10 Common Foods That Can Be Harmful To Your Health When Cooked

One of the popular Hippocrates quotes suggests that food should be your medicine and medicine be your food. Imbalances in health condition resulting in illness are directly linked to poor nutrition, bad eating habits and improper cooking and food storage practises. While cooking, we place a substantial amount of our interest in augmenting the taste and flavour of the dish but we need to equally concentrate on maintaining the nutrition quotient our food by following right cooking and food handling practices. One small mistake can introduce toxins in your food without bringing a significant alteration in the taste factor. Overcooking or making use of improper techniques while preparing food can result in many health hazards.

Such wrong cooking practices may initially make you sick but following these practices over a period of time can build up toxins making your body a breeding ground for a host of diseases. Reheating foods or preparing meals from leftovers could adversely affect your health in both short and long run.

Here are 10 common foods that can be harmful to your health when cooked and turn toxic to cause stomach related disorders or food poisoning:

1. Potatoes

Many people love to get pre-cooking preparation ready well in advance and in case we plan to make meal with boiled potatoes, we get them boiled beforehand. But leaving cooked potatoes in room temperature can invite a host of bacteria, which actually makes it inedible. In fact, it is also suggested to never get potatoes reheated as it may induce toxins in our body making us sick.

2. Rice

Just like potatoes, never keep cooked rice in room temperature even for cooling it down. This is because cooked rice is prone to cause bacterial formation, which when consumed can cause stomach ache along with digestive disorders. Instead, cooked rice can be stored in an airtight container for the purpose of using it later.

3. Chicken

Chicken is a great source of protein but when chicken is cooled in refrigerator, the composition of protein in it undergoes a major change. Also if chicken is reheated, not only does the nutritive value depreciates, but it may also improve the risk of digestive problems.

4. Cooking Oil

Most of us have the habit of storing oil that has been already used for preparing food for the purpose of using it again. But reheating cooked oil over and over again is a wrong cooking technique that not only reduces its nutritive value but can also cause some serious stomach related issues.

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5. Burnt Toast

While most of us lead a busy lifestyle, we don’t often care to have a partially burnt toast during the morning rush. In fact, some people even have a liking for that burnt flavour. But even a small portion of burnt toast can pose serious risk on your stomach’s wellbeing. When a toast gets burnt, it releases a toxin called acrylamide, which can cause indigestion alongside other stomach ailments.

6. Nitrate Vegetables

Exposure to heat is one of the main reasons why some foods turn toxic. Vegetables like celery, beetroot and spinach are among these foods that can be harmful to your health as they are rich in nitrate. When these nitrate rich vegetables are reheated, they emit some carcinogenic properties that turn these foods into toxic, which may be harmful to health if consumed.

7. Microwave Popcorn

Most easy way to make popcorn instantly is by microwaving it. But did you know that microwave popcorn comprises of perfluorooctanoic acid, which can have detrimental impact on your health? Since it can even lead to cancer and other illnesses, stay away from the habit of making popcorn in microwave.

8. Lobster

It has been researched that when a lobster dies, there are various varieties of bacteria and toxins that start breeding on it. So the next time you want to cook a fancy meal with a lobster, ensure to boil it well before cooking in order to avoid serious digestive disorder. It would also be nice if you can get fresh lobster at getmainelobster.com to avoid any harmful bacteria.

9. Eggs

One of the most common breakfast items globally, eggs are known as the perfect source of protein one needs from their very first meal of the day. But not everyone knows that cooked eggs are prone to be best place for microorganisms to thrive upon. Many researchers have backed this fact by claiming that if eggs are kept outside for longer duration after being boiled, then atmospheric bacteria will definitely get attracted to it, making it less nutritious and more toxic in nature.

10. Mushrooms

Not everyone knows that mushrooms can turn toxic soon after they are cooked. This is because proteins in mushrooms can diminish as soon as you cut them and may cause some stomach sickness if not consumed soon after it is made.

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