粉碎12個食物謠言：從三秒規則到睡前能否吃芝士

Almost half of us think food can only be frozen the day we buy it – and 38% think you can’t refreeze cooked meat.
我們當中有接近一半的人都認爲食物只能在購買當天冷藏，38%的人則認爲熟肉製品不宜冷藏。

According to a new poll for the Food Standards Agency (FSA), there is widespread confusion around the safety of frozen food as households waste the equivalent of about six meals a week. And it’s not just frozen food we get in a pickle about – more than two thirds of those surveyed by the FSA had thrown food away in the past month, including bread, fruit, vegetables and leftover meals which probably would have been fine.
食物標準局（FSA）最新的調查顯示，人們普遍質疑冷凍食品的安全性，每戶家庭平均每星期會浪費相當於6頓飯的冷藏食品。並不僅僅是冷凍食品陷入尷尬境地——超過三分之二的受訪者在過去的一個月曾丟棄其他食物，包括麪包，水果，蔬菜和一些本無礙健康的剩菜剩飯。

So, it seems, when it comes to food myths, we all could do with learning a few home truths. Here top nutritionist Juliette Kellow takes us through what’s really true when it comes to food no nos and what’s just an old wives’ tale...
看來我們是該揭露這些食物傳言背後的真相了。在下文中，高級營養師朱麗葉·凱洛將帶我們一起分辨盛傳的食品傳言中哪些是真禁忌，哪些只是無稽之談。

1 MYTH: Eating celery burns more calories than you take in
傳聞1：吃芹菜能幫助你燃燒比你所攝入的更多的卡路里。

TRUTH: Bad news for dieters: celery does not contain “negative” calories, meaning you won’t burn fat the more you eat.
真相：這對節食者來說也許是個噩耗，芹菜並不含有所謂的“負卡路里”，這意味着你吃再多的芹菜也於燃脂無益。

But, with just two calories per stalk and it being a good source of fibre, it’s a great snack to munch on if you’re trying to control your weight.
但是，芹菜每株只有2卡路里，同時富含植物纖維。如果你想控制體重的話，把它當成解饞的零嘴倒是個不錯的主意。

2 MYTH: Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are less nutritious than fresh ones
傳聞2：冷凍或罐頭果蔬與新鮮果蔬相比營養成分更少。

TRUTH: Fruit and veg that are to be canned or frozen are usually processed very quickly after they’ve been picked. This means they retain most of their vitamins and minerals. In contrast, many ‘fresh’ fruit and veg may have travelled long distances, been stored for some time, and then spent days on the supermarket shelves and in your kitchen, during which time, many nutrients such as vitamin C and folate (a B vitamin) will have been lost.
真相：事實上恰恰相反！工廠往往都在蔬果採摘後的極短時間內加工製成罐頭或速凍果蔬。這意味着這些果蔬保留了大部分的維他命和礦物質。 而所謂的“新鮮”果蔬可能經過了長途運輸，在倉庫裏儲存了一段時間，又在超市貨架上存置了幾日，在你買回家後，又在廚房呆了些時日。等到你食用時，這些果蔬中的許多營養物質，諸如維生素C和葉酸（維生素B的一種）業已流失。

3 MYTH: Raw carrots are more nutritious than cooked ones
傳聞3：生胡蘿蔔比熟胡蘿蔔更具營養。

TRUTH: Cooking actually increases carrots’ nutritional value because their tough cellular walls are broken down in the process, allowing the body better access to beta-carotene, which the body uses to make vitamin A.
真相：熟胡蘿蔔其實更有營養，這是因爲高溫有助於分解胡蘿蔔組織結構中堅韌的細胞壁。人體因此能夠更好地攝取β-胡蘿蔔素，這種胡蘿蔔素對人體制造維生素A大有裨益。

Adding a little fat to them also helps the body to absorb beta-carotene, so roasting in a little olive oil is a great way to serve them.
此外，在烹飪胡蘿蔔時加點油脂也能夠促進人體對β-胡蘿蔔素的吸收，所以烤胡蘿蔔時加點橄欖油是個不錯的選擇。

