Canned food – benefit or harm

In Latin language the word "сonserv" means "to save", which means that the cans are all the products long-term storage. Currently, however, this word for products which have undergone heat treatment and stored in a sealed package, about which we'll talk.





When it comes to healthy eating, canned food clearly belong to the category of unhealthy foods, and suggest they be avoided. This ambiguity is quite strange, as products of the canning was a big breakthrough not only in food industry but also in other areas of human activity, and its inventor, the French chef Nicolas françois Appert was awarded the title "Benefactor of mankind". Canned foods make life easier for travelers and all those who by their occupations had been deprived of the opportunity to cook or to buy sufficient nutritious food, but most importantly they pushed the threat of hunger, constantly hanging over humanity until then. Why currently, the canned food has acquired such a bad reputation and is it deserved?

Danger lurking in the canned

Canned food can be vegetables, fruit, dairy, meat, fish and mixed. Regardless of the type of canned foods, meals consisting only of them, not be useful, since prolonged heat treatment loses most of the vitamins contained in the products, and this applies to all canned, without exception, including vegetable. Without vitamins, humans cannot exist for long. This unfortunate fact was opened soon after the invention of canned food, and even found its reflection in literature: remember Jack London in the story "the Mistake of the Lord God" the whole settlement was ill with scurvy, because the people ate only canned food.

The main danger associated with canned meat. The fact that one of the conditions of preservation of canned foods, is an anaerobic environment, i.e. lack of air. However, such conditions are favorable for the active growth of the bacteria Clostridium botulinum that produce toxin, which is one of the strongest poisons on Earth. Bacteria dies as a result of heat treatment, but if improperly preservation could survive, and then the cans filled with botulinum toxin will pose a serious health hazard, as their ingestion can cause severe poisoning and even death.

How to avoid danger? You need to pay attention to the condition of the banks, which provides canned goods. The causative agent of botulism in the process of life releases gas, so the banks of canned food, infected, swell during storage. Never eat the contents of the swollen and affected by the deformation of the cans, which can also be swollen. Also, no need to risk eating meat home canning because they are often made without any specific technology, or in violation of the rules of pasteurization.

Sadly, not too good for health is recognized by all favorite canned mushrooms. Mushrooms in the process of growth is easy to absorb heavy metals and other not very useful impurities from the soil, and because, given the modern environment, can be unsafe, even if you treat non-venomous species. While preservation of such toxic substances from fungi for the most part are preserved, which can lead fan of canned mushrooms on a hospital bed, so if you're not sure what the mushrooms were collected in ecologically clean place, far from the highways and industrial facilities, not worth the risk.

When canned food can be useful

Mistakenly believed that if food does not contain vitamins, they are just empty calories set. It is not so. Vitamins, though important but not the only useful component of food. The basis of human nutrition are proteins, fats and carbohydrates that are present in the canned food. There are more minerals, the presence of which in food is equally important for normal metabolism. Content vital calcium canned fish are second only to sesame seeds and hard cheeses. Especially helpful in this regard "Sardines in oil" and others made from marine fish oil-rich. In order to extract from fish food the maximum benefit, you must eat them together with seeds that result from thermal processing under pressure be quite soft. Canned fish also retain a part of the fatty acids, which fish is considered to be one of the most useful products, and such necessary health minerals, such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium.

Few people know, but there are substances that result from cooking increase their useful properties. For example, beta-carotene and lycopene that are related to antioxidants – substances that protect the body from cancer and aging. A large amount of these substances contained in carrots, so the canned food that contains carrots, already useful for health. For this reason, we recommend that eating canned tomatoes, pumpkins and other vegetables and fruits red and orange colors. Fat-soluble vitamins such as A, K, E, D resistant to heat treatment, so they can be preserved and canned products, for example, in the same fish.

The correct composition of canned

When buying canned goods, should pay attention to the ingredients listed on the packaging. Ideally, the cans should contain only what is without harm for health can be used in food products, sugar, salt, spices. They should be no extraneous chemical substances that are additional preservatives. Why the extra? Because the main preservatives are sugar and salt. Spices also improve the storage of food, as many of them contain antibacterial agents. These include, for example, clove oil contained in cloves and allspice. From this point of view, the spices can be attributed to the preservatives. All other additives, especially artificial chemical origin that are canned with a view to their longer storage is undesirable. First, most of them harmful to health, and secondly, often such additives to mask the poor quality of the canned food, because is made in accordance with the established technology, they are perfectly stored and without impurities.

As evidence, we cite the most ancient of the found canned. They had roast duck, treated with spices, bathed in hot olive oil and stored in a clay vessel, sealed with a special resin. They were found after 3000 years after manufacture, and according to experts, despite such a venerable age, they were still fit for human consumption.

Source: neboleem.net

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