INGREDIENTS YOU SHOULD NOT WEIGH YOUR HAND WHEN PREPARING MEALS

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Experienced cooks usually know exactly how much to put in each ingredient so that it tastes just the way they want it. The problem is that, in the habit, many end up not even questioning if they are using an exaggerated amount of some ingredient. While a little more or less isn’t really a big issue, hand weighing on some can be detrimental to your health. That’s why we’ve listed some that you should pay more attention to when preparing meals. Take a look:

Too much salt can cause hypertension

The first on the list is possibly what Brazilians weigh the most when preparing food. After all, we put salt in everything. The problem is that the foods we prepare often already contain sodium, which makes us consume much more of the nutrient than necessary. Okay, but what does it mean? Simple: too much sodium can cause hypertension and cardiovascular disease in general. Therefore, the ideal is to consume only 2 grams of salt per day, and this includes what is present in other foods, especially industrialized ones – sodium champions. Of course, it is not to cut the ingredient altogether, just to use it more sparingly.

Refined flour raises the glycemic index

Refined flour is also very present in the diet of Brazilians, even more so because, like salt, it is used in the preparation of various foods. Celiacs, of course, cannot consume it, but everyone outside this food group often exaggerates the amount of flour when preparing a dish, be it salty or sweet. The problem is that it is rich in carbohydrates, which in excess is bad, as it raises and raises the glycemic index. Quickly explaining, refined products take a lot of fiber out of the food matrix. Therefore, carbohydrate is more “available”, and this makes the glycemic index go up. It is also good to remember that this index is related to diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and therefore should not be consumed in excess. Therefore, always prefer wholemeal flour.

Brown sugar is better than refined and demerara, but it can still cause diabetes

Yes, you didn’t read that wrong, we are talking about brown sugar. This is because, although it is much healthier than refined or even demerara, it is still a sugar, so it should be used with caution. Another factor that deserves attention is that many people end up using brown sugar in greater amounts than refined sugar because it is not so sweet, and so they try to compensate for the difference by weighing their use. Remembering that sugar, in addition to being a contributing factor to obesity, can also cause diabetes, and therefore its consumption should be reduced as much as possible.

Vegetable oil is not necessarily healthier

Finally, we have vegetable oil, another ingredient often used in preparing meals. Although it helps to reduce bad cholesterol, being subjected to high temperatures can end up causing more harm than good. That’s because, at that time, it generates a substance called acrolein, which in turn accelerates aging and is associated with some types of cancer. Therefore, saturated fat, which is animal, should not always be seen as a villain, since in these cases it is more suitable than unsaturated fat.