Vegetables contain nitrite, will long-term consumption cause cancer? The 4 foods you really need to eat less

A few days ago, after Aunt Wang came home from work, she took out the bitter gourd that she bought in the refrigerator earlier, and prepared to fry a plate of chili fried bitter gourd for the old mother at home.

Not long after the meal, Aunt Wang felt a little uncomfortable. Soon after, she developed nausea, palpitation, dizziness and other symptoms one after another. She dug out the gastrointestinal medicine at home and rested in bed for a while. Aunt Wang still vomited and felt weak.

The old mother ate lunch a little later than Aunt Wang. She didn't know it at the time, so she ate the half plate of bitter gourd left over by the daughter. After 20 minutes, the old mother also had a situation similar to that of Aunt Wang. Aunt Wang endured the discomfort. He helped the old mother to rest on the bed, and called her husband to ask him to come back quickly to help.

About an hour later, the husband rushed home and found that the old mother was in a coma, with vomit in her mouth and on her shoulders, and Aunt Wang's face was getting worse and worse. The old mother was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.

According to the test results, Aunt Wang and the old mother were diagnosed with domestic nitrite poisoning . After investigation, it was found that the "toxin culprit" was not pepper or bitter gourd, but the salt used for cooking, of which nitrite was detected to exceed the standard .

In addition to salt containing nitrite, Xiao Jiu also heard that most vegetables also contain nitrite . If eating vegetables for a long time will also cause cancer?

1. Vegetables contain nitrite. Will long-term consumption cause cancer?

First of all, let's take a look at why vegetables contain nitrite?

The growth of plants depends on fertilizers and must contain nitrogen fertilizers. During the process of absorbing nitrogen, plants finally synthesize amino acids through complex chemical reactions . In the process of producing amino acids, reductase is inevitably generated, which will reduce some of the nitrates in vegetables to nitrites.

Do nitrites really cause cancer? Xiaojiu revealed the true face of nitrite to everyone.

In the concept of many people, nitrite = preserved food = carcinogen, but in fact this is everyone's misunderstanding of it.

The predecessor of nitrite is nitrate. Nitrate is an inorganic salt that exists widely in nature. It is contained in the human body's daily food (vegetables, beans, etc.) and water sources. Therefore, nitrite itself is not carcinogenic, and it can also be used as a preservative in food.

So why are substances that are not carcinogenic, but also related to cancer? At this time, it is necessary to pull another substance - amines .

When nitrite enters the stomach, it will encounter protein decomposition products amines, and the combination of the two will cause a chemical reaction to generate carcinogenic nitrosamines , and nitrosamines are the "culprit" of cancer in the digestive tract. one.

Therefore, the best way to reduce the amination of nitrite is to reduce the intake of nitrite.

So, how to reduce the amount of nitrite in vegetables?

For green leafy vegetables, the preservation time should be shortened, and the vegetables should be bought and eaten as soon as possible ; secondly, before storing the vegetables, it is best to wash them and then store them, which can reduce the carrying of bacteria.

2. 4 kinds of foods are high in nitrite, eat as little as possible

Although nitrite is not carcinogenic, it is toxic. Once excessive nitrite (0.2-0.5g) is ingested, it can oxidize hemoglobin to methemoglobin, thereby causing hypoxia in the human body.

Therefore, in daily life, try to eat less food with high nitrite content, especially the following:

1. Brightly colored cooked meat

In order to make meat products sell better and prolong the shelf life , some unscrupulous merchants secretly use nitrite as a preservative to make the meat look delicious.

2. Vegetables that have been stored for a long time and overnight

Green leafy vegetables will produce more nitrite with prolonged storage , so try to eat fresh vegetables. In addition, cooked vegetables, placed for more than 8-10 hours, can also be regarded as overnight dishes. They contain more nitrite and should not be eaten too much.

3. Freshly made pickles

During the pickling process of vegetables, nitrite will be produced, but the content will fall back after reaching a peak. Generally, after half a month of pickling, the nitrite content will gradually decrease . Freshly pickled vegetables have higher nitrite content.

4. Long-cooked hot pot soup base

When the hot pot soup base cooks some meat products or vegetables, the nitrite will dissolve into the soup. As the hot pot time increases, the nitrite content of the soup base will also increase, so it is best not to drink hot pot soup that has been boiled for a long time.

3. Can I eat overnight dishes and overnight tea?

When it comes to nitrites, many people will think of overnight dishes and overnight dishes. Will these kinds of foods have the risk of cancer?

• Can overnight dishes cause cancer?

Overnight dishes do not mean that a dish is cooked and left overnight, but after cooking, it is left for a longer period of time. There is currently insufficient evidence to support a causal link between overnight dishes and cancer . Moreover, it was also mentioned earlier that nitrite has no carcinogenic effect.

Having said that, there are several overnight dishes that are not recommended for everyone, such as:

Overnight seafood : For example, fish and shrimp are high-protein foods. After overnight, protein degradation products may be produced, causing damage to liver and kidney functions;

Overnight fungi, white fungus, etc .: it is easy to breed bacteria if left for too long, resulting in diarrhea and abdominal pain;

Overnight soft-boiled eggs : There may be pathogenic bacteria such as salmonella in half-boiled eggs, which are more likely to breed bacteria if they are stored for a long time.

• Can I drink tea overnight?

In 2014, CCTV Finance once identified the nitrite in the overnight tea. After testing, the nitrite content in the overnight tea was far lower than the sanitary standard for drinking water (nitrite ≤ 1mg/L). That is, overnight tea is drinkable.

In fact, tea itself is rich in vitamin C and tea polyphenols, two substances that can synthesize natural preparations that inhibit nitrosamines . Therefore, the claim that overnight tea causes cancer has no scientific basis.

Nitrite is not a monster, as long as it is within an appropriate range, it will not affect human health.

However, from a nutritional point of view, the vitamins and various oxidizing substances of food will be lost over time, so it is best to minimize the consumption of overnight food.

References:

[1] "Can you eat overnight dishes? Is the nitrite in it really "severely exceeding the standard"? 》. Nutshell.2018-10-12

[2] "Dangerous molecules" in food - nitrite, 6 high-content foods were named. Life Times. 2019-07-25

[3] "Health Truth | Does Overnight Dish Really Cause Cancer?" 》. Human Health. 2022-07-11

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