Leftover food causes cancer, let’s listen to the experts’ explanation

Does overnight meal cause cancer? Are you all scared when you hear this? Because we often eat overnight meals, especially those office workers who like to bring their own lunch. In fact, if there is a correct way to handle overnight meals, the chance of cancer will be greatly reduced.

1. The original nitrate in vegetables will turn into nitrite after being acted upon by bacteria. When the nitrite reaches a certain level or combines with the decomposition products of some proteins in food, it will form a carcinogen called nitrosamines. Whether this carcinogen will be produced depends on how you manage food. For example, you can put freshly cooked food in a clean box and cover it with a lid. In this way, the bacteria inside will be very small. When the food is cool, put it in the refrigerator. The amount of nitrosamines produced will be as low as a few tenths of a milligram per kilogram, which is far from the level that is carcinogenic and toxic.

2. For those meals that are just cooked but not put in the refrigerator in time, and then left overnight until the next day, this will not only increase the risk of nitrite, but also the risk of bacteria is very high. Therefore, there is no problem in bringing food with you as long as it is reasonable. If the food is not turned over in the first place and is put into the refrigerator, there is no danger if you take it out and put it in the refrigerator at work or heat it in the microwave once.

3. Foods that easily produce nitrite are mainly leafy vegetables and root vegetables, such as radish, cabbage, leek, spinach, etc. They originally contain relatively high amounts of nitrate, so the risk of producing nitrite is relatively high. So there are two ways to handle this kind of food: the first is to blanch the leafy vegetables, so that most of the nitrates can be removed. After removing them, the danger of nitrites produced will be very small. Blanch them first and then put them separately in a small box and then put them in the refrigerator. Take them out and mix them the next day and there will be no problem. The second way is to simply not use these vegetables. There are many varieties of vegetables, such as beans, eggplants, tomatoes, and cucumbers. These do not produce nitrite, or even if they do, the amount is very small.

4. Meat also produces nitrite, but the potential is not that great. It will stop when it reaches a certain level and will not be high enough to cause cancer. However, the content of nitrite and nitrosamine in many processed meat products is much higher than that in vegetables. The so-called processed meat products are meats such as ham, bacon, sausage, and bacon, which can be eaten directly after opening. Nitrite is added during processing, which will inevitably produce nitrosamine carcinogens. Eating too much will inevitably promote cancer. These have been proven by international studies. Therefore, the more of these foods you eat, the greater your risk of cancer, and the more vegetables you eat, the lower your risk of cancer.