In December, the weather is cold. A bowl of hot Spicy Hot Pot can warm your stomach and heart. However, many people say that Spicy Hot Pot is neither safe nor healthy because it is too oily or spicy. Is Spicy Hot Pot really like this? Fan Zhihong, a professor of the School of Food Science and Nutrition Engineering of China Agricultural University, said in an interview with the China Consumer Daily that as long as the safety of raw materials and processing hygiene are well controlled, and attention is paid to the reasonable collocation of ingredients, Spicy Hot Pot is a very good fast food, much healthier than fried food. First of all, not all Spicy Hot Pot is super hot. In a bowl of Spicy Hot Pot, although chili is as essential as sesame paste as "soul seasoning", how to add and how much to add is completely frugal and optional. Diners can choose to season with only a small amount of spicy food, add more sesame sauce rich in calcium and vitamin E for fragrance, or add an appropriate amount of garlic juice for both seasoning and sterilization. Secondly, Spicy Hot Pot has a variety of ingredients, including green leafy vegetables, bean products, algae, fungi, potatoes, fish, eggs and other ingredients. As long as it is properly matched, it is easier to achieve the requirement of acid-base balance than ordinary fast food dishes, and it also conforms to the principle of food diversity. Third, the heating temperature of Spicy Hot Pot is not high, and it will not produce soot and fat oxidation at high temperature. Moreover, during the process of washing vegetables, some oxalic acid, nitrite, and pesticide residues can be removed. Although some vitamin C is lost, it also reduces anti nutritional factors and toxic substances. Finally, the seasoning of Spicy Hot Pot can be healthy and low-fat. When washing vegetables, there is generally no need to add oil, and less oil can also be added when mixing. The raw materials contain less fat and lower calories. Of course, Spicy Hot Pot doesn't have any shortcomings. For example, if hot vegetable water is repeatedly used, the content of nitrite and oxalic acid in the water may gradually accumulate. Fan Zhihong believes that, although this is only a conclusion based on theory, and there is still a lack of measurement data to support it, from the perspective of safety, Spicy Hot Pot merchants are encouraged to regularly change the rinse water, or adopt the practice of cooking in a small pot. When eating Spicy Hot Pot, pay attention to the bacterial proliferation of food materials. Ingredients that need to be soaked should be soaked under refrigeration conditions as much as possible to avoid the growth of pathogenic bacteria and bacterial toxins. Soaked bean products, agaric, kelp and other food materials, as well as various Rice-meat dumplings, meat slices, bean products, etc., should not be kept at room temperature for a long time. They should be kept in cold storage to avoid excessive bacteria. How to enjoy Spicy Hot Pot safely and healthily? Fan Zhihong reminds consumers to pay attention to the following points: first, skillful combination of ingredients. Eat more vegetables and mushrooms, try to eat less meat products with high fat content and fried products such as instant noodles and deep-fried dough sticks, and reduce surimi products such as fish balls and crab sticks with high sodium content. Secondly, pay attention to temperature when consuming. The food just taken out of the pot is too hot, and the human mouth, esophagus, and gastric mucosa cannot tolerate a temperature of 60 ℃. The World Health Organization clearly states that hot drinks and hot meals above 65 ℃ are carcinogenic factors. To protect the oral and esophageal mucosa, you can let the food air dry for a few minutes and wait until it doesn't burn your mouth before eating. Finally, try not to add salt or add less salt to the water when rinsing vegetables. During the rinsing process, try to add as little salty seasoning as possible to avoid excessive salt intake. (Lixin News Agency) (Reporter Li Jian)