"Drinking some enzymes every day can reduce weight and improve detoxification and intestinal flora."
"Drink more red wine. The resveratrol in it can prevent cardiovascular diseases and help you live longer."
"Eating bird’s nest can beautify, resist aging and supplement collagen."
"Recently, green juice is particularly popular and has become a health food in online celebrity. I heard that it can lose weight!"
"Just after giving birth to a child, my mother bought me Ejiao to replenish blood and iron and recuperate my body."
… …
Do these words sound familiar? Have you eaten all these foods that are said to have magical effects?
In recent years, "health care" has long been not only a standard for middle-aged and elderly people, but also people of all ages have their own understanding of health care. Young people are busy detoxification, beauty care and weight loss, while middle-aged and elderly people are busy chasing longevity, anti-oxidation and conditioning chronic diseases. For these "pursuits", everyone invariably locked their eyes on some "super foods" that were passed on by word of mouth or widely advertised. However, are these generally expensive "super foods" really so magical?
On November 28th, a series of activities of "Food Safety Popularization into the Community" co-sponsored by Beijing Youth Newspaper and chinese institute of food science and technology, and co-organized by Yantai Xinhe Enterprise Food Co., Ltd. and Beijing Youth Daily Reader Club entered the Zaoying Nanli Community of Maidian in Chaoyang District, Beijing.
In this issue, we specially invited Dr. Kai Zhong, a senior food safety science expert. In the lecture for more than an hour, Dr. Kai Zhong took stock of the most concerned "health-preserving" foods in recent years and re-interpreted the scientific common sense behind the foods from a scientific perspective.
ferment
Eating fruits and vegetables is more nutritious than drinking enzymes.
"Enzyme, simply speaking, is pickle water without salt." The sharp Dr. Kai Zhong tore the magic veil of enzyme in one sentence. After everyone’s laughter ended, Dr. Kai Zhong bluntly said: "Many people know that enzymes contain polyphenols and flavonoids, but they don’t know that they are not produced by fermentation, but are already in fruits and vegetables. Therefore, eating fruits and vegetables is more nutritious than drinking enzymes. "
In addition, the so-called digestive enzymes contained in enzymes are not special, but widespread, and the output of human intestinal flora is actually greater. At the same time, it is very unlikely that exogenous biological enzymes, such as enzymes, can play a role after entering the body. Dr. Kai Zhong explained: "These enzymes that we ingest from the outside world can participate in digestion and metabolism very little. Most of them are broken by gastric acid when they arrive in the stomach, and there is no way to participate in the later process."
Regarding the weight-reducing effect of enzymes, Kai Zhong pointed out that enzymes themselves have no nutrition. On the one hand, it is possible to add western medicine secretly, on the other hand, it is to create a sense of ritual by eating enzymes to guide people to eat less.
Anti-oxidation and anti-aging are also the widely circulated effects of enzymes, and Dr. Kai Zhong told everyone bluntly: "So far, no health care products can really effectively resist aging." Dr. Kai Zhong pointed out that in fact, many people did not really understand the concept of "oxidation". The human body can live by oxidation. Without oxidation reaction in the body, there is no way to turn the food it eats into energy. Excessive intake of antioxidants is not good for the body, but is against the metabolic function of the human body. More recent evidence shows that intake of antioxidants will increase all-cause mortality, that is, it will increase the possibility of causing various diseases.
red wine
The secret of the French’s health is actually the "Mediterranean diet" model.
"The influence of a certain food on your health is far less than that of your dietary structure." Dr. Kai Zhong repeatedly emphasized this concept in the lecture, and he immediately gave an example. "Many people have heard that resveratrol in wine has a healthy effect, but in fact, the impact of drinking wine on your health is far less than that of three meals a day. If you don’t eat well for three meals a day, it’s not reliable to just drink wine. To put it bluntly, it’s just a waste of money and a psychological comfort. "
In fact, there is no direct evidence to prove that resveratrol has a healthy effect, and the average resveratrol content in a bottle of red wine does not exceed 3 mg, so the so-called health effect is almost negligible. On the contrary, it should be noted that excessive intake of resveratrol will have side effects on the body. "Eating more than 2 grams a day may cause symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea."
