1. Besides being uncivilized, what are the health risks of squatting to eat?

When you squat or eat at a low table, your body leans forward, which puts pressure on your abdomen. This affects blood circulation in the digestive tract, the secretion of digestive juices, and gastrointestinal motility, and over time, it can lead to stomach problems.

2. Why is it advisable to stir-fry meat with vegetables?

Meat is rich in protein and fat, and is very nutritious, but eating too much can lead to high cholesterol. If meat and vegetables are stir-fried together, not only will the taste be delicious, but the rich vitamins and minerals in the vegetables will also be absorbed by the body. The cholesterol in the meat and the harmful substances produced during the decomposition of the meat will be quickly excreted from the body along with the plant fiber in the vegetables.

3. Fruits are rich in vitamins and other essential nutrients. Can they be eaten in large quantities?

Consuming excessive amounts of fruit can lead to an accumulation of vitamin C in the body, which in turn produces oxalic acid. Oxalic acid mixes with sweat and is excreted, damaging the skin and making it rough. In severe cases, it can even cause drug-induced allergic dermatitis.

4. Why can't you eat cooking oil if it's rancid?

Cooking oil will oxidize and become rancid if stored for too long, producing toxic substances such as ketones and aldehydes. Consuming such oil can easily cause food poisoning. Similarly, foods such as mooncakes and candies should not be eaten if they have developed a rancid smell.

5. Food that is thoroughly cooked is easier for the body to digest and is beneficial to health.

Overcooking food, especially meat, can produce carcinogens that can adversely affect health. If all three meals consist of fully cooked food, the amount of carcinogens absorbed is roughly equivalent to smoking half a cigarette. Cooking pork and beef at temperatures exceeding 190 degrees Celsius for just six minutes significantly alters their structure, introducing various harmful substances that can negatively impact the function of digestive glands.

6. To prevent arsenic poisoning, should kelp be soaked in water for as long as possible?

Kelp mostly contains arsenic, and long-term excessive intake of arsenic can lead to chronic poisoning. Therefore, from a safety perspective, kelp must be soaked before consumption to dissolve the arsenic and arsenic compounds in the water, greatly reducing the arsenic content. However, kelp also contains many nutrients, with iodine and mannitol mostly attached to the surface. If dried kelp is soaked in water for too long, a large amount of nutrients will be lost. Studies have shown that after soaking dried kelp for 15 minutes, 85.9% of the iodine dissolves in the water, and after soaking for 40 minutes, 80% of the mannitol dissolves. If soaked for several hours or days, almost all the nutrients are dissolved.

7. Why is it said that cooking rice with cold tap water will cause the rice to lose nutrients?

It's unscientific for people to use cold tap water to cook rice because unboiled water contains a certain amount of chlorine, which will destroy a large amount of vitamin B in the rice during the cooking process. If you use boiled tap water to cook rice, the vitamin B will not be lost because the chlorine will evaporate with the steam.

8. Can skipping breakfast lower blood sugar?

If diabetic patients skip breakfast, their blood sugar levels decrease, meaning the body cannot provide the necessary energy for normal metabolism. The body will then break down its own fat, converting it into blood sugar in the liver. Excessive fat breakdown can cause headaches and weakness. In severe cases, it can lead to ketoacidosis. Long-term skipping of breakfast also causes protein to be broken down and converted into blood sugar. This large amount of protein breakdown weakens the body's resistance to disease, increasing the risk of complications. Patients who skip breakfast are prone to hypoglycemia before lunch, which can trigger the secretion of glucose-raising hormones, thus raising blood sugar levels. Therefore, using skipping breakfast to lower blood sugar is not advisable.

9. Is milk and eggs a reasonable breakfast?

This combination is definitely a flawed breakfast because while it provides enough protein and fat, it lacks carbohydrates. A scientific breakfast should be nutritionally balanced, with a reasonable ratio of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, with carbohydrates being the foundation. Without sufficient carbohydrates for energy, valuable protein from food will be passively used for energy, and fat metabolism also requires enough carbohydrates; otherwise, it can easily accumulate in the body, leading to obesity.

10. Is it true that sesame seed cakes have a lower oil content than fried dough sticks?

Baked flatbread, fried dough sticks, egg pancakes, and fried dumplings are all high in oil. While the visible oil on fried dough sticks might alert consumers, many assume baked flatbread, with its less oily surface, is lower in calories and fat. However, this isn't necessarily true. The crispy and delicious taste of baked flatbread comes entirely from the large amount of oil added during its preparation. A single baked flatbread typically contains 230-250 calories, with about 25% of those calories coming from fat.

