If food is placed in the wrong place, the nutrients will evaporate

Under the lights of a supermarket refrigerator, the "best shelf life" of milk is only 4 hours; green vegetables and fruits will quickly rot if placed together... Once many foods are placed in the wrong place, the nutrients will quickly "evaporate".

1. Milk: Store away from light

Light not only kills bacteria, it also "kills" the nutrients in milk. Studies have found that milk will become acidic and spoil if exposed directly to sunlight for 4 minutes; under the light of a supermarket refrigerator, its "best shelf life" is only about 4 hours.

The vitamin B2 in milk is very sensitive to light and will be lost rapidly under light. Light can also oxidize the lipids in milk, causing the gradual damage of other nutrients such as vitamins A, D, B6, B12, etc. Among them, milk in glass or plastic bottles is most susceptible.

Expert advice: When buying milk in a supermarket, it is best to choose the one hidden in the last row of the shelf; after pouring the milk into the cup, it is best to drink it within 4 minutes; when buying milk, choose paper carton packaging, and put it in the refrigerator at 2℃-6℃ immediately after returning home.

2. Tea: Green tea should be stored in the refrigerator, and black tea should be stored at room temperature

Green tea has many health benefits and has been shown to help prevent heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, etc., mainly due to the catechins it contains. However, studies have found that the catechin content of green tea decreased by 32% after being left at room temperature for 6 months.

Expert advice: Green tea that you drink regularly can be stored in the refrigerator at around 5°C; if you want to store unopened tea leaves for more than a year, you should put them in the freezer. To prevent tea from becoming a "deodorizer" for the refrigerator, it is best to seal it in a tin can before putting it in the refrigerator.

Oolong tea, black tea, and jasmine tea do not need to be stored in the refrigerator. They can be preserved for a long time as long as they are placed in a dry, sealed, light-proof, and odor-free container.

3. Fruits and vegetables: Putting them together can lead to spoilage and contagion

Not only can humans get infectious diseases, but spoiled fruits and vegetables can also be "contagious." Research from Pennsylvania State University in the United States reminds us that when apples, almonds, red peppers, peaches, cantaloupes, tomatoes, etc. are placed together with other fruits and vegetables, they will release ethylene gas, causing the latter to mature and deteriorate quickly.

In addition, if the above fruits and vegetables are placed together with cruciferous vegetables and green leafy vegetables, the latter's leaves will turn yellow and rot quickly.

Expert advice: "Delicate" green leafy vegetables are best stored in the refrigerator and eaten as quickly as possible. Radishes, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions, apples, pears, etc. are all storable foods and are suitable for placing on the balcony. AiMei.com reminds you that the smaller the size of root vegetables such as potatoes, the higher the vitamin C content. It can be stored in a paper bag to prevent excessive light and oxygen from damaging the vitamin C.

4. Cooking oil: add vitamin E to the bottle

In order to make it easy to take, many housewives often put cooking oil next to the stove. Little do people know that the high temperature there will accelerate the oxidation reaction of oils, making them more likely to become rancid and spoil.

Vitamins A, D, and E in the oil will also undergo varying degrees of oxidation, reducing their nutritional value and even producing aldehydes and ketones that are harmful to the human body.

Even if it is not placed in an overheated place, studies have found that the antioxidants in bottled olive oil will decrease by 40% after 6 months. Commonly used soybean oil, peanut oil, and sunflower oil contain more unsaturated fatty acids, so they are more unstable and the nutrients are easily damaged during storage.

Expert advice: The best storage temperature for cooking oil is 10℃-25℃. Keep away from heat sources, such as gas stoves, rice cookers, and microwave ovens. After buying barreled oil, you can divide it into small bottles to avoid oxidation and rancid smell caused by constant opening and closing of bottle caps and oil contact with air.

It is best to use dark rather than transparent glass bottles to store oil; hot salt can be added to the cooking oil in a ratio of 40:1, which can absorb moisture and keep the oil clear in color and fragrant in taste; 1-2 vitamin E capsules can also be added to the cooking oil to enhance the antioxidant capacity of the oil.

5. Seasoning: Onion, ginger and garlic are best wrapped in tin foil

Many studies have confirmed that spices such as chili, fennel, and cinnamon have anti-cancer and anti-cold effects. But these health benefits won't last forever. For example, the capsaicin in chili powder is only effective for about nine months.

Expert advice: Garlic becoming hollow, scallions becoming dry, and ginger growing green hair have always been problems in the kitchen. The best solution is to cut the tin foil into appropriate sizes before storage and tightly wrap the unwashed onions, ginger and garlic. This will extend their shelf life to at least one month.

The green onions can be cut into sections or chopped, then put into a fresh-keeping box and placed directly into the freezer of the refrigerator; the allicin contained in garlic has a bactericidal function and is not easy to spoil, so it is recommended to store the whole head.

6. Cereals: Don’t buy brown rice in bulk

Studies have found that grains contain a lot of vitamin B2, and light has a great impact on their nutrition. Germ rice is affected by sunlight and ultraviolet rays, which can easily lead to oxidation of vitamin E.

The vitamin B2 in macaroni will lose 50% if it is exposed to light for just one day, and even weak light can reduce it by nearly 80% within 3 months.

The folic acid in flour is also extremely sensitive to light and oxygen.

Expert advice: Don't buy too much rice at one time, just prepare enough for 15-30 days; don't buy brown rice in bulk, although it is nutritious, it has a short shelf life, usually only half a year.

In particular, vitamin A and vitamin C will be completely oxidized if left in the air for about 3 months, and their health benefits will be lost.

When storing, pasta, rice and grains are best stored in opaque containers or rice bags. Brown rice, sesame seeds, and nuts contain oil, which can easily go bad and have a rancid smell at room temperature, so they need to be refrigerated or even frozen.