Then why is the incidence of cardiovascular disease really low in the French, which loves to drink red wine? Kai Zhong explained: "the French’s health actually benefits from their diet structure, which is known to all ‘ Mediterranean diet ’ Mode. The intake of sugar is low, and there are more fruits and vegetables, aquatic products and dairy products. "
edible bird’s nests
Nutrition is not as good as milk and eggs.
Bird’s nest belongs to a traditional "health-preserving" food, but Dr. Kai Zhong told us that the nutritional components in bird’s nest are not as good as milk and eggs. For example, bird’s nest acid, a symbolic nutrient of bird’s nest, is also called sialic acid, and the price of pure products is about one tenth of that of bird’s nest. In fact, animal foods generally contain a small amount of sialic acid, which can be synthesized by the human body itself. The so-called efficacy evidence of sialic acid also comes from animal experiments, and the dose is far greater than the consumption of normal human beings.
The other two substances contained in bird’s nest, epidermal growth factor and colony stimulating factor, can also be synthesized by the human body itself, and have nothing to do with the so-called "blood-enriching" and "beauty-nourishing" effects. "Epidermal growth factor does not refer to the epidermis on our face, but refers to the cell membrane, which has nothing to do with our skin. Moreover, these two substances are destroyed once they are stewed. "
What about the blood swallow? The red color of blood swallows is actually because the stone wall where swallows nest contains iron. "Red is iron oxide, just like ‘ Rust ’ The same, but the iron absorbed by the human body should be bivalent iron, not the trivalent iron in the blood swallow, so the blood swallow can neither supplement iron nor replenish blood. "
spirulina
The "ideal food for the 21st century" is aimed at the poor people in Africa.
Spirulina is one of the health products mentioned more in recent years, and all kinds of spirulina health products are very popular. Dr. Kai Zhong recognized that spirulina really has the characteristics of high protein and low fat, and can be used as the raw material of ordinary food, but its other nutritional components are not surprising, and there is not much difference between spirulina and ordinary food. The reason why it was once rated as the most ideal food in the 21st century by FAO is actually mainly aimed at people in poor areas of Africa, because its own nutritional density is relatively high and its cost is relatively low, so it is very suitable for supplementary nutrition.
Then, is it true that spirulina is mentioned in the advertisement that it can improve 17 kinds of effects such as seasonal allergy, insulin resistance of AIDS patients, diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, long-term fatigue, menopause and obesity? Dr. Kai Zhong gave a definite answer — — All of them were denied by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) after the experiment.
Dr Kai Zhong also mentioned the food safety of spirulina. In 2003, the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention tested the spirulina products on the market and found that the pollution of microcystins was very common. At that time, the conclusion was that even if you only eat 4 grams of spirulina every day, its health risks should not be ignored, and it may contain carcinogens.
E-gelatin
The effect of "nourishing" is reflected in the age of nutritional deficiency
It is clearly recorded in the Bielu of Famous Doctors compiled from the Three Kingdoms to the Southern and Northern Dynasties that Ejiao is made of boiled cowhide. "Qi Min Yao Shu" also records that buffalo hide, buffalo hide and pigskin are the best for cooking glue, followed by donkey, horse, camel and mule skin. It was not until the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty that the donkey skin was countered because of the "ban on cowhide".
As a traditional folk food that has lasted for thousands of years in China, we should be more careful about its efficacy. Dr. Kai Zhong said that there are many Chinese medical classics about Ejiao, but most of them "learn from each other". There are more than 5,000 papers on Ejiao, but most of them are Chinese journals. At present, the mechanism of Ejiao’s "efficacy" is not clear and the research results are inconsistent.
Secondly, the cooking of Ejiao does not have to be donkey skin. In fact, the ingredients made from animal skins such as pig skin and cowhide are similar. Therefore, it is impossible to explain the difference between donkey skin, pig skin and cowhide.
