Salad is known as a healthy food that provides many benefits for the body. However, eating salads can also be unhealthy if you do it wrong. There are several important things that must be considered in choosing and preparing salads so that the maximum benefits and risks can be avoided.
Salad is a type of food made from fruits or vegetables that are generally raw. Eating salads can provide intake of vitamins, minerals, and fiber that are needed by our body. With the fulfillment of daily needs for these various nutrients, our risk for heart, lung and liver disease, digestive disorders, strokes, obesity, cataracts, macular degeneration, and cancer can be reduced.
In addition, eating raw vegetables and fruits in salads can also maintain mental health and improve mood or mood.
Risks of Eating Salad
Although eating vegetables and fruits is highly recommended, you need to be careful. Sometimes raw fruits and vegetables carry harmful germs, such as Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli, which can cause food poisoning.
Pregnant women, elderly people, and patients who are undergoing chemotherapy, taking corticosteroid drugs, or using immunosuppressive drugs are more prone to infection, so you should avoid eating raw salads.
In addition, dressing or salad dressing, such as mayonnaise, ranch dressing, blue cheese, or Thousand Island; and salad toppings, such as cheese, bacon, beans, potatoes, or dry bread will increase the number of calories in the salad. Eating salads with lots of extra dressings and toppings can cause weight gain.
Mayonnaise and dressings in salads contain lots of saturated fat, calories, and salt. As an illustration, one tablespoon of mayonnaise contains about 94 calories and 10.3 grams of fat, while one tablespoon of Thousand Island sauce contains about 60 calories and 5.5 grams of fat.
How to Make a Healthy Salad
So that the salad you consume provides maximum benefits and does not actually cause disease, there are some important things that must be considered, namely:
1. Selection of vegetables and fruit
For salad ingredients, choose fresh fruits and vegetables that don't look defective. If the fruit or vegetables have been cut into pieces, choose those that are stored in cold temperatures or placed on ice. Separate vegetables and fruits from raw meat, fish and seafood in a shopping basket or bag.
2. Vegetable and fruit hygiene
Wash fruits and vegetables with running water while rubbing with your hands, to clean dirt and dirt. If necessary, use a brush to scrub the skin of hard fruits and vegetables, such as cucumbers or melons. Cut and discard parts of fruit and vegetables that look deformed. For lettuce and cabbage, remove the outer leaves.
3. Cleanliness during salad making
Wash hands and kitchen utensils, including cutting boards and countertops, before and after making salads. The aim is to prevent salads from being contaminated with harmful germs. To process vegetables and fruit, use cutting boards, knives, and cooking tools that are different from those used to process meat.
4. Storage
Fruits and vegetables that have been peeled or cut should be put in clean containers, and immediately stored in the refrigerator in less than 2 hours, or less than 1 hour if the temperature is hot enough (> 32 ° C), if the salad is not consumed immediately. Do not place salads near raw meat, so they are not contaminated by bacteria.
5. Topping and dressing salads
Limit the number of salad toppings, such as cheese, bacon, sausage, ham or dry bread; and the amount of mayonnaise and dressing, such as ranch dressing, blue cheese and Thousand Island added to salads.
For a healthier salad dressing, use yogurt or vinaigrette, which is a mixture of vinegar or lemon juice with olive oil or canola. In addition to adding flavor, the addition of oil to salads can help the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E and K.
Although it has several risks, eating salad is highly recommended because it provides many health benefits. By applying the methods above, the risk of eating salad can be avoided. To find out more about the mixture and how to make salads that are healthy and according to your health conditions, do not hesitate to consult with a nutrition specialist.
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