Etiquette at the dinner table has been advocated for many years, but the more important health criterion is always ignored. More and more people regard eating as an occasion for talking about work, busy socializing and making friends, and unconsciously make many mistakes. Here are a few taboos on the table. You may as well check and correct them!
eat while it’s hot
“Here comes the dish. Eat it while it’s hot!” This is a phrase often heard at the dinner table. Although food tastes better when it is hot, a long-term overheated diet can induce esophageal cancer and other digestive tract diseases. Dr. Chen Runhua from the Department of Gastroenterology of Beijing Oriental Hospital pointed out that our esophageal wall is very delicate and can only tolerate food at 50 ~ 60 ℃. If the temperature exceeds this temperature, the esophageal mucosa will be scalded. If this happens repeatedly, it may cause qualitative changes and develop into tumors. Therefore, the most suitable food temperature is neither cold nor hot, around 40 ℃.
eat while watching TV
It is a habit of many families not to forget to turn on the TV when eating. It seems like a trivial matter, but it is a threat to health. According to a joint survey conducted by the European Business Management Institute of France and Cornell University of the United States, Americans are more used to eating while watching TV, and generally “don’t eat when the TV program ends”, while the French mostly choose “when I’m full, I won’t eat”. The difference in habits makes the French who also love high calorie foods such as cheese and dessert less than half of the Americans overweight. Researchers suggest that you should pay attention when eating, and it is better to turn off the TV and other distractions, which is also conducive to chewing fully, controlling weight and avoiding the risk of chronic diseases.
talking about work at the dinner table
There are many people who seize the opportunity to teach their subordinates or children eloquently as soon as they eat. Fan Zhihong, an associate professor at the school of food science and nutrition engineering at China Agricultural University, points out that it’s OK to talk about everyday things at the dinner table, but if you talk about work, business and exam scores while eating, it may hinder the digestion and absorption of food. Because when people are concentrating on thinking or are under great mental pressure, the autonomic nervous function is suppressed, the blood supply of the digestive tract is reduced, and the gastric peristalsis will slow down. Especially for people with weak digestion and absorption functions, eating wholeheartedly and happily can help them fully digest and absorb food.
I can’t live without my mobile phone for a moment.
Many people, even teenagers, are used to their mobile phones, making calls, sending text messages, updating Weibo and wechat… They can’t be idle for a moment. The same is true when eating. Often when the meal is delivered to the entrance, the eyes are still staring at the mobile phone, and the food is not perceived. The children and family health promotion research center of the school of nursing of the University of Minnesota in the United States found that if parents allowed their children to play with mobile phones during meals, their children’s dietary structure was often very single, and they preferred high calorie food, which was prone to malnutrition, and the family atmosphere was relatively poor. Therefore, researchers suggest that it is better to stop using electronic products when eating, especially for minor children, and parents should restrict their behavior.
smoke a cigarette after dinner
It is often said that “a cigarette after dinner is better than a living immortal”. Many people light their cigarettes before they finish their meals. However, a number of medical studies have shown that smoking immediately after meals is extremely harmful to health, and the harm is even 10 times greater than that of smoking at ordinary times. Yang Li, Professor of the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of traditional Chinese medicine, explained that after eating, the digestive system operates, the blood circulation accelerates, and the pores of the whole body open. At this time, smoking strengthens the ability of the whole body to absorb smoke, and the harmful substances in the smoke will strongly stimulate the respiratory tract and digestive tract. Therefore, smoking should be completely banned in public places and at home, and heavy smokers should wait at least half an hour after dinner.
eat with anger
Fan Zhihong said, “eating with anxiety, anger and other negative emotions will also damage your health.”. On the one hand, negative emotions may reduce gastrointestinal function and cause indigestion; On the other hand, it may also promote the secretion of gastric juice with high acidity and pepsin, which is easy to damage the gastric mucosa. In addition, medical research has found that nervous mood will increase the level of adrenaline, thereby destroying the gastric mucosal barrier, which is an important inducement to peptic ulcer and gastritis. Therefore, it is important to quickly adjust your mood when eating, regardless of what unhappy things you have encountered before.
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