The colleague invited Mr. Zhang to dinner, and after drinking a bottle of wine, the colleague made a request: he wanted to borrow 50,000 yuan.
It turned out that his colleague was renovating recently, but the total of the large and small expenses had far exceeded the 200,000 he had prepared before, after all, a set of European dishwashers that his wife had taken a fancy to cost nearly 20,000 yuan.
Mr. Zhang didn't understand: "How can you buy such an expensive dishwasher?" ”
"My wife said that if one person washes dishes, the whole family will cause cancer, so it is more reassuring to use a dishwasher."
The colleague smiled: "Spending money on a dishwasher is better than spending money on a hospital." ”
Washing dishes is something that every family does every day, but not every family will buy a dishwasher to keep at home. So is the statement that "one person washes dishes, the whole family causes cancer" really reliable? Experts have actually given advice a long time ago!
1. Washing the wrong dishes = chronic suicide?
Seeing this, there must be many friends who have begun to question, can you wash the dishes wrong? But in fact, there are several misunderstandings in the simple matter of washing dishes that can bring health risks to our families.
Myth 1: Just wash the dishcloth
The dishcloth is never washed and can be used forever.
In 2011, the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association issued a "Small Rag, Big Problem!" The white paper on household hygiene surveys shows a particularly frightening set of data: the total number of single bacteria in dishcloths collected from Beijing and Shanghai is as high as about 500 billion, and it also contains 19 conditionally pathogenic bacteria, including E. coli.
Therefore, it is recommended to replace the dishcloth once in 1~3 months, and do not use it all the time.
Myth 2: Dishes and chopsticks do not dry
In life, many people put chopsticks in the cabinet without drying them after washing, but this is actually not hygienic. The moisture content of wooden chopsticks is very high when they are cleaned, and if they are not dried at this time, but placed in a dark and humid environment, then it is very likely to breed a large number of molds, and even produce aflatoxin, which is harmful to human health.
误区三:洗碗省landing water
For many frugal people, they are often reluctant to use too much water when washing dishes, but this may lead to unclean dish soap, resulting in chemical residues, resulting in increased metabolic burden on the liver.
Myth 4: Soak the dishes and chopsticks to wash
Don't wait until you're free to wash the dishes.
Many people like to soak the dishes and chopsticks and wash them later, but the bacteria multiply regularly, 4 hours is enough to increase their size, and after 4 hours, they will multiply explosively and quickly.
Myth 5: Put the dishes on top of each other after washing
Don't stack the dishes together in the cupboard after washing.
The China Household Electrical Appliances Research Institute once conducted a well-known set of experiments in which the testers first disinfected the dishes and then coated them with sterile broth. Next, the tableware is divided into two groups, the first group is stacked directly after washing and placed in the cupboard, and the other group is washed and placed on the shelf and placed in a ventilated place.
The results after 3 days were shocking, the total number of colonies standing on the tableware met the relevant hygiene standards in the mainland, and the number of bacteria stacked on top of the table was 560,000 cfu (number of colonies) per set, which was dirtier than when the dishes were not washed.
2. A 60-year-old lady was reluctant to throw away the moldy corn and lived in an ICU of tens of thousands of yuan
In fact, whether it is not changing the rag or reluctant to use water, many health misunderstandings are because of the word "province".
But the word "province" often comes at the cost of health. Coincidentally, Mrs. Zhang from Guangxi was reluctant to throw away the moldy corn, which led to the family entering the ICU.
It turned out that Mrs. Zhang's corn was moldy, and Mrs. Zhang thought that she would not waste it, so she made it for everyone to eat for breakfast. Unexpectedly, everyone ingested an excessive dose of aflatoxin because of these moldy corns, and ended up in the hospital together.
Because he was reluctant to spend a few dollars, he had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to be admitted to the ICU, which can be said to be quite unworthy.
Among these "saved" cases, aflatoxin is not the only one that "pits" Mrs. Zhang, and it can be seen almost everywhere in related cases.
So what is aflatoxin?
Aflatoxins are metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, which is a highly toxic substance.
In 1993, aflatoxins were classified as class I carcinogens by the World Health Organization's cancer research agency, and Gao Qilong, director of the first ward of the Oncology Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine of Henan Provincial Cancer Hospital, pointed out that aflatoxins are the most toxic mycotoxins that have been discovered, and aflatoxin B1 is 68 times more toxic than arsenic and 75 times more toxic than carcinogen dimethylnitroamine.
Studies have shown that 1 mg of aflatoxin is enough to cause cancer, and an adult who ingests 20 mg of aflatoxin at a time can die.
It can be said that aflatoxins are well-deserved "drug kings".
In daily life, we should pay attention to these 3 points if we want aflatoxin.
Do not hoard food and keep food in a ventilated and dry place; Avoid using moldy chopsticks and cutting boards, and disinfect the kitchen regularly; Moldy food should be discarded decisively, do not eat, even if the moldy area is cut off, it is not safe.
3. Be vigilant! There is a risk of cancer in the 3-piece set that you always have at home!
In addition to the potential health problems for your family when washing dishes, these three areas of the kitchen are actually important hidden dangers.
1. Refrigerator
Flipping through the fridge, we can often see stuffed food, and some people even put leftovers in unsealed plastic wrap. Because everyone subconsciously thinks that the refrigerator has the function of keeping fresh, and the food is safe to put in.
However, surveys have shown that refrigerators are the second most polluted in the home, which not only breeds all kinds of bacteria, but also allows mold to multiply and spread, and mold is also a first-class carcinogen.
Therefore, the refrigerator should be cleaned and disinfected in a timely manner every month.
2. Oil pot
Many people have an oil pot at home, and when the oil is used up during the stir-fry, they pour in new oil and continue to use it, so that the oil pot is in a state of repeated use and no cleaning.
However, some tests have found that the degree of oil oxidation and rancidity of the residual oil in the oil pot with oil scale is much higher than that of the new oil pot. What's more, it produces a lot of terrible carcinogens, which are easy to be poisoned after eating, causing acute respiratory and circulatory failure, and there is also a risk of carcinogenicity.
Therefore, the oil pot at home should be kept away from the stove to avoid high temperatures, and at the same time, it should be cleaned regularly.
3. Range hood
Cooking is inseparable from the range hood, which can discharge the smoke and reduce the damage to the cook's body, but there is no timely cleaning of the range hood, its existence is also a harm to the cook.
This is because the long-term use of the range hood will deposit a large amount of oil, which not only makes it unsmooth exhaust, but also may produce carcinogens after the rancid oil scale volatilizes when exposed to heat. If the human body absorbs this for a long time, it will cause harm to the respiratory system and may also induce lung cancer.
Therefore, the range hood generally needs to be deeply cleaned after 6 months, in addition, it takes time for the range hood to remove the exhaust gas, do not turn off the range hood immediately after frying, you should let the machine continue to run for 3~5 minutes.
Resources:
[1] "Tableware is not drained after washing, which is equivalent to "invalid" dishwashing? 》. Public Health News.2021-05-13
[2] "Super carcinogens around me - aflatoxins! 》. Qingdao Disease Control.2023-10-16
[3] "The "number one killer" in grain - aflatoxin! 》. Zibo CDC.2024-6-12
[4] "Be on Alert! These things in the kitchen may be carcinogens! 》. People's Daily Online.2021-4-13