4 MYTH: Eggs should be avoided because of their high cholesterol content
傳聞4：雞蛋的膽固醇過高，不宜多食。

TRUTH: For years the humble egg has been considered a health risk due to its high cholesterol content – but health experts now know that the cholesterol in food has little impact on our blood cholesterol (unless we have a genetic condition that predisposes us to high cholesterol).
真相：長年以來，不起眼的雞蛋因其過高的膽固醇而被人們認爲存在健康風險。——但是健康專家現在發現，食物中的膽固醇對人體血液中膽固醇的影響微乎甚微。（除非我們的基因先天決定我們體內有極高的膽固醇）

Instead, it’s high intakes of saturated fats that increase the cholesterol in our blood, putting us at risk of heart disease.
事實上，過度攝取飽和脂肪酸纔會增加人體血液中的膽固醇含量，同時也會提高患心臟病的風險。

Eggs are also a good source of inexpensive, high quality protein – great if you’re a vegetarian – as well as many other nutrients including zinc, iron and vitamin D.
物美價廉的雞蛋富含優質蛋白，這對素食主義者來說無疑是個福音，同時雞蛋裏面還含有許多其它營養元素，例如鋅、鐵和維生素D。

5 MYTH: Feed a cold, starve a fever
傳聞5：感冒宜食，發燒宜餓。

TRUTH: There’s no medical reason to limit foods when you’re feverish – but you might have less of an appetite meaning you can’t tolerate many foods. The raised temperature with a fever actually increases your metabolic rate, which burns more calories, so it actually becomes more important to take in extra calories.
真相：沒有任何醫療證據表明發燒時需要控制飲食——當然你可能因食慾不振而無法下嚥過多食物。實際上，上升的體溫提高了人體的代謝率，從而讓人體燃燒了比平常更多的卡路里，因此及時攝取額外的卡路里反而是十分必要的。

The priority though should be making sure you drink plenty – all the sweating that goes with a fever means your losing more fluid than normal and so can quickly become dehydrated.
當然，在發燒時，最重要的是要多喝水——發燒帶來的一場大汗意味着你比平時流失掉了更多的水分，很容易就會缺水。

6 MYTH: Gluten free foods are healthier
傳聞6：不含麩質的食物更健康。

TRUTH: Unless you have coeliac disease (just 1% of the population) there is no need to reach for the pricey gluten-free options in the supermarket.
真相：除非你得了乳糜泄（對麩質不耐受引起小腸粘膜病變爲特徵的一種原發性吸收不良綜合徵，全球只有1%的人患有此症），否則你沒必要在超市購買昂貴的無麩質食品。

In fact, a lot of gluten-free products are much higher in fat, salt and sugar.
事實上，市面上許多無麩質食品往往在脂肪、鹽分和糖分上較普通食品更高。

Meanwhile, if you think you may have the condition, giving up gluten will simply make it much harder for you to get a proper diagnosis.
同時，要是你懷疑自己是乳糜泄患者，完全放棄麩質食物只會讓你更難得到正確診斷。7 MYTH: Red meat is bad for you
傳聞7：紅肉（豬、牛、羊等）對你的健康有害。

TRUTH: Red meat is rich in protein and a variety of vitamins and minerals.
真相：紅肉富含蛋白質及多種維生素和礦物質。

But you still shouldn’t each too much as studies show that eating large amounts increases the risk of bowel cancer.
當然，過多的食用確實對人體不好。研究表明，過量食用紅肉會增加患腸癌的風險。

The Department of Health recommends a maximum of 70g of red or processed meat each day, with the emphasis on eating more fresh meat. Swap to fish and chicken.
衛生部建議人們每天最多攝取70克的紅肉或肉類製品，特別強調要多吃新鮮肉類，同時交替食用魚肉和雞肉。

8 MYTH: The three-second rule
傳聞8：三秒規則

TRUTH: Sorry, but that strawberry you just dropped on the kitchen floor becomes contaminated with bacteria within milliseconds so that three-second rule is useless.
真相：很抱歉，無論你手速多塊，草莓掉在廚房地上的那一瞬間就被污染了。細菌能在幾毫秒內附着食物，所謂食物落下三秒內仍乾淨的規則其實是無稽之談。