11. Why is it said that lunch cannot make up for the lack of nutrition in breakfast?

Breakfast is the first and most important meal of the day, significantly impacting work, study, nutrition, and health. Many believe that skipping breakfast or having a poor breakfast can be compensated for by lunch or dinner. This is incorrect. Skipping breakfast or having a poor breakfast leads to insufficient nutrient intake, putting the body in a state of crisis, which is difficult to replenish through lunch or dinner. Skipping breakfast can also contribute to obesity because by lunchtime, a strong feeling of emptiness and hunger will occur, leading to overeating and the unknowingly conversion of excess energy into fat.

12. Can I lose weight by not eating staple foods for dinner?

Staple foods mainly refer to carbohydrates, such as pasta and rice. Some people believe that simply eliminating staple foods can lead to weight loss, while indulging in other foods without restraint, which is absurd. In fact, consuming staple foods can create a feeling of fullness and, to some extent, help control eating. For weight loss, what should be reduced is the intake of high-calorie foods, not staple foods.

13. Why is it necessary to choose which medicinal porridge to consume?

Medicine cooked with grains is called "medicinal porridge," which can nourish the body and strengthen it. However, the selection of medicinal porridge should follow the principles of traditional Chinese medicine: "treat cold with heat, heat with cold, excess with purging, and deficiency with tonification." These principles vary depending on the season and the individual's constitution. People with different constitutions should choose porridges with different properties. For example, those with spleen and stomach deficiency should eat more warming and nourishing porridges and avoid cooling and heat-clearing porridges; those with yin deficiency and internal heat can eat more cooling and nourishing porridges and avoid warming and heat-generating porridges.

14. When stewing chicken soup, nutrients seep into the soup, so drinking chicken soup is more nourishing than eating chicken meat. Is this view correct?

The soup contains only some water-soluble small molecules, and besides that, it's mostly oil and calories, with a high purine content, so objectively speaking, it's not very nutritious. In reality, the chicken that has been stewed for a long time is much easier to digest and absorb, as it contains important nutrients such as protein, sugar, and fat. Therefore, the healthiest way to eat it is to mainly eat the chicken, and use the soup only for seasoning.

15. Can drinking bone broth help supplement calcium?

Bone broth contains some nutrients, such as protein and fat. However, simply drinking bone broth is insufficient for calcium supplementation. Tests have shown that the calcium content in bone broth is negligible, and it lacks vitamin D, which promotes calcium absorption. A bowl of pork bone broth contains only 1.9 mg of calcium, far below the more than 1000 mg daily requirement for menopausal women. If she were to rely solely on drinking broth to meet her calcium needs, she would have to drink at least 400 bowls of bone broth every day.

16. Why are pork cracklings and rice crust not suitable for consumption?

The pork cracklings left after rendering lard and the burnt rice crust at the bottom of the pot both contain carcinogens. When any carbon-containing organic matter (especially pork cracklings, which have a high carbon content) decomposes, if it doesn't burn completely (oxidize), it produces a carcinogen called benzopyrene. Long-term consumption of pork cracklings can induce stomach cancer. This is because pork cracklings are difficult to digest in the stomach and remain there for extended periods, stimulating the secretion of large amounts of gastric acid, which irritates the gastric mucosa over time. This leads to gastric mucosal erosion and ulceration. Combined with the irritating effect of carcinogens on the digestive tract mucosa, this increases the risk of esophageal and stomach cancer.

In addition, rendering lard from fatty pork takes a long time and the oil temperature is very high. When the oil temperature reaches 200 degrees Celsius or higher, a large amount of peroxides and other carcinogens will be produced. The burnt oil residue will also produce tar, dimethylnitrosamine and other carcinogens.

17. Why is it said that adding vinegar when cooking fish can prevent cancer?

Nitrites can be decomposed under acidic conditions. When amino acids and sugars are heated together, the carcinogenic activity of nitrosamines is drastically reduced. Furthermore, the acidic environment created by vinegar makes it difficult for nitrosamines to form.

