Case: Speaking of overnight dishes, many people may have some understanding of it! Early this morning, my roommate heated the leftovers I had put in the refrigerator yesterday as usual. At noon, her coma suddenly felt ache, and finally she went to the hospital. The doctor told her that she suddenly had acute appendicitis because she had eaten overnight dishes for a long time. If she was not discovered in time this time, the consequences would be unimaginable.
I believe many people have the habit of eating overnight dishes, but can this kind of food really be eaten?
First, I would like to give you a popular science concept: does this so-called overnight dish count in the past 5 to 8 hours? Or does it mean that it will be counted in the early morning? Or, if I stew a pot of dishes at night and started eating early in the morning, then is this considered an overnight dish?
The answer is that when we finish cooking and haven’t eaten it for 5 to 8 hours, it’s considered overnight dishes.
Of course, from the perspective of food safety science, the food we eat is not a question of whether it is overnight or not. The key to the main problem is what changes have occurred during the preservation process, and these changes are the main reasons that really affect our bodies!
What substances will overnight dishes produce?
. It is easy to breed microorganisms
Chinese people's dietary habit is to use chopsticks to hold vegetables, and then use chopsticks to send food to their mouths. This process is easy to introduce bacteria in the mouth into vegetables. When the weather is hot, these bacteria are prone to reproduction, causing gastroenteritis and , which can lead to food poisoning in severe cases.
Another situation is that repeatedly heating leftovers can kill bacteria in leftovers, but because these bacteria are chemical toxins produced by decomposing food, they cannot be eliminated, which will cause harm to the human body.
. Nitrite
As we all know, overnight vegetables are prone to nitrites, and nitrites are also recognized as one of the carcinogens and are national 2A-grade carcinogens. Eating them in small amounts will not directly cause cancer, but people who are used to eating leftover vegetables will consume too much, thereby increasing the risk of gastric cancer .
What are the effects of eating overnight dishes for a long time on the body?
Generally speaking, it is not recommended to eat overnight dishes for a long time. You should try to choose fresh food for the day. Long-term consumption of overnight dishes may have more adverse effects on the body, such as malnutrition, gastrointestinal infections, and inducible diseases.
. Malnutrition
After cooking, some nutrients will gradually be lost over time, such as potatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and other vegetables. After cooking, the content of vitamin C will gradually decrease over time. Long-term consumption may cause the body to take insufficient nutrition from food, resulting in malnutrition.
. Gastrointestinal infection
Some people do not heat or store incorrectly, which can cause bacteria and microorganisms to adhere to food. Long-term consumption will increase bacteria in the stomach. When the number reaches a certain amount and the body cannot fight, symptoms such as gastrointestinal infection, abdominal pain, diarrhea may occur.
. Induce diseases
such as gastritis, gastric ulcer , duodenal ulcer , etc. This situation is mainly related to long-term consumption of spoiled overnight dishes, resulting in gastroenteritis and intestinal flora disorders. Additionally, there will be more nitrite in some overnight dishes. Long-term consumption may affect normal cell function and its own health.
Can overnight dishes be eaten?
is generally not recommended to eat overnight dishes. will breed a large number of bacteria after being left overnight, which will affect gastrointestinal function and cause acute intestinal inflammation such as diarrhea and vomiting. It can also lead to food poisoning.
Secondly, after the bacteria decompose and ferment, the nitrate in the leftover vegetables will be converted into nitrite, which has certain toxicity to the human body, leading to methoglobin and affecting blood circulation. Moreover, long-term consumption will increase the risk of cancer in the human body, and nitrite cannot be removed after heating, so it is generally not recommended to eat overnight dishes. You need to eat fresh food, which is more beneficial to the body.
Is it true that overnight dishes cannot be eaten? Why do many elderly people eat it until now?
In terms of nitrite content, we don’t have to worry. Whether it is leftover vegetables or water boiled multiple times, its nitrite value is lower than the health standard. The only thing to pay attention to is two points. One is the remaining leafy green vegetables, especially the cold ones.
According to nutritional surveys, green leafy vegetables themselves have relatively high nitrate content and are prone to nitrite. If you don't heat the next day, you can easily face bacterial breeding problems caused by improper storage. Therefore, for general health, it is not recommended that you often eat leftover green leafy vegetables, and it is best to eat them on the same day.
The second point is whether the food is cooked. For example, modern young people like to eat half-cooked meat, such as a few minutes of cooked steak or cooked eggs. Especially for the latter, at a cooking temperature above 71 degrees Celsius, Salmonella will not be eliminated, and it is easy to get poisoned after eating, and even induce acute gastroenteritis.
Which one can’t eat overnight dishes, overnight eggs, and overnight meat?
. Overnight Vegetables
I believe many people will ask, aren’t vegetables very healthy? This family always lets themselves eat more vegetables because vegetables contain more nitrites, and if they are put on hold for too long, it is easy to produce some substances that are harmful to the human body.
In addition, experimental data prove that when we put vegetables in the air or in the refrigerator, the number of bacteria will rise like a rocket every hour after 5 to 8 hours. It is conceivable what impact these bacteria will have on our bodies if they enter the human body.
. Overnight meat
Although the nitrate content in meat is relatively low, it is reasonable to eat overnight meat, but because the meat is exposed to the air for a long time, even if you can freeze them, they will be like natural bacteria with many bacteria on it.
In particular, cooked meat must be eaten in time, otherwise the meat will produce more protein degradation overnight, accelerating the decomposition of nutrients in the meat itself. Finally, if you only eat meat and do not supplement protein , it will also damage liver and kidney function.
. Overnight egg
Do you know how many bacteria are in eggs? Especially our common sugar heart egg , there is no killing salmonella in it. It will reproduce in large quantities after being left for 5 to 8 hours, and produce a large amount of harmful substances. Therefore, do not eat eggs overnight.
. Overnight seafood
overnight seafood can't be eaten either. I see many people eating raw pickled ones directly? And many people have this question. In fact, after seafood is cooked at high temperature, the bacteria in the body are not completely eliminated. Instead, after a period of time, these bacteria will appear again and degrade protein again.
Therefore, I would like to remind everyone here that you must eat less raw pickled seafood, and you must finish seafood as soon as possible. Finally, I hope everyone can eat less or not overnight dishes as much as possible. If you have to eat overnight dishes, then you must save them reasonably, separate cooked food and raw food, and clean the refrigerator regularly.
Reading extension: Is the chance of getting cancer with leftovers high?
Symptom analysis: One thing we can be sure of is that eating leftovers is not conducive to health, but it may not necessarily lead to cancer, which may cause indigestion. gastroenteritis , but it may become cancerous over time, which is difficult to determine. The occurrence of cancer is the result of a comprehensive effect. It may be related to environment, genetics, diet, genetic mutations, etc., but the specificity is still unclear. Generally speaking, if surgical treatment can be performed after diagnosis, surgical treatment should be the main focus.
