A bowl of overnight meal, 5th ICU? Can I eat rice overnight? 4 kinds of food try not to stay overnight

Have you heard of "entering the ICU for eating a bowl of overnight meals"? Don't be fooled, it really does!

Mr. Hu, 55, lives alone. One day, Mr. Hu put the leftovers and leftovers in the refrigerator after cooking too much food at home. Take it out and heat it up for lunch the next day.

Unexpectedly, after 10 minutes of eating, Mr. Hu felt a little pain in his stomach, and after about half an hour, he began to have symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea . He thought that he had eaten a bad stomach, so he thought to endure it and make two more trips to the toilet.

As a result, it was after 4 o'clock in the afternoon that the symptoms became more and more serious. I quickly called my son. The son came to check and found that Mr. Hu was confused and rushed to the hospital.

After examination, Mr. Hu was diagnosed with bacterial food poisoning, metabolic acidosis, liver insufficiency, and septic shock , and was admitted to the ICU for emergency treatment.

After 5 days of active treatment, Mr. Hu's condition gradually stabilized. Mr. Hu never imagined that he almost stepped into the gate of life and death by eating a small bowl of overnight rice.

But in fact, many families put the unfinished rice in the refrigerator, thinking about reheating it the next day or eating it with fried rice. Is the overnight rice really poisonous?

1. Overnight rice contains nitrite. Will eating too much cause cancer?

Overnight meals are often unavoidable, so does it really cause cancer?

First of all, as long as the dishes are kept for more than 8-10 hours, they are all overnight dishes. The main reason for thinking that "overnight rice is cancer-causing" is that the nitrite content in rice will increase .

In fact, nitrite itself is not carcinogenic, but when it interacts with the intermediate product amine of protein, it may generate carcinogen nitrosamine , which has certain carcinogenicity. But if you want to cause cancer, you have to reach a certain dose.

And overnight meals may contain less nitrite than you might think.

Studies have shown that after overnight vegetables are placed in the refrigerator for 1-4 days, the nitrite content produced is about 3.5mg/Kg or less . Compared with the "National Food Safety Standard" for pickled vegetables, the maximum limit of nitrite is 20mg/kg. much lower.

Therefore, to judge whether the overnight meal can be eaten or not, it is more critical to look at the storage conditions - if it is stored at room temperature, it is best not to exceed 4 hours . The higher the temperature, the shorter the suitable storage time.

How should the overnight rice be stored?

It is recommended to roughly predict the amount to be eaten before eating, and the rest are directly sealed in another crisper and refrigerated.

This can better retain nutrients, and reduce the number of turns, prevent bacterial growth, and slow down the speed of food spoilage.

2. It is not recommended to reheat 4 kinds of food, or it may hurt the body

Isolation rice can be eaten after reheating (of course, don’t eat it often), but some foods are not recommended to be reheated, otherwise it may hurt the body.

1. Fungus

For example, mushrooms, after being cooked at high temperature for the first time, produce a relatively high content of nitrates, and after being placed in the refrigerator and then taken out for secondary heating, the content of nitrites in them will double again, and long-term consumption of this high-salt diet is not good for Bad health.

2. Seafood

For example, seafood such as sixties, crabs, shrimps, etc., are easy to breed bacteria and produce toxins after a long time. After entering the body, it can increase the detoxification burden of the liver, which is very unfriendly to the liver. It is recommended that you eat as much as you want.

3. Leafy green vegetables

Zhejiang Ningbo Food Inspection Institute once conducted an experiment. First, green leafy vegetables such as celery, lettuce, and water spinach were purchased, and after being cooked at high temperature, they were stored at room temperature (25°C) for 24 hours.

It was finally found that the nitrite content was as high as 100mg/kg or more. So it is best not to eat green leafy vegetables overnight.

4. Soft-hearted egg

That is, undercooked eggs, which may contain Salmonella bacteria. It is that after one night, bacteria may continue to breed and produce more toxins, so it is best to eat less loose eggs overnight.

3. How to deal with leftovers? 4 principles to keep in mind

Leftovers are not absolutely inedible, as long as you master the correct handling methods, you can also eat them.

1. I would rather leave meat dishes than vegetables

Because the nitrite content in leftovers is relatively high, the longer the storage time, the higher the content, so it is best not to leave vegetables.

Meat is relatively better, but it can only be stored for 1-2 days at most, and it must be thoroughly heated before eating.

2. No repeated heating

When reheating leftovers, be sure to keep in mind that as much as you eat, do not reheat leftovers! And when heating the dish must be thorough, need to heat to 100 ℃, and keep the boiling time not less than 3 minutes. If it is meat, it may take a little longer.

3. The storage time should not be too long

Eat as much as you can and cook as much as you can. If there is any leftover food, it’s best to get rid of it within 5-6 hours, and don’t leave it for too long.

4. Store different leftovers separately

For different leftovers such as meat and vegetables, it is best to store them separately and tightly in clean containers such as crisper boxes and fresh-keeping bags to avoid bacterial cross-contamination.

When dealing with leftovers, in addition to the above points, remember to clean the refrigerator regularly, preferably once every 3 months, which can reduce the growth of bacteria in the refrigerator.

When cooking food, it is best to prepare ingredients as needed. If there are leftovers, deal with them reasonably. Don’t eat leftovers that have been stored for too long because you are afraid of wasting them, which is very detrimental to your health.

References:

[1] "Woman fainted from severe anemia after eating overnight vegetables for a long time? Is it really so dangerous to eat overnight vegetables? One article to clarify...". Popular Science China. 2021-10-10

[2] "Beware! Don't reheat these 6 kinds of food. If you can't finish eating it, you'd better throw it away". CCTV Life Circle. 2022-05-31

[3] "6 kinds of overnight dishes are best to throw away! It turns out that nutrition experts deal with leftovers like this". Life Times. 2017-07-31

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