This kind of ＂cooking artifact＂ may really cause cancer, so it is recommended to eat less!

　　Sour beans, pickled cucumbers, crispy radish, pickled radish strips, pickled peppers, pickled mustard tuber … … Pickled vegetables, as an indispensable meal partner on the dining table, are favored by many families. Even if there is no cooking, you can easily kill 2 bowls of rice with a bottle of pickles, which is an artifact!

　　However,Pickled vegetables are still recommended to eat less, which will really be harmful to health and may even cause cancer.

What are the hazards of eating pickles often?

　　·Increase the risk of cancer

　　A study of 440,000 people by biosystems engineering of Zhejiang University and the food science research team shows that eating pickled vegetables frequently may increase the risk of death from hemorrhagic stroke and esophageal cancer. Among them, frequent consumption refers to the frequency of eating ≥ 4 days/week; Another meta-analysis report on cohort studies showed that the risk of gastric cancer increased by 15% when the intake of pickled vegetables increased by 40 g/d.

　　Why does eating pickles often increase the risk of cancer?Most studies believe that it is related to the high salt concentration and nitrite in pickles.Frequent consumption of high-salt food will damage gastric mucosa and esophageal mucosa and induce cancer; Nitrite can react with amine, the decomposition product of protein in the stomach, to generate N- nitroso compounds such as nitrosamines with strong teratogenicity and carcinogenicity.

　　It should be emphasized here that eating pickles regularly will increase the risk of esophageal cancer and gastric cancer, but it is not that eating pickles will cause cancer, especially short-term pickled vegetables.

　　Increase the risk of hypertension

　　The salt content of traditional pickles is mostly higher than 15%, even the salt content of pickles bought is not low. For example, 100 grams of this sour beans in the picture below is as high as 8 grams of salt. Even if you only eat 2 spoonfuls (about 20 grams) a meal, you will consume nearly 2 grams of salt. If you can’t help eating more, the salt intake will easily exceed the standard (no more than 5 grams/day).

　　Long-term high-salt diet is not conducive to blood pressure control and will increase the risk of hypertension, which will also increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.

　　May gain weight.

　　Common pickled vegetables include pickled vegetables, acid soaking vegetables and sugared vegetables. Among them, the sugar content of sugared vegetables is not low, generally reaching 60%~65%, with high carbohydrate content and high calories. Eating more will increase the risk of gaining weight.

　　·May be poisoned.

　　If you eat more short-term pickled vegetables in a short time, you may be poisoned by nitrite, causing toxic methemoglobinemia, such as chest tightness, dyspnea, dizziness, headache, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, which may lead to coma, convulsion, incontinence and even death due to respiratory failure.

Why eat pickles?

You can’t stop eating?

　　At this point, some people may say that although pickled vegetables are unhealthy to eat, they have crisp taste and unique flavor and can’t stop at all. Why are pickles so delicious?

　　The answer lies in its fermentation process, and the flavor substances of various raw materials and the flavor substances produced after fermentation form the unique flavor of pickles, which makes people want to stop.

　　MicroBiological fermentation

　　Pickled vegetables will be accompanied by the fermentation of many microorganisms, such as lactic acid fermentation, alcohol fermentation and acetic acid fermentation, and their metabolites will give pickled vegetables a unique flavor of slightly sour, fresh and sweet, mellow and delicious.

　　In addition to lactic acid, the final products of lactic acid fermentation include a small amount of ethanol, formic acid, acetic acid, succinic acid, higher alcohols, carbon dioxide, ammonia, etc., which bring refreshing taste and ethanol aroma to pickles. The acetic acid in pickles can also form ethyl acetate with ethanol, which increases the aromatic smell.

　　In addition, organic acids produced by microbial metabolism are the main flavor substances in pickles.

　　·Decomposition of protein

　　A small amount of protein in vegetables will be decomposed into amino acids due to the action of microorganisms. At present, more than 30 kinds of amino acids have been found in pickled vegetables, such as alanine with pleasant aroma, aspartic acid and glutamic acid with delicate flavor. Glycine, serine and cysteine are sweet, especially aspartic acid and glutamic acid will combine with sodium ions in pickles to make pickles taste fresher.

　　·Decomposition of carbohydrates

　　Carbohydrates in pickles will eventually be decomposed into free sugars, and with the proliferation of microorganisms, free sugars will be decomposed into volatile flavor substances such as alcohols, acids and esters.

　　FromFlavor obtained from auxiliary materials

　　Onion and garlic will also be added during pickling. Onion and garlic will also produce sulfur-containing compounds and other flavor substances during pickling, which will increase the aroma and taste of pickled vegetables.

Eat pickled vegetables healthily

Pay attention to these four points.

　　The adverse factors of pickled vegetables to health are mainly reflected in the problems of high salt, high sugar and nitrite. If we can solve these problems and control the consumption scientifically, there is no need to demonize them.

　　ControlReducing salt by quantity

　　The Dietary Guide for China Residents suggests that the daily salt intake of each person should not exceed 5 grams, but the daily salt intake of most residents in China far exceeds this standard, and some people even exceed 2 times. If you love to eat pickles every day, the salt intake will exceed the standard.

　　If you like to eat pickles, you must reduce the amount of salt. For example, if you eat 20 grams of this spicy radish strip as shown below, you will consume 1.5 grams more salt. So it is recommended to put 3 small pinch of salt when cooking all day. If you can rinse the pickles with water, it will be better.

　　·Pickled vegetables instead of salt dishes

　　You can stir-fry with your favorite pickles directly, without salt. For example, mustard seed fried meat, dried pickles fried bitter gourd, pickled mustard tuber fried shredded pork and so on.

　　In addition, don’t eat it every day, limit the frequency of eating, and eat it occasionally, such as once or twice a week.

　　·With fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C.

　　Vitamin C in fresh fruits and vegetables is a strong antioxidant, which can inhibit the production of nitrite in pickled vegetables, have redox reaction with nitrite in pickled vegetables, and have a scavenging effect on nitrite.

　　While eating pickles, vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C can improve food safety and reduce the harm of nitrite to the body, such as sweet pepper, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, bitter gourd, winter jujube, kiwi fruit and strawberry.

　　·Buy low-salt pickles

　　With the concept of health more deeply rooted in people’s hearts, there are many low-salt pickles on the market, and the general packaging will be marked with "reduced salt" or "light salt". Compared with common pickles, low-salt pickles are healthier, and the salt content is mostly below 6%.

　　In short, pickles are crisp and delicious, but not greedy! If you really like to eat, it is better to buy low-salt pickles from regular manufacturers, occasionally satisfy your cravings and eat scientifically and healthily.

　　(Source: Popular Science China)