Just give it a good wash under the tap.
還是老老實實把撿起來的草莓好好洗洗吧！

9 MYTH: Sugar causes kids to be giddy
傳聞9：糖會引發兒童多動症。

TRUTH: There’s no evidence that sugar causes children to become hyperactive.
真相：沒有證據表明糖分攝取與兒童多動之間的關係。

But regularly eating sugary foods and drinks is proven to increase the risk of tooth decay and large amounts have been linked to obesity in both children and adults.
但是，無論是兒童還是成年人，經常食用含糖的食品飲料確實會提高蛀牙的風險，過量的攝取還容易引起肥胖症。

Sugary drinks in particular are thought to result in bigger weight gains and make us more prone to getting type 2 diabetes.
尤其是含糖飲料，常喝會導致體重大幅增加，甚至還會讓我們更易患上2型糖尿病。

Children aged four to six should have no more than 5tsp free sugars a day, and six to 10 year old, a maximum of 6tsp.
四歲到六歲的兒童每天攝取糖分不宜超過5茶匙，六歲到十歲的兒童每天最多攝取量是6茶匙。

10 MYTH: Cheese gives you nightmares
傳聞10：睡前吃奶酪，你會做噩夢。

TRUTH: There’s no science to support the idea that cheese – or any other food – gives us nightmares.
真相：沒有科學證據表明芝士——或任何一樣食物——能讓人做惡夢。

Cheese is however, high in saturated fat and that may affect your cholesterol levels!
但是芝士飽和脂肪酸含量極高，多吃倒是有可能提高你的膽固醇水平噢！

11 MYTH: Mixing drinks gives you a worse hangover
傳聞11：混合飲用酒精飲料加重宿醉。

TRUTH: Your head’s pounding, your mouth is dry and you can’t remember how you got home. And then you recall that vodka shot, followed by a bottle of beer... and a red wine nightcap.
真相：你的腦袋沉重，嘴脣乾裂，甚至不記得自己是怎麼回家的。然後突然想起了自己喝完伏特加酒後又來了瓶啤酒...睡前又忍不住酌了點葡萄酒。

But mixing drinks doesn’t actually make you more drunk, or give you a worse hangover. It’s all down to the total amount of ethanol (the proper name for alcohol) you have consumed.
事實上，混合飲用酒精飲料並不會增添你的醉意，也不會讓你的宿醉反應更嚴重。醉酒的程度全歸咎於乙醇（酒精的學名）的攝入總量。

And don’t fall for the ‘hair of the dog’ either – it’s a myth that will simply prolong the agony as your body has to process yet more booze!
同樣，也別輕信“以酒解酒”的神話——這隻會延長身體的苦楚，因爲你的身體需要消化更多的酒精。

12 MYTH: Don’t reheat rice
傳聞12：不要重複加熱米飯。

TRUTH: Uncooked rice can contain spores of a bacterium called Bacillus cereus. The bacteria themselves are killed by heat, but the spores can survive the cooking proves, and so if left at room temperature after cooking can grow into bacteria, which multiply and cause toxins that lead to sickness and diarrhoea.
真相：未煮熟的米飯中包含一種名爲蠟樣芽孢桿菌的細菌孢子。這種細菌能被高溫殺死，但它的孢子卻能夠在高壓鍋裏存活。所以，一旦煮熟的米飯被置於常溫之下，這些孢子就能成長爲繁殖能力極強的細菌，排出導致腹瀉及其他疾病的毒素。

That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy leftover rice. Once it’s cooked, cool it within an hour, then pop in a sealed container in the fridge for a maximum of one day.
然而，這並不意味着你不能繼續享用沒吃完的米飯。在米飯煮熟後，將其於一個小時內冷卻，然後存至密封盒內，再放入冰箱，保鮮效果可長達一天。

When reheating, make sure it’s steaming hot throughout – and do not reheat more than once.
當重新加熱時，請確保米飯足夠熱氣騰騰——而且一次就夠了，可別再反覆加熱了哦。