Harmful dieting habits
1. Drinking a glass of lightly salted water in the morning is pure “trouble.”
Many people have the habit of drinking a glass of lightly salted water in the morning, but it’s best not to do this. It is especially not recommended for elderly people with hypertension.
During sleep at night, the body consumes water and does not drink extra, so the blood viscosity is highest in the morning, and blood pressure is unstable, which can easily lead to various heart accidents. Drinking salt water at this time may raise blood pressure, which is pure “trouble.”
Lightly salted water does have antibacterial properties and can replenish electrolytes, but it is only suitable for rinsing or drinking in special situations such as oral or throat inflammation, or diarrhea.
The best morning beverage is warm boiled water, with a temperature of about 40°C. This temperature is close to body temperature, feels very comfortable, and has a better hydration effect.
2. Eating too little staple food makes you “weak.”
The basis of the diet is staple foods, which are the main source of carbohydrate intake. It is recommended to have staple foods for all three meals, but many people avoid them, which is unscientific.
Without staple foods for energy, the efficiency of brain function will greatly decrease, causing dizziness, palpitations, and lack of concentration. Additionally, staple foods are the main source of energy. Without them, the body will start burning muscle for energy, leading to muscle loss and making you feel weak and tired over time.
Dietary guidelines recommend that adults should consume 250-400g of grains, potatoes, and legumes daily, with 50-150g of whole grains and legumes, and 50-100g of potatoes, all in raw weight.
3. Drinking porridge to “nourish the stomach” might be “adding burden” to the stomach.
Drinking porridge has many benefits, but there are a few points to note.
First, you cannot fill your stomach with just porridge every meal. Some elderly people replace normal meals with porridge, but the energy intake from porridge alone is insufficient. A bowl of porridge may only contain 10-20g of rice, mostly water, and cannot meet the nutritional needs of the body.
Second, the main carbohydrate in porridge is dextrin, which raises and lowers blood sugar quickly. So, for diabetics, especially elderly diabetics, it’s better to pair porridge with solid foods—eat some whole grains first, then drink a small amount of porridge, and also include protein-rich foods and vegetables. This is safer than drinking porridge alone.
Third, porridge is not as easily digestible as people think. When eating porridge, people often do not chew thoroughly, so some porridges that are not cooked thickly can become a burden on the digestive tract, making the stomach work harder instead of reducing its burden.
This is why some elderly people or patients with reflux esophagitis feel uncomfortable after drinking porridge at night.
If the issue is not a general decline in digestive absorption but just stomach discomfort, then you shouldn’t drink too much porridge or rely on it for every meal to nourish the stomach. Instead, choose easily digestible foods and chew them well, which is more beneficial for health.
4. Delicious cured meats and ham are “bad for health.”
Many people like to eat cured meats, ham, and other processed meat products because they find them very tasty. However, processed meats are classified as Group 1 carcinogens, and the more you eat, the greater the harm to your body.
Processed meats are often cured, smoked, or roasted, processes that can produce harmful substances.
For example, smoked fish, smoked chicken, smoked meat, and ham use smoke for processing, which can generate carcinogenic substances like benzo[a]pyrene.
Cured meats often use nitrites in the processing, and long-term high intake of nitrites poses a cancer risk.
For processed meat products like ham, salted fish, salted meat, bacon, luncheon meat, sausages, and smoked meat, they should not be consumed frequently. It is recommended to eat them no more than 1-2 times a week, with each serving not exceeding 25g.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
