Top 14 Mistakes in Vegetable Processing Damaging Your Health You Should Know

Almost everyone makes the mistake of cooking and not eating right away. According to experts, after cooking, vegetables lose about 15% of their vitamins and nutrients. After 30 minutes, this amount gradually decreases by about 25%, and 75% after 1 hour.

On the other hand, after cooking, vegetables are prone to bacterial attacks, pathogens causing contamination, and health issues. Therefore, if you don't eat right away, it's best not to cook. Wait until everyone is ready to eat to ensure both a hot meal and the health of your family.

Bean sprouts are a familiar dish in many households. The nutritional benefits of bean sprouts for human health cannot be denied. However, they can be a double-edged sword if you overlook the rules when choosing ingredients to cook with. It can be said that bean sprouts are very delicious and nutritious. However, eating bean sprouts carries a high risk of food poisoning. Bean sprouts are grown at temperatures of 30-35 degrees Celsius, which is an ideal environment for microorganisms to grow.

Additionally, people often have the habit of eating raw bean sprouts because they believe it is more nutritious than cooking them thoroughly. However, eating raw bean sprouts that are not properly washed or cooked can cause bloating, nausea, dizziness, and indigestion. Therefore, when consuming bean sprouts, you should blanch them in boiling water, wash and soak them in clean water with a little salt. If possible, you should limit eating raw or lightly cooked bean sprouts.

Many people have the habit of cutting vegetables into small pieces before washing or soaking pumpkins and gourds to soften them before washing, thinking that this will make the vegetables cleaner and the pumpkins and gourds softer, removing some of the dirt stuck on them. However, nutritionists advise that vegetables should be washed before cutting into small pieces. Because cutting vegetables before washing can result in a significant loss of vitamins.

Similarly, crushing vegetables and soaking them in water before washing also removes nutrients from the vegetables. For crushed vegetables, especially root vegetables, the amount of vitamin, especially vitamin C, is almost completely lost, and eating vegetables only provides fiber without nutrition. The reason for this is that vitamins exist in vegetables in the form of water, so they are easily dissolved in water during washing. Cutting vegetables and then washing them without cooking immediately also causes a significant loss of vitamins through the evaporation of water. Therefore, avoid cutting vegetables before washing to ensure the quality of the vegetables.

As you may know, bitter melon is a type of vegetable that contains a lot of valuable nutrients good for health. In bitter melon, there are a large amount of vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin B1, Zinc, Potassium, and even Protein. These substances help boost immunity and immune function for the body. Housewives often share with each other the secret of blanching bitter melon with hot water before cooking.

Before stir-frying bitter melon, you should blanch it in hot water because bitter melon contains oxalic acid which inhibits the absorption of calcium in food and this substance can dissolve in water at high temperatures. Therefore, we need to completely remove this substance before eating bitter melon. So you should blanch the bitter melon to remove this substance.

Green vegetables and other root vegetables when cooked for too long will lose their original flavor and harm health. Because vitamins in vegetables when exposed to high temperatures will be destroyed, losing a significant amount of nutrients. These vitamins are very 'sensitive', when cooked over low heat for a long time, they are also easily destroyed. In addition, the beneficial nitrate in green vegetables will convert to nitrite nitrate when cooked for too long, which can cause food poisoning.

According to nutrition experts, when cooking vegetables, do not cook for too long, it is best to boil with high heat and also avoid adding too much water to avoid 'wasting' vitamins, especially vitamin C and vitamin B1.

Many people, in order to save cooking time, put a large amount of vegetables in the pan for stir-frying. This causes the temperature in the pan to drop. It takes a lot of time for the vegetables to cook, causing nutrients in the vegetables to evaporate quickly.

Therefore, only put a sufficient amount of vegetables to cook, and remember to eat immediately after cooking to ensure the nutrients in the vegetables.

Many people, due to busy schedules or the habit of stocking food for the week, especially green vegetables. However, storing green vegetables for a long time is not good for health. Because green vegetables lose nutrients gradually even if you haven't cooked them yet.

If you leave vegetables at room temperature for 1 day, the nutrients in the vegetables will decrease by 20%. Therefore, you should not store green vegetables and need to properly preserve them in a cool, low-temperature place to ensure the quality of the vegetables.