18. Can you eat potatoes that have sprouted?

Potatoes that have sprouted, have green skin, or are soft or blackened should not be eaten. These potatoes contain solanine, a toxic substance that strongly irritates the gastrointestinal mucosa, paralyzes the respiratory center, hemolyzes blood cells, and can cause cerebral edema and congestion. Fresh potatoes contain very little solanine, but once they sprout or turn green, the solanine content increases 5-6 times, particularly concentrated in the sprouts, eyes, skin, and rotten parts.

19. Does eating eggs increase blood cholesterol levels?

Eating eggs does not necessarily increase cholesterol levels in the blood. Researchers have found that the nutrients in eggs can interact and counteract each other. Egg yolks are rich in lecithin, which helps prevent coronary heart disease, as well as trace elements such as zinc and selenium, which have anti-cancer properties, thus contributing to the body's ability to fight cancer and prevent coronary heart disease.

People only know that eating eggs can raise cholesterol, but they don't know that eggs also contain components that can remove cholesterol from blood vessel walls. One egg (about 50-60 grams) contains about 234 milligrams of cholesterol. This cholesterol combines with protein to form lipoproteins. Lipoproteins include what is commonly known as "good cholesterol"—high-density lipoprotein (HDL)—which actually helps to remove cholesterol from blood vessel walls. Furthermore, the lecithin in egg yolks is a powerful emulsifier that helps cholesterol and fat particles in the blood become extremely small and remain suspended. This prevents cholesterol and fat particles from depositing on the blood vessel walls, thus preventing atherosclerosis.

20. Why can't white sugar be eaten raw?

White sugar often harbors mites, and eating raw white sugar can easily lead to mite infestation. Mites are small, hairy insects invisible to the naked eye, and they multiply rapidly in sugar. If mites enter the gastrointestinal tract, they can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, and ulcers. If they enter the lungs, they can cause hemoptysis and asthma. If they enter the urethra, they can cause urinary tract infections.

21. What are the benefits of drinking a glass of water before bed?

The human body naturally sweats during sleep, losing water and salt without realizing it. During the eight hours of sleep, the body cannot replenish fluids, which is why we often feel thirsty upon waking. Therefore, doctors recommend replenishing fluids and electrolytes half an hour before bedtime to maintain bodily balance during sleep and reduce urine ion concentration, thus preventing the formation of kidney stones.

22. Why does sleeping face down in the wind harm your health?

Although the lower back differs from the chest and abdomen in that it has a thick layer of muscles, such as the trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and rhomboid muscles in the back, and the psoas major and lumbar fascia in the lumbar region, the ground temperature drops rapidly after midnight in summer, and the ground becomes damp. If one sleeps on the ground overnight, the cold and dampness can invade the lower back, causing muscle spasms, local congestion, edema, and chronic aseptic inflammation, thus causing or aggravating lower back and leg pain.

23. Is it good to take a hot shower after strenuous exercise? Why?

Taking a hot shower immediately after strenuous exercise is not advisable. According to sports medicine experts, during exercise, increased blood flow to the muscles and a faster heart rate. While blood flow and heart rate decrease somewhat after exercise, this continues for a considerable period. If you shower immediately afterward, it further increases blood flow to the skin and muscles. This can result in insufficient blood supply to other vital organs, such as the heart and brain, potentially triggering heart problems. Elderly individuals and obese individuals should especially avoid taking a hot shower immediately after exercise.

24. Why shouldn't you exercise in the woods before sunrise?

Before sunrise, plants lack sunlight and cannot perform photosynthesis; they only respire, absorbing oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. At this time, the carbon dioxide content in the forest is also at its highest. If you exercise during this time, you will inhale carbon dioxide and pollutants. Morning exercisers will not only receive little exercise benefit but may also experience headaches and fatigue.

It's also worth noting that the air near the ground cools at night, forming a stable temperature inversion layer that makes it difficult for air pollutants to disperse. Pollutant concentrations reach their peak before sunrise. Therefore, it's not advisable to engage in physical exercise in other public places before sunrise. 

25. Can emotions affect a person's immune system?

The human immune system is regulated by both the nervous and endocrine systems. Stimulation is achieved through the influence of emotions on the limbic system, autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, and digestive system. Modern science has proven that under the stimulation of stress, fear, and depression, the body's immune function declines, leading to immune dysfunction, including changes in multiple indicators such as immunoglobulins, lymphocyte proliferation, and natural killer cells.

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