On this day, Mr. Zhang dragged his tired body home, and it was already ten o'clock in the evening. He opened the fridge, which was stuffed with leftovers from last night. (Editor: Lubei)
He sighed, thinking that he worked so hard every day that even eating a fresh meal had become a luxury. He looked at the leftovers, and his heart was a little tangled.
On the one hand, he knew that it might not be healthy to eat overnight dishes, but on the other hand, he felt that it would be too wasteful to just throw it away. After all, these were bought with his hard-earned money.
He stood in front of the refrigerator and hesitated for a while, but finally decided to eat the leftovers hot up.
As he ate, he muttered to himself, "Can you eat this overnight dish?"
Food, as an indispensable part of our daily lives, is closely related to our health.
In the fast-paced modern life, overnight dishes seem to have become the norm in many families.
However, there has been a lot of controversy about whether overnight dishes are healthy or not. So, which overnight dishes should we avoid, and which ones are safe to eat?
01
Mushroom foods, such as shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, etc., are loved by many people because of their unique taste and rich nutritional value.
They are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals and have many benefits for our health.
However, when these mushroom foods are left out overnight, the nitrate content in them may increase dramatically.
Nitrate itself is not directly harmful to humans, but under certain conditions, it can be converted to nitrite by bacteria.
Nitrite is a toxic substance that may combine with amines in the stomach to form nitrosamines, a strong carcinogen.
Therefore, long-term consumption of overnight mushroom foods may increase the risk of cancer.
To avoid this risk, we recommend that you consume fresh mushroom foods as much as possible.
If it does need to be preserved, it can be kept in the refrigerator at low temperature and heated thoroughly to kill bacteria before eating.
However, it should be noted that even after heating, the nitrite content of mushroom foods may still be high, so it should be avoided overnight.
02
Seafood foods such as fish, shrimp, crab, etc., are favored by many people because of their delicious taste and rich nutrients.
They are rich in protein, unsaturated fatty acids and a variety of trace elements, which play an important role in maintaining our physical health.
However, there is also a significant problem with seafood – it is prone to spoilage.
Due to the high protein content of seafood foods, when they are left out for a while, the proteins in them may degrade and produce harmful substances.
These substances not only affect the taste and nutritional value of seafood, but can also cause harm to our health.
For example, certain protein degradants can cause food poisoning, causing symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and more.
In addition, seafood can also harbor large numbers of bacteria and other microorganisms after an overnight stay. These microorganisms may produce toxins during their reproduction, further increasing the risk of food poisoning.
Therefore, we recommend that you try to eat fresh seafood and avoid eating it overnight. If you do have leftovers, you can seal them up and refrigerate them and heat them thoroughly to kill bacteria before serving them a second time.
03
Green leafy vegetables are an important part of our daily diet, such as spinach, rape, lettuce, etc. However, leafy greens may produce large amounts of nitrite after overnight.
Similar to mushroom foods, nitrates in leafy greens may be converted to nitrite by bacteria. Whereas, nitrite is a toxic substance, and long-term intake can cause harm to our health.
Therefore, we recommend that you try to eat fresh leafy greens and avoid eating them overnight. If you do have a surplus, you can make it into foods such as vegetable puree or vegetable juice to reduce nitrite production.
In addition, the following points need to be paid attention to during the preservation of green leafy vegetables:
First, try to store leafy greens separately from other foods to avoid cross-contamination;
Secondly, try to keep green leafy vegetables in the refrigerator at low temperature to delay the growth and reproduction of bacteria;
Finally, leafy greens are thoroughly washed and heat-treated before consumption to kill bacteria and reduce nitrite levels.
04
As one of the traditional breakfast drinks, soy milk is loved by many people because it is nutritious and easy to digest and absorb.
It is rich in nutrients such as protein, vegetable fats, and a variety of vitamins and minerals. However, soy milk can grow a lot of bacteria and cause spoilage after overnight.
Due to the abundance of nutrients in soy milk, especially the high protein content, under the right temperature, bacteria will multiply rapidly and cause soybean milk to spoil.
Spoiled soy milk not only tastes worse, but also reduces its nutritional value, and may cause diarrhea and other uncomfortable symptoms. Therefore, we recommend that you drink fresh soy milk as much as possible and do not drink it overnight.
If you do have leftover soy milk, consider keeping it cold and refrigerated to slow down the growth and reproduction of bacteria.
Before drinking it for the second time, the soy milk needs to be boiled thoroughly to kill bacteria and ensure food safety and hygiene.
In addition, in order to avoid waste, leftover soy milk can also be made into delicacies such as tofu brain or bean curd, which can not only retain its nutritional value, but also increase the flavor and texture.
Overall, it's not entirely undesirable to eat overnight dishes, but it's all about choice. Avoiding high-risk foods such as mushrooms, seafood, leafy greens, and soy milk overnight is key to staying healthy.
In daily life, we need to learn to distinguish the freshness and safety of food, and try to choose fresh and hygienic food.
At the same time, we must also develop good eating habits, so as to achieve regular and quantitative measures, meat and vegetable combinations, and thick and thin combinations, so as to truly achieve the goal of healthy eating.