“My dad doesn’t buy zombie meat, but he makes his own zombie meat!”
Uncle James, 53, has been living in poor conditions since he was a child, so he has developed the habit of saving. I usually go to the supermarket and see some discounted meat, but I can’t help but buy it. When I buy it home, I freeze it after eating it. The whole refrigerator is full. He can’t even remember when he bought some of the meat at the bottom.
Every time my daughter wants to throw away “zombie meat”, he always refuses to let her go. He thinks that the refrigerator is just a “safe”, and it won’t break if you put it in. He still goes his own way and eats the meat that has been frozen for a long time and the leftovers that have not been finished.
In recent times, he has been suffering from abdominal distension, nausea, and sometimes severe abdominal pain from time to time, which is difficult to relieve after taking stomach medicine. As a last resort, he had to go to the hospital for a check-up, and it turned out that he had stomach cancer.
After learning about his past history, doctors believe that cancer has a lot to do with his long-term bad habit of using the refrigerator!
I. Refrigerator ≠ Permanently Preserved
I believe that many families deal with leftovers on a daily basis by putting them in the refrigerator, and sometimes they even leave them for a few days before eating. But this behavior is not healthy and can even become “an accomplice” to cancer.
The data shows that 30 years after the advent of refrigerators, the death rate from stomach cancer in Western countries has dropped by 50%. Because “the advent of the refrigerator gives people a greater chance of eating fresh food, and there is no need to preserve food in a pickled way for a long time”. However, the mortality rate from gastric cancer in our country has not decreased because of the advent of the refrigerator, which has a lot to do with the fact that Chinese people use it as a “universal safe”.
Refrigerators also have a limited period of time for food storage. If stored improperly, the food will breed a large number of bacteria, which will threaten people’s health after consumption. And the refrigerator itself also contains bacteria, according to a survey by the Global Health Council More than 40% of refrigerators have mold reproduction problems, and some refrigerators have bacteria that multiply 750 times.
Especially in the refrigerator compartment, food cannot be kept fresh for a long time. Generally, the temperature of the refrigerator compartment is around 4℃. A low-temperature environment can only inhibit the reproduction rate of germs, but it cannot kill them. “When food leaves the low-temperature environment and returns to room temperature, it will multiply wildly again”. And “many bacteria themselves are very resistant to low temperatures and can reproduce in low-temperature environments”.
The same is true for the freezer, although the temperature is generally around -20℃, it cannot kill all bacteria, such as Listeria, which can survive for 1 year or more in this environment. If the food is frozen for a long time, it will cause the taste to become worse and the nutritional value to decrease, so it is still recommended to focus on fresh food on a daily basis.
2. It is not recommended to keep these four types of food in the refrigerator for a long time
Different foods can be left in the refrigerator for different periods of time, and these types of foods are not recommended for long periods of time.
1. Grass leaves
Leafy vegetables themselves The nitrite content is relatively high , Keeping it in the refrigerator for a long time will allow the nitrate inside to be reduced to form nitrite. It is easy to cause poisoning in the body after consuming large amounts in a short period of time, and may also be converted into nitrosamines in the body that have carcinogenic effects on the body.
Some researchers have conducted special experiments on this. They refrigerated spinach in the refrigerator for 16 hours and found that the nitrite content reached 20.5mg/kg, exceeding the relevant national standards. When stored at room temperature for 24 hours, the nitrite content will soar to 134 mg/kg, exceeding the national standard limit by 6 times.
2. Seafood
Seafood contains the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio, which is a common gut bacterium. Long-term storage in the refrigerator will breed and multiply, and entering the body can easily cause the body to have an inflammatory reaction, and it may also Damage to liver cells , increasing the risk of liver cancer.
3. Soy products
The content of moisture and protein and other nutrients in soy products is high, and it is very good to put in the refrigerator Bacteria easily breed , it is not recommended to store for a long time.
4. Cold dishes
There is no heating link when making cold dishes, so it is average Bacteria multiply quickly , dishes will spoil faster. If left in the refrigerator for a long time, the nitrite content inside will increase significantly, which is not good for health after consumption.
3. Is it reported on the Internet that placing “plastic bags” in the refrigerator can cause cancer? Really?
Many people will pull a lot of rolling bags after going to the supermarket, and then go home to pack meat and vegetables and stuff them into the refrigerator. However, this behavior is not recommended. Rolls of plastic bags in supermarkets can be used to hold food briefly and come into contact with food for a long time, which poses great safety risks.
Plastic bags in regular supermarkets are mostly PE material , If you pack food at room temperature for a short period of time, it is generally harmless, but if it is fresh food, it is not recommended, because only food-grade PE plastic bags can be used to hold fresh food. And PE material also has obvious defects. Its heat resistance is not strong. If it exceeds 80℃, it will melt and decompose Nor can it be exposed to grease for long periods of time , otherwise some of the ingredients inside will react with the grease, causing the grease to have a halal flavor.
Daily supermarket roll bags, It is not recommended to use it for hot food or to separate meat for freezing , so as not to cause some unnecessary trouble to health.
To use the refrigerator correctly, the following points should be noted.
1. Pack food reasonably
When storing food, pay attention to reasonable packaging. For example, meat can be divided into small portions and one portion can be taken at a time. Avoid repeated thawing and freezing, which can reduce the loss of nutrients from food.
2. Control time and temperature
Meat can generally be stored in the freezer for 3 to 6 months, while fruits and vegetables are recommended to be eaten within a week. At the same time, pay attention to check the temperature of the refrigerator regularly. Generally, the temperature in the freezer is around -18 ℃or 4 in the refrigerator℃.
3. Clean the refrigerator regularly
The refrigerator will accumulate dust and bacteria in it after being used for a long time, it is recommended to clean the refrigerator once a month, and clean the inner wall, drawer, etc. thoroughly after taking out all the food. At the same time, you can check the shelf life of the food in passing, and throw it away in time if it is found to have expired.
Refrigerator provides a very great convenience to our lives, but it is not a panacea, it must be clear about this, use the refrigerator correctly on a daily basis!
Dr. Ashish Singh is not just a consultant orthopaedic surgeon but a visionary leader in the field. Serving as the Medical Director at Anup Institute of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation in Patna, Bihar, he holds an illustrious academic background with MBBS, MS Ortho, MCh.Orth. (UK), PG Diploma CAOS (UK), and SICOT Diploma Orth. (Sweden).