Then why does Ejiao become a nourishing prescription? According to Dr. Kai Zhong, at that time, it was because Chinese people were in the age of nutritional deficiency, and Ejiao itself provided a certain protein, and its ingredients, such as sesame, red dates, longan and walnuts, also provided a lot of sugar, which was a "big supplement" for people with low material living standards.
aloe
Most aloe vera is inedible.
When it comes to aloe, many people know something about the laxative effect of aloe capsules. However, Dr. Kai Zhong emphasized that aloe vera can relieve constipation because it contains emodin. Emodin can irritate the intestine, and it has potential carcinogenicity and hepatotoxicity, and may even lead to miscarriage of pregnant women, so it should be used with great caution.
Internal use is unreasonable, so will external use have an effect? Dr. Kai Zhong replied that there is actually insufficient evidence about the efficacy of aloe vera in "treating burns, trauma, sun protection and moisturizing". The efficacy of "anti-oxidation, anti-aging, treating ulcers, stimulating cell regeneration, repairing damaged skin, etc." is simply not established.
Dr. Kai Zhong did not forget to remind everyone that cases of aloe allergy are not uncommon, and in fact, most aloe vera is inedible. Therefore, it is suggested that everyone should not use aloe vera without authorization.
Barley green juice
Getting cellulose is not as good as eating fresh vegetables directly.
"Barley green juice is ‘ Raw food doctrine ’ The product of, it satisfies people ‘ Return to the original ’ Psychological demands ",referring to barley green juice which has been very popular in recent years, Dr. Kai Zhong said.
Through various nutritional studies, it is found that the nutrients in barley green juice are very common, such as cellulose that promotes defecation, and we can also get it by eating fresh vegetables. As for other functions of green juice, there is no reliable evidence.
Moreover, barley green juice was actually first used by Americans as animal feed. Later, some people marketed this dry powder made of wheat seedlings and malt into food for people. After many years, it spread to Japan and later to China. It is not what many people think, but the "secret recipe" of Japan.
Royal jelly and propolis
In fact, it is "the saliva of bees" and "the caulking agent of beehives"
What is royal jelly? Dr. Kai Zhong gave the clearest explanation: Royal jelly is the oral secretion of worker bees (infertile female bees), which is used to feed the larvae and queens of bees. It is also called "bee saliva" abroad.
Kai Zhong said that royal jelly may have hormone-like effects, so children should not eat it. In addition, it may cause allergies. "Royal jelly is not without nutritional value, but 12%-15% of protein, 10%-16% of sugar, 3%-7% of lipids, a small amount of amino acids, minerals, vitamins, phytosterols, choline, etc., and royal jelly acid are actually not much different from our ordinary food. In fact, the various health functions of royal jelly were not approved by the European Union when it was evaluated in 2011. American royal jelly has been repeatedly warned because of its efficacy propaganda. "
What is propolis? Kai Zhong used vivid words to describe it: "A kind of ‘ Building materials ’ , the jointing agent of the honeycomb. " He further explained that "the most important thing in propolis is inedible resin. Typical propolis contains about 55% resin, 30% beeswax, 10% volatile oil and 5% pollen. The propolis we eat is scraped off the putty and re-extracted with organic solvents, mainly flavonoids and polyphenols. "
So what about the nutritional components of flavonoids and polyphenols? "It’s better to eat fruits and vegetables," Kai Zhong said. Polyphenols come from plant secretions, so it’s easy to fake them. Moreover, propolis may only be effective in relieving some herpes symptoms and oral inflammation, but its effectiveness in treating burns, trauma, ulcers, improving immunity and anti-cancer can not be judged because of too few clinical data.
The Secret Behind, the "super food", Dr. Kai Zhong finally concluded that the three secrets of health are genes, self-discipline and law. Apart from everyone’s different genetic characteristics, what we can do is to maintain the self-discipline of living habits, conform to the laws of human body operation, and pay attention to balanced diet and nutrition. Instead of spending a lot of money and listening to unreliable advertisements, we should shift our attention to health care to our daily diet. In other words: "Eating well is more important than anything else!"