Twelve Answers About Food ~ Bloggerin Info

Do you care with the following questions? Is saltwater fish saltier than freshwater fish? What kind of oil is the least fatty, and therefore, the least fattening? Should fruit be peeled before eating to get rid of the insecticides? These are questions we may often have asked ourselves, may not we? Yes, we do not want things we eat will sicken or even kill us. Here are some precise, concrete answers based on studies done to date in modern nutrition.

1. Are eggs a complete food?

No, Although eggs are incomparably rich and contain almost all the elements necessary to healthy development, they contain neither carbohydrates nor vitamin C.

2. Are the fats contained in fish "good" fats?

Yes, especially in fish with a bluish flesh---sardines, herring, mackerel, salmon, tuna. These contain sufficient unsaturated fatty acids to make them be recommended in low-cholesterol diets.

3. Is saltwater fish saltier than freshwater fish?

The sodium levels in each are almost identical (an average of 60 to 64 grams). Fresh cod and hake are no saltier than trout or pike. Among the various seafoods, crustaceans and shelfish are the only ones rich in salt (lobsters contain about 210 mg per 100 grams).

4. Is fish as nourishing as meat?

Yes. One hundred grams of fish with no waste provides as much protein as 100 grams of meat. We have the impression that fish is less "nourishing" because it is digested more quickly.

5. Which oil is the least fatty, and therefore the least fattening?

All oils, from the lightest to the heaviest, are equally fatty (8145 calories per liter). Therefore, all have the same effect on weight.

6. Is milk a food for adults?

Yes and no. The mucous membrane of the intestine of infants secretes lactase, an enzyme essential to the digestion of lactose, the sugar in milk. But with years, the lactase level diminishes, and certain people can only drink milk slowly, in small quantities at a time, and accompanied by another food.

7. Should children drink whole milk?

Preferably, yes, because it contains more fat. Whole milk already contains vitamin A and, in some countries, vitamin D is added. These two vitamins, essential to growth, are also added to other milks.

8. Is spinach richest in Iron?

No. Despite its reputation, it only contains 3.70 mg. per 100 grams, while dry apricots contain 6.30 mg and pistachios 6.75.

9. Could you lack in vitamin C if you don't eat enough fruit?

No. Vegetables will give you plenty: potatoes contain 20 mg per 100 grams; asparagus, 33; fresh watercress, 43; cabbage, 47; broccoli, 93.

10. In a weight-reducing diet, can you eat as much fruit as you want?

No. People believe that fruit, which is a good source of water, vitamins and minerals, can be eaten, like some vegetables, at will. But fruit also contains sugar. A half kilo of grapes, for example, contains 350 calories.

11. Should fruit be peeled to get rid of pesticides and insecticides?

This is a rather useless precaution since the pulp of the fruit often absorbs as much of the poisonous substances as the skin does. Therefore, it is advisable for those who have no trouble with fibre to eat fruit without peeling, after washing and brushing.

12. How much water should we drink on an average everyday?

About one liter and a half. Except for people with particular problems (such as cardiac or kidney insufficiency), people generally never drink enough water, especially when they live in the dry air of their apartments and their overheated and air-conditioned workplaces. We should drink often, a little at a time, between meals and while eating.