Many people prepare vegetables very early and have everything ready when everyone in the family returns for cooking. However, slicing vegetables into small pieces without cooking immediately can affect the nutrient content of the vegetables due to rapid oxidation. Additionally, many types of vegetables tend to wilt quickly and can become faded within a few hours.

Furthermore, slicing vegetables into small pieces but not cooking them immediately can affect the nutrient content in them. Because at that time, the oxidation process occurs more intensely. Additionally, some types of vegetables tend to wilt quickly, making them fade within just a few hours. Housewives should remember to avoid these mistakes to prevent nutrient loss in vegetables.

According to nutrition experts, the peels of some vegetables such as carrots, beets... contain a lot of vitamin C, even more than the flesh and leaves. Fruit and vegetable peels contain significantly more fiber and antioxidants. Therefore, consuming fruits and vegetables with peels can increase your nutrient intake. Fruit and vegetable peels can reduce hunger and make you feel full for longer.

This is largely due to their high fiber content. Although the exact amount of fiber varies in each type. In fact, research has shown that a type of fiber found in fruits and vegetables - a type called viscous fiber - can be particularly effective in reducing appetite. Fiber also serves beneficial bacteria in the gut. When these bacteria consume fiber, they produce short-chain fatty acids, which seem to increase the feeling of fullness. This will lead to a gradual decrease in daily calorie intake, potentially helping you lose weight. Therefore, fruits and vegetables with peels can help reduce hunger and even aid in weight loss. So, you should not peel off the skins of these vegetables, except for those with excessively tough peels that cannot be softened by cooking, and remember to wash them thoroughly before cooking.

Experts particularly advise against eating vegetables left overnight. The reason is that green vegetables contain a high amount of nitrate. If you leave them cooked for too long, nitrate bacteria will decompose, converting nitrate into nitrite - a carcinogenic substance (even reheating cannot eliminate it).

The best way to preserve soup longer is not to add seasonings like salt, MSG... when cooking. After cooking, scoop out a clean spoonful for consumption within the day, and store the rest in a ceramic or glass pot in the refrigerator. Keeping leftover soup in aluminum or stainless steel pots for a long time is a typical cooking mistake. This can lead to chemical reactions, producing substances harmful to health. Therefore, it is best to use glass or ceramic utensils to preserve soup.

In straw mushrooms, there is ergosterol, which converts into vitamin D after receiving sunlight. But if cleaned too thoroughly or soaked in water for too long before consumption, it will lead to significant nutrient loss. When cooking straw mushrooms, avoid using iron or copper pots to prevent nutrient loss.

Therefore, if you clean straw mushrooms excessively or soak them in water for too long, the nutrients in straw mushrooms will be lost. Housewives should pay attention not to lose important components of food.

Almost all types of vegetables and roots pose a risk of containing preservatives and pesticides, leading to food poisoning. If you routinely wash carelessly, or even neglect to clean fruits with seemingly clean outer skins, it's a grave mistake. Ingesting these chemicals can cause abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, and even require emergency treatment. Worst of all, these substances are not easily eliminated, gradually accumulating in the body and causing various dangerous diseases.

According to researchers, after inducing initial symptoms, toxins enter a dormant phase, seep into the blood, slow down metabolic processes, and deplete energy. Therefore, even when purchasing organic vegetables and fruits from reputable sources, it's advisable to soak them for 10-15 minutes before use and thoroughly rinse under running water multiple times to ensure maximum removal of harmful substances.

Tomatoes are a familiar food to us. Ripe tomatoes contain a lot of vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and many other minerals. According to traditional medicine, tomatoes have a balanced taste, slightly sweet, and cooling effect, promoting blood circulation, detoxifying, aiding urination, and digestion.

However, tomatoes contain an acid that can irritate the stomach lining. Avoid consuming tomatoes before meals to prevent increasing the acidity in the stomach, which can cause stomach pain, bloating, heartburn, indigestion, etc. It's best to eat tomatoes after meals because by then the acids in the stomach have been diluted and reduced in concentration.

Many people often have the habit of soaking vegetables in water for too long after removing the dirt stuck to them to make the vegetables cleaner. However, this habit not only does not have many benefits but also causes the vegetables to lose many nutrients, allowing plant preservatives to seep back into the vegetables, posing health risks.

The best way instead of soaking vegetables in water is to rinse them under running water until completely clean. This is a way to clean vegetables, remove dirt and pesticide residues, and minimize nutrient loss.