Eating healthy is a very important part of healthy living, and cooking healthy is a very important part of eating healthy. An unhealthy diet can bring about all sorts of chronic diseases and cause all sorts of problems for everyone. So what is culinary health?
There are five main criteria for healthy cooking.
Food is safe and tastes good
When you are shopping for ingredients, you should always choose fresh ingredients. Like big supermarkets or well-known platforms, they usually have their own direct suppliers and are supervised by relevant authorities such as the Food Surveillance Agency, which conducts random checks on the safety of food. Food safety is the first step to cooking healthy.
Minimising the loss of nutrients from the food
Regarding the nutritional loss of food, the longer it is cooked, the more nutrients are lost in the perception of everyone. In fact, only some vitamins are afraid of heat, and some proteins, fats and carbohydrates do not lose much nutrition due to heat. Dietary fibre and minerals are not lost as much by cooking. Vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin K, vitamin E, carotene and lycopene are fat-soluble nutrients and are not suitable for frying, deep-frying or stewing, but stir-frying or making soups can maximise the absorption of nutrients. Vitamin C or B vitamins are water soluble and must not be cooked for too long, otherwise they will be lost. Wash vegetables and eat them in salads with fruit to maximise nutrient retention. Cereals contain more vitamin B1, so don't overwash them and use the water in which they are soaked to cook rice if it is clean. When cooking rice, match it with some mixed cereals, fish and meat, suitable for stewing or steaming, not for frying or charcoal grilling.
The food is digested at a rate that meets the needs of the body
The digestive aspect is determined by how well it is accepted by you and your family members. Food that is too hard can be difficult to swallow and can have an impact on the gut, but if eaten in a liquid form it can reduce the intake of dietary fibre. Also, some foods have a higher glycemic rate when broken up, which can have a significant impact on diabetics.
Avoidance of excessive oil, salt and sugar
Less oil, less salt and less sugar are the most healthy eating habits, because these three are the culprits of various chronic diseases. It should be noted that oil, salt and sugar are not only found in meals, but also in snacks or other complementary foods. Therefore, everyone should pay attention to the amount of seasoning in daily cooking, as well as food other than dinner. In addition, oyster sauce and soy sauce also contain a lot of salt, which must not be ignored.
Preventing chronic diseases starts with cooking healthy. Healthy cooking will make our appetite better and give us an increased appetite, thus making us more conscious of our diet so that we can get enough nutrients from our food and have a healthy body.
