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On an ordinary spring morning in Beijing, Dong Mei and her mother, Liu Fen, were ready to enjoy breakfast as usual.
On this day, they decided to try a spring specialty, scrambled eggs with toon. Dong Mei, a warm-hearted elementary school teacher, always tries her best to bring warmth and fun to her students and family.
However, this seemingly ordinary breakfast unfortunately took the lives of their mother and daughter. Later investigation revealed that the unfortunate reason for this was that the toon was not blanched and the toxic substances contained in it were not effectively removed.
In fact, toon itself is a very nutritious wild vegetable, and spring fresh toon has a special flavor that is loved by many people.
However, toons contain compounds called thiocyanate, which can be converted into thiocyanate in the human body if not removed by blanching, which is toxic to humans.
thiocyanic acid inhibits the absorption of iodine from the thyroid gland and, in severe cases, may even lead to thyroid enlargement or, in more severe cases, toxic reactions.
In the case of Dong Mei and Liu Fen, as a result of their ingestion of large amounts of untreated toon, thiocyanate was rapidly converted to thiocyanate in the body, triggering acute poisoning.
Within a few hours of ingestion, they developed symptoms such as difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat, and eventually passed away. The incident caused a huge shock in the community, and the demand for knowledge about how to eat plant-based foods safely increased dramatically.
Here's a unique point of view: blanching with iodized salt water when handling wild plants such as toons can not only remove thiocyanate, but also mitigate potential iodine absorption inhibition through a high-iodine environment.
Normally, we don't think of the addition of iodized salt as a way to remove phytotoxicity, but in this case, the use of iodized salt can really have a double effect.
Firstly, the hot blanching water itself can break down a part of thiocyanate, and secondly, the iodine in iodized salt can "protect" the thyroid gland from thiocyanate to a certain extent.
In addition, from a medical point of view, although the body's need for iodine is not high, the role of iodine is very crucial. Iodine is an important component of thyroid hormones, which regulate our metabolism, heart function, and nervous system development, among other things.
Therefore, even a mild iodine deficiency can lead to a decline in body functioning. In the modern diet, many people are actually in a state of trace iodine deficiency due to processed foods and overly purified eating habits.
As a result of the tragedy of Dong Mei and Liu Fen, the doctor initiated a series of health talks in the community, emphasizing that proper cooking methods are essential when preparing food containing plants with natural toxins.
Especially for seasonal ingredients such as toon, the right handling can effectively avoid tragedy. In this series of lectures, the doctor specifically mentioned one case.
An enthusiastic grandmother who has been growing her own toons at home for many years always insists on blanching them in iodized brine before cooking. This habit allowed her to never have any food-related health problems even when consuming large amounts of toons.
Eventually, at the end of a lecture, a young mother asked the question: "Doctor, if there is no iodized salt at home, is it okay to blanch the water with regular table salt?"
The doctor smiled and replied, "Regular table salt can remove some of the toxins, but the benefit of adding iodized salt is that it can provide additional protection against thyroid problems caused by thiocyanate." If possible, I recommend that you use iodized salt when blanching, which is safer. ”
This simple yet effective advice became an important aspect for residents to consider in their daily cooking.
What do you think about the benefits of toon?