5 Toxic Kitchen Habits

Eat spoiled fruits and vegetables

Some people have the habit of being stingy with food, so they pick up wilted, rotten vegetables and cut away moldy, spoiled fruit to use, not knowing that they contain toxins.

For example, after starchy foods such as peanuts and corn spoil, they can produce Aflatoxin, which can cause genetic mutations and liver cancer if consumed repeatedly. Rotting fruits such as apples and bananas are mostly caused by microorganisms such as Alternaria and Penicillium. These two fungi can cause metabolic dysfunction and kidney edema, damage the nerves, respiratory system and urinary system, and even lead to liver cancer.

So when food gets moldy, it's best to throw it all away.

Kitchen utensils are not replaced periodically.

Kitchen utensils such as cutting boards and bamboo chopsticks are considered hotbeds of bacteria.

No matter how good the cutting board is made of, it can still leave knife marks. These places are difficult to clean, even invisible, but are a favorite hiding place for viruses and bacteria.

Bamboo and wooden chopsticks are easily soaked in grease, soap, and dirty water. If not cleaned and stored properly, they can easily become moldy and produce the carcinogen aflatoxin. Especially in the hot and humid climate of Vietnam, moldy chopsticks and cutting boards are quite common. When we eat them, it increases the risk of liver cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, and other cancers.

Therefore, it is best to replace wooden cutting boards and chopsticks every 6 months. If they are moldy, they should be thrown away and not used again. When using cutting boards, you should have separate ones for raw and cooked foods, and disinfect them regularly to avoid contamination.

Make use of excess oil

Oil and fat will undergo oxidation at high temperatures, not only reducing nutritional value, but during the frying process, it can also produce some carcinogens and increase the risk of high blood pressure.

If you want to reuse the excess oil, strain it, refrigerate it in a sealed container and use it as soon as possible. Remember to only reuse it once to minimize health risks.

Late on, early off range hood

Range hoods are often noisy and annoying, so some people rarely turn on the range hood while cooking. But in fact, even if you are just boiling water or making soup, you still need it.

The reason is because the machine helps remove grease fumes, smoke and dust particles that can be created during the cooking process. Not using the hood or turning it off immediately after cooking can make the space around the kitchen stuffy and polluted. When you inhale these fumes into your lungs regularly, you can suffer from respiratory problems and even lung cancer.

Some families often turn off the hood immediately after cooking. This is wrong because it takes time for smoke particles to spread. After cooking, let the hood run for at least three minutes.

Defrosting incorrectly

The two most common methods of thawing food are at room temperature and in water. Neither is recommended.

On the one hand, nutrients will be lost. On the other hand, these two defrosting methods will expose food to air and breed a large number of microorganisms. Although most microorganisms are destroyed by heating, some heat-stable toxins may remain in the food and not be destroyed.

The correct method of defrosting is to take the meat from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator, defrosting slowly at 4 degrees Celsius. Not only will the ice melt, but the reproduction of microorganisms will also be inhibited.