Old people in China have a habit of drinking soup during meals. They believe that drinking soup can lubricate the intestines and also has high nutritional value. However, drinking soup is not as simple as it seems, and there are some misconceptions. Below, I will correct a few misconceptions about drinking soup.
1. Thick soup is more nutritious
"Thicker soup means more ingredients and higher nutritional value" is not entirely true. When meat such as pork bones, chicken, and duck are boiled in water, they release substances like peptides, purines, and amino acids, which are collectively known as "nitrogenous extracts." It is clear that the more delicious the soup, the more nitrogenous extracts it contains, including purines. Long-term intake of excessive purines can lead to hyperuricemia, which is the main cause of gout. Therefore, it is not recommended for gout patients and diabetics to drink too much "slow-cooked soup".
2. Drinking hot soup
Some people prefer to drink boiling hot soup, but the highest temperature that the mouth, esophagus, and gastric mucosa can tolerate is only 60℃. Exceeding this temperature can cause mucosal burns. Although the body has the ability to repair burns, repeated injuries and repairs can easily lead to malignant transformation of the upper gastrointestinal mucosa. According to investigations, people who eat hot food have a high incidence of esophageal cancer. Therefore, it is suitable to drink soup below 50℃ during meals.
3. Drinking soup after meals
Some people prefer to drink a big bowl of soup after finishing their meal. This is a harmful eating habit because the soup consumed at the end will dilute the already well-mixed food bolus with digestive juices, affecting the digestion and absorption of food. The correct way is to drink a few sips of soup before meals to lubricate the mouth and esophagus, reducing the adverse stimulation of dry and hard food on the gastrointestinal mucosa and promoting the secretion of digestive glands to stimulate appetite. Drinking soup in moderation during meals also helps mix food with digestive juices. For those who need to lose weight, drinking more soup before and during meals can produce a sense of fullness in advance, making it easier to control diet.
4. Drinking soup quickly
Drinking soup quickly can lead to overeating before realizing satiety, which can easily lead to obesity. It is recommended to drink soup slowly, not only to fully enjoy the taste of the soup but also to allow sufficient time for digestion and absorption of food, as well as to produce a sense of fullness in advance, which is not easy to gain weight.
5. Preferring single-flavored soup
Some people like to drink single-flavored soups like black fish soup, crucian carp soup, pork rib soup, and boiled chicken soup, thinking that these soups have a pure taste and good nutrition. However, each type of food contains different nutrients, so it is recommended to mix several animal and plant-based foods when cooking soup. This not only makes the taste more delicious but also makes the nutrition more comprehensive.
6. Only drinking the broth
Many people believe that when stewing pork rib soup or chicken soup, all the nutrients are in the broth, so they only drink the broth and not eat the meat. However, this is not correct. Regardless of the type of soup, even if it is cooked for a long time and the broth is rich, the protein in the soup is only about 6%~15%, and more than 85% of the protein nutrition is still in the meat itself. Therefore, only drinking the broth without eating the meat would result in a great loss of nutrition.
7. Only drinking soup without eating meat
Many people believe that when stewing pork rib soup or chicken soup, all the nutrients are in the broth, so they only drink the broth and not eat the meat. However, this is not correct. Regardless of the type of soup, even if it is cooked for a long time and the broth is rich, the protein in the soup is only about 6%~15%, and more than 85% of the protein nutrition is still in the meat itself. Therefore, only drinking the broth without eating the meat would result in a great loss of nutrition.
8. Rice soaked in soup
When we chew food, we not only need to chew it into small pieces for easy swallowing, but it is also important to moisten the food with saliva. Saliva is continuously produced during chewing and contains many digestive enzymes that help digestion and absorption, which is very beneficial to health. However, rice soaked in soup has become soft, so even if it is not chewed, it will not affect swallowing. As a result, the food that is swallowed often enters the stomach without going through the digestion process of saliva, which increases the burden on the stomach. In the long run, it can easily cause discomfort in the stomach.
