Which vegetables should not be eaten? What harm does it do to leave vegetables sitting too long? Should you stir-fry on high heat or low heat?

90% of the vitamin C and 60% of the vitamin A that the human body needs from vegetables come from vegetables. In addition, vegetables also contain a wide variety of phytochemicals, which are widely recognized as effective components for health, such as carotenoids, dipropyl compounds, and methyl sulfur compounds. However, there are also rules to follow when eating vegetables, and eating them the wrong way can be deadly! Below are nine surprising mistakes people make when eating vegetables.

Storing vegetables for too long

Fresh green vegetables, once bought and kept at home without being eaten, will slowly lose some vitamins. For example, if spinach is left at 20°C for one day, its vitamin C loss reaches 84%. If you want to preserve vegetables, store them in a dark, ventilated and dry place.

Throwing away the part richest in vitamins

Take bean sprouts, for example. Some people only eat the sprout part on top and throw away the bean cotyledon. In fact, the bean cotyledon contains 2-3 times more vitamin C than the sprout part. Another example is squeezing out the vegetable juice when making vegetable dumpling filling, which causes a vitamin loss of more than 70%. The correct method is to mix the chopped vegetables with oil first, then add salt and seasonings. This way the oil coats the vegetables, and the filling will not release liquid.

Stir-frying on low heat

Vitamin C and B1 are both afraid of heat and boiling. According to measurements, vegetables quickly stir-fried on high heat lose only 17% of their vitamin C, but if they are braised after stir-frying, the vitamin C in the dish will lose 59%. So stir-frying should be done on high heat. This way the dish not only looks good and tastes good, but also loses less nutrition. Adding a little vinegar when cooking also helps preserve vitamins. Some vegetables, such as cucumber and tomato, are best eaten as cold dishes.

Not eating cooked dishes right away

Some people, to save time, like to cook the dishes ahead of time and then keep them warm in the pot until everyone is there to eat, or reheat them for the next meal. In fact, the vitamin B1 in vegetables can lose 25% during the warming process after being cooked. Cooked Chinese cabbage, if kept warm for 15 minutes, can lose 20% of its vitamin C; if kept warm for 30 minutes, it will lose another 10%; if kept for as long as 1 hour, it will lose another 20%. If the vitamin C in green vegetables loses 20% during cooking, then loses 25% by dissolving into the broth, and then loses another 20% if kept warm over heat for 15 minutes, the total is 65%. Then the vitamin C we get from green vegetables is not much at all.

Eating the vegetables but not drinking the broth

Many people love eating green vegetables but do not like drinking the vegetable broth. In fact, when cooking, most of the vitamins dissolve into the broth. Taking vitamin C as an example, after baby bok choy is stir-fried, 70% of its vitamin C will dissolve into the broth. If fresh peas are boiled in water for 3 minutes, 50% of their vitamin C dissolves into the water.

Cutting the vegetables first and then rinsing them

When washing and cutting green vegetables, if you cut them first and then rinse them, a large amount of vitamins will be lost into the water.

Having a strong preference for stir-fried dishes

Some people, in order to lose weight, avoid fat and prefer vegetables stir-fried with meat. Recently, researchers found that vegetables rich in water have cells filled with air between them, while meat cells are filled with water between them, so vegetables more easily absorb oil and fat. A plate of stir-fried vegetables often contains more oil and fat than a plate of fried fish or fried pork ribs.

Eating vegetarian food and no meat

These days more and more people are vegetarian, which is undoubtedly beneficial for preventing arteriosclerosis. However, not paying attention to dietary balance and eating only vegetarian food is not necessarily a blessing. Modern science has found that a vegetarian diet has at least four major harms: first, it lacks necessary cholesterol, and an appropriate amount of cholesterol has an anti-cancer effect; second, protein intake is insufficient, which is a risk factor for causing digestive tract tumors; third, riboflavin intake is insufficient, which can lead to vitamin deficiency; fourth, there is a severe lack of zinc, and zinc is a very important trace element for ensuring sound immune function, and it is generally lacking in vegetables.

Liking to eat them raw without washing them clean

Vegetable contamination is mostly from pesticides or mold. Cases of pesticide poisoning from eating vegetables happen from time to time. Vegetables are also hosts for mold, and most mold is insoluble in water; some even remain unharmed in boiling water. It can penetrate several millimeters deep into the surface of vegetables. Therefore, vegetables must be washed and soaked more in clean water, peeled, and more old yellow rotting leaves should be discarded. Do not be stingy, especially when eating them raw. Otherwise, it will bring harm to your health.