Are there certain foods that can become unhealthy if you keep your food warm or reheat it? Find out more about the possible risks below!
Do you often have leftover food after dinner that you want to reheat the next day? Some of these could pose health risks because the heating process changes both the nutritional value and structure of some foods. Although this is a common and widespread practice, most people rarely think about it. How can reheating food affect your health and what else needs to be taken into account? Here is some useful information and tips that can help you eat healthier in your everyday life.
Why not keep every type of food and food warm?
It is truly amazing to learn that some reheated foods could be harmful or even poisonous. This has been a much-debated topic for some time, with nutritionists concluding that reheating certain products is actually dangerous. Such information can be especially useful for those who have a dailyMicrowave for fasterUse warm up, be really shocking. In addition, there are people who cook a few days in advance to save time and reheat the dishes. However, on the other hand, there are claims that eating cold foods can also be unhealthy for the stomach. But what methods are there for heating food? Here are the most common ones today:
- Using heated stove or oven with hot air
- Microwave irradiation to quickly warm up food by acting on the molecules.
- Induction hobs for heating food just as quickly using an alternating magnetic field with the cookware.
- Ovens with halogen lamps for gently cooking food, as should normally be the case with a steamer.
- Thermal containers with electricity or those with candles, which supposedly can be used to keep your food warm just as gently.
All of these heating or cooking methods seem harmless at first glance, but is it actually so? They can affect the body in the following ways.
What are the possible effects of heated food?
When it comes to the health risks of heating food, it should be made clear that these do not normally pose a direct threat to life. Bacteria can develop in both warm and cold conditions. If you keep your food warm, most of them will not die, but will actually be able to thrive and multiply more intensively. The reason for this is the favorable environment due to the lower temperature than cooking, which keeps such microorganisms alive. However, this condition should not be confused with food spoilage.
Unlike bad-smelling spoiled products, some of them cannot be smelled or tasted when mold spores are reheated. If stored for a longer period of time, they penetrate deeper into the food, which can certainly have negative health consequences. For this reason, experts advise against storing prepared food for more than two days, even if it is in the refrigerator. Although low temperatures theoretically keep food fresh, after more than 3 or 5 days they can actually become dangerous to your health. This may be particularly the case when reheating the following products.
What should you not keep warm or reheat as food?
Consuming meals that have already been cooked is the best possible option for a healthy diet. Otherwise, you can expect lower nutritional value and some risks to the body, especially for the following foods:
- Some fats, such as flaxseed, avocado, walnut or grapeseed oil, have a low smoke point, which is why they usually go rancid when heated. It is therefore advisable to drizzle such products on dishes instead of cooking or reheating them.
- Reheating spinach can also be unhealthy as leafy greens these days contain nitrates, which turn into nitrites. The latter are considered carcinogenic if consumed frequently.
- Beets and potatoes, which are often used to prepare dishes such as soups, can also be harmful to health if treated with heat. These can cause stomach problems when reheated and are most useful when eaten directly when cooked rather than fried.
- If you keep your food warm, it should not contain any mushrooms or champignons. If stored for a long time or heated repeatedly, bacteria will develop in them, which could also cause stomach problems, food poisoning and even heart problems.
- As for rice, when raw it contains spores that can survive despite being cooked and produce toxins when reheated. These are then linked to digestive problems such as diarrhea and vomiting.
- You should also be careful with eggs, as they have a negative effect on the digestive tract when heated, especially in the microwave.
- Last but not least, chicken is high in protein, which can be dangerous if you use it to keep your food warm. Unless you do this on low temperature for a long time. Another safe option is to consume stored meat cold in salads or on bread and butter.
Tips for reheating dishes correctly
Although such risks seem difficult to avoid when repeatedly heating food, it could be possible with a clever approach. To eat healthier and prevent health and stomach problems caused by it, you can follow the following guidelines:
- You should keep as much food warm as you will actually eat. Therefore, only heat your meals in portions so that fewer microorganisms develop in them.
- Also try to reheat the dishes at a maximum temperature of 70°C, although this may take longer. This means the structure and nutritional value of the food is better preserved.
- Keep prepared food in the oven or on the stove for a maximum of 2 hours, otherwise bacteria can develop in it.
- If you're reheating oven dishes, it should take at least 10 minutes, while you can reheat stews or soups. It is advisable to remove the meat and vegetables first in order to heat only the liquid. You can heat these products in cooking water as no harmful substances are formed during the process.
- Use the microwave for liquid dishes and warm solid dishes in the oven or on the stovetop.
- Prevent contamination from transmitted bacteria by not heating raw and cooked foods together.
Also read: “HEATING UP FRIES AND RICE: THIS IS HOW YOU CAN AVOID MUSHY OR CLUMPY LEFTOVERS FROM DAYS AGO!”
