All content in this article is based on official and reliable sources, and the specific information is detailed at the end of the article
Preface
Although pickles are small, they have left a strong mark on the recipes of Chinese people.
In the fifties and sixties, pickles were a common thing to eat, and at that time, they didn't pursue anything, they just wanted to eat more salty.
But decades have passed, the living conditions of the Chinese people have undergone earth-shaking changes, chicken, duck, fish and meat are readily available, but people's love for pickles has not faded, and they can still be seen on the table.
However, it is now classified as a "Class 1 carcinogen".
But why is it that the older generation often eats pickles and is fine, but now why does it cause cancer?
Information source: Zhuhai Market Supervision - It is said that "pickles cause cancer", why do the older generation often eat but are fine? The truth behind it, wake up instantly after reading it (2022.8.6)
70 years of dietary change
In the fifties of the last century, there was a shortage of grain, and at that time to buy rice, flour, grain and oil, all of which needed to be purchased with tickets, and the staple foods were cornmeal, potatoes, sweet potatoes and other coarse grains.
After entering the 60s, people's living conditions did not improve much, and many people's daily food, that is, cornmeal cakes, and a few bites of pickles, as for stir-fried vegetables, may not be seen once in a few days.
At that time, people didn't have the energy to pursue what to eat well and healthy, and the most important thing was to be able to eat a full stomach.
Until the 70s, the mainland rice, flour, grain and oil gradually became sufficient, people's food was gradually improved, and in the 90s, the mainland's greenhouses formed a scale, making the supply of vegetables more sufficient.
In more than 70 years, the diet of Chinese can be said to have undergone earth-shaking changes, and now people, the consumption of edible oil is three times that of the past, and meat, eggs and milk are also available.
Information source: People's Daily Online-Stable Rice Bowl Taste Change (Big Data Observation, 70 Years of Glory) (2019.10.18)
But sometimes you will feel tired after eating too much oil, and some people want to have a few bites of crisp pickles, especially nowadays, many restaurants will also provide a variety of pickled dishes, which are delicious.
However, what is the reason that pickles are now classified as a class of carcinogens?
Why is pickles carcinogenic
In fact, pickles are not guilty, but what is really harmful to human health is the nitrite contained in it.
The salt we eat on weekdays is mainly composed of NaCl, while nitrite is NO2-, which is very unstable, easily soluble in water, and easy to decompose, and is a very toxic substance.
If too much of this ingredient is ingested in the human body, our hemoglobin loses its ability to transport oxygen, resulting in a lack of oxygen to our body tissues.
That's why in 2017, the WHO classified it as a carcinogen.
But why does nitrite appear in the pickles?
It turns out that this substance itself is not uncommon and is also common in nature, but the reason why it appears in pickles is not that someone deliberately put it, but is related to the pickling process.
Generally speaking, it is best to make pickled vegetables with pure acetic acid bacteria, or pure lactic acid bacteria, which produce nitrite during the fermentation process.
However, when making pickles at home, there are often no good fermentation conditions, which can lead to contamination of pickles by other bacteria, which in turn carry nitrates, which are converted into nitrites under the action of certain polluting bacteria.
However, this does not mean that the pickles you pickle at home will necessarily cause cancer, because there is a question of whether nitrite exceeds the standard.
And even if nitrite appears, it is a dynamic process of rising and falling, generally speaking, the nitrite content is highest in the first two or three days of pickling and the first ten days.
After this period, the nitrite content will decrease again, so for pickled vegetables, it is not as fresh as possible, and it is best to wait for more than 20 days to eat it for the sake of safety.
It should be noted that the conversion of nitrite does not occur specifically when pickling pickles, and the same happens when pickling fruit wine at home.
Therefore, if you want to eat these pickled foods, it is best to buy them produced by regular companies with the QS mark.
If you really want to do it yourself, then you must also ensure sterilization and wait patiently.
Source: Food Safety Hunan - Can Homemade Pickles Cause Cancer? Beware of nitrite (2021.7.8)
However, some people wonder that in the 60s and 7s, people were fine when they ate pickles every day, but now how can dolls get sick after eating them? Could it be that people are too hypocritical now?
Why is the older generation "anti-virus"?
When it comes to the older generation, it is often considered that it is a very hard-working generation, whether it is a farmer or a worker, who needs a lot of manual labor to support their families.
When people are doing physical work, they will produce a lot of sweat, and we all know that sweat contains salt and tastes very salty.
This is because when sweat is eliminated, it will also bring out the salt in the body, for the older generation, although the intake of salt is more, but sweating is also more, so often eating pickles The salt in the body can also ensure that it does not exceed the standard.
But now people are different, the workplace has shifted from outdoor to indoor, even in the hot summer, there is air conditioning to keep it fresh, sweating is less, and the salt discharged is naturally less, so the salt accumulated in the body is naturally easy to exceed the standard.
If the salt intake is too high, it will cause a series of problems such as high blood pressure and even kidney disease.
In addition to the reduction of physical labor, the amount of salt consumed by people has also increased unconsciously, and in the fifties and sixties, not only was there less food, but there were also fewer seasonings, and the only things that could add a little saltiness were salt and soy sauce.
But now that people have a great variety of food types and condiments, they are unconsciously increasing their salt intake while satisfying their taste buds.
Especially after eating in a restaurant, many people will feel very thirsty, that is because in order to make the food taste, restaurants often adopt a high-oil and high-salt strategy, and people are easy to exceed the standard after ingesting so much salt.
But don't worry, on the whole, the average life expectancy in the mainland is now more than 77 years, but in the 50s it was only 50 years old, so from an objective point of view, we are improving.
Nowadays, the level of medical care is developed, and any diseases can be detected and treated as soon as possible, but people in the past did not have this condition, and minor diseases do not need to be seen for major diseases, which invisibly also makes people form an illusion, as if people are prone to illness now.
For pickles, in fact, it is no problem to eat once in a while to relieve greasy and change the taste, but try not to consume a large amount of it for a long time to prevent it from burdening the body.
Information source: Beiqing.com - It is said that "pickles cause cancer", why do the older generation often eat it but are fine? The truth behind it, wake up instantly after reading it (2024.4.29)
文 | ZYG
Edit | Canned green oranges
[Disclaimer] The process described in the article and the pictures are all from the Internet, and this article aims to advocate positive social energy without vulgarity and other bad guidance. If it involves copyright or character infringement issues, please contact us in time, and we will delete the content as soon as possible! If there is any doubt about the incident, it will be deleted or changed immediately after contact.