn into harmful grass?
This plant has an irreplaceable position in the long history of the continent, and the people of the mainland have eaten it for thousands of years, and it is a life-saving dish for people when famines were frequent in ancient times.
However, experts say that this plant is highly poisonous, so that countless people can't sit still, and the plant that has been eaten for so long is actually poisonous?
A life-saving dish with a long history
The origin of bracken can be traced back thousands of years to China, as early as in the Book of Songs, as early as the Book of Songs, ancient people excavated it at the same time, but also excavated the precious history of this land.
It is remembered for its unique appearance, it grows tall and straight, shaped a bit like an iron fern, with a purple-brown appearance and many black fur on the surface, once you see it, it reminds people of the nickname "fist vegetables" because of their very similar shape.
In different parts of China, bracken also has many nicknames, such as "Udapo", "Pheasant Feet Vegetables", "Fu Cai", and the bracken is widely spread throughout the country, especially in the mountains of the south, where it grows luxuriantly and is found almost everywhere, and the abundant production allows people to feast on it.
The taste of bracken is fresh and refreshing, which is unforgettable, especially after cooking, its head is even more delicious in the world, whether it is fried and eaten, or made into bracken root powder, made into vermicelli or flour skin, bracken has conquered people with its unique mouth, especially in the southern region is very popular.
In the history of the continent, it played an important role, when there was a famine in some areas, a large number of people relied on them to survive, and they helped people to overcome the food shortage in difficult times, so the people gave bracken the name of "the king of mountain vegetables".
But some experts have voiced opposition to this plant, their research shows that if people eat it for a long time, it may cause harm to the human body, netizens have been upset, they have eaten for so many years without problems, even if it is poisonous.
In fact, not only bracken, but also persimmons also have the message of toxic ingredients, and many foods have more or less some toxins, but as long as you eat them properly, you can eat them if you learn how to handle them.
Are life-saving dishes really highly toxic?
Whether the toxicity of bracken really exists has been controversial, and some scientific studies in the 70s of the last century showed that bracken does contain a harmful substance called "protofernin".
You may not think it's dangerous just by hearing the name, but this substance is a highly toxic substance that can cause all kinds of diseases in our body, including incurable cancer, and some experiments have shown that it is even more toxic than many wild poisonous mushrooms.
But we don't need to panic too much, although bracken does contain toxins, but in very small amounts. Based on this, the consumption of small amounts of bracken will not cause direct harm to the human body.
People have been eating bracken for a long time without obvious harm, because the human body has a certain ability to adapt to low doses of toxins, and in this case, occasionally eating a small amount of poisonous food is unlikely to have a noticeable effect.
For those who are allergic to bracken or have digestive problems, bracken should be avoided because there are individual differences that may cause different people to react differently to bracken. Therefore, when choosing ingredients, we also need to consider our own physique and health, so as to better protect our health.
Understanding the potential risks of food is an important part of protecting health, and we should maintain a correct understanding of the carcinogens contained in bracken as well as the fact that bracken is less harmful when consumed than other foods.
The most important thing is to follow the principle of moderate consumption, reasonably control the amount of food to ensure that you can enjoy the food while maintaining your health, do not over-amplify the toxicity of bracken, but also do not take the potential risks lightly, and staying vigilant is an important part of ensuring the safety of our table.
The nutritional value of bracken
It is not only rich in antioxidants, but also rich in various bioactive substances with a variety of positive effects. This allows bracken to provide comprehensive health protection for the human body.
In addition to its antioxidant, skin-protecting, and immune-boosting benefits, bracken has many other health benefits, one of which is its antibacterial effect. Bracken contains fernin, an ingredient that has an antibacterial effect and is effective against bacterial infections and skin eczema.
Bracken is also rich in dietary fiber, which stimulates gastrointestinal motility, promotes detoxification, and helps with frequent constipation. The dietary fiber in bracken also has the effect of enhancing satiety, helping to reduce fat intake and achieve the goal of weight loss.
In addition to all the above benefits, bracken is also a low-calorie, low-fat food, which is also helpful for weight control and prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Bracken is not only delicious, but also rich in nutritional value and a variety of health functions, adding bracken to the usual diet in moderation, not only to create a rich variety of dishes, but also to bring many benefits to our health.
Whether it's to maintain your health or improve specific health issues, bracken is an option worth considering, and while enjoying your meal, consider adding bracken to its unique benefits.
Correctly master the method of eating bracken
When choosing bracken, try to choose fresh and tender green stems and leaves, and avoid using aged and yellowed stems and leaves, because aged bracken may contain more toxic components.
Before cooking, we should first blanch the bracken in boiling water to remove the natural toxins in it, protofertins are easily soluble in water, so blanching can reduce the amount of some toxins.
The most important thing is to eat bracken in moderation, and to avoid long-term large intake, the carcinogenic components in bracken are still there, although blanching can reduce its toxicity, do not pickle bracken directly into pickles or eat raw, you should soak it in hot water more to further reduce the risk of eating.
Bracken must be cooked before it can be eaten, there is a risk of poisoning when eaten raw, bracken contains toxic ingredients such as phenolic acids and fernol, only high-temperature cooking can destroy or reduce the content of these toxic substances, a little salt or alkaline noodles can be added when blanching to help remove astringency and toxic substances.
Bracken should be avoided from eating with certain foods to avoid affecting nutrient absorption or causing adverse reactions. To avoid this, it is best to eat bracken separately from other foods as it may affect calcium absorption, milk as it may affect iron absorption, and fish as it may cause poisoning.
However, even if bracken is classified as a group 2B carcinogen, it does not mean that eating bracken will also cause cancer, and in real life, cancer occurs as a result of a combination of factors. Some foods may contain some carcinogens, but with a reasonable amount of consumption and a reduced amount of intake, you can still enjoy the delicious taste of bracken.
We should maintain a nutritionally balanced, varied diet, eat bracken in moderation and combine it with other vegetable species to reduce the risk, and although bracken may be relatively safe at the right intake, it is still recommended to be in moderation with the amount consumed.
Eating bracken correctly is important, but we don't have to worry too much about it, and by following the principles of eating it in moderation, cooking it and avoiding certain foods, we can continue to taste the deliciousness of bracken, remembering that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the key to reducing the risk of cancer and other diseases.
Bracken is a precious vegetable with a long history and occupies an important place in ancient Chinese culture, although there is some controversy about the toxicity of bracken, its historical value cannot be ignored.
It was the only hope for people in times of famine, and it provided a guarantee of survival for the poor. Nowadays, despite the doubts about toxicity, we cannot deny its important position in China's food culture, and the deliciousness and nutrition it brings to people are irreplaceable.