There is a folk saying that eating mutton on the winter solstice warms the winter. On the winter solstice, everyone goes to the market to buy meat and cook soup. The family sits around a pot of mutton soup to warm up and satisfy their appetites.
Many people believe that mutton has high nutritional value and is a good nourishing product for the body. So, is mutton really a good nourishing product?
Is it reasonable to eat mutton [to keep out the cold]?
Many people think that eating mutton can keep out the cold, but mutton has no outstanding nutritional characteristics.
If we compare the nutritional composition of mutton with that of two other common livestock meat, pork and beef, we can find that:
- The protein content of mutton is relatively high, about 19%, slightly lower than that of beef (19.9%). The calorie and fat content of mutton are in the middle of the three, but much less than that of pork.
While our bodies produce heat, it is important to decompose nutrients that can produce energy. In meat, protein and fat are the main components. However, we can see that mutton is not very prominent when comparing protein and fat content.
If it must be said that eating mutton is hot, it is more likely that people often use stew when cooking mutton. While eating meat, drinking hot broth will make their bodies feel warm.
Another possible explanation is that mutton is not a particularly common food in most areas. It is easy to eat more each time you eat it. After you eat the rich protein in mutton, the [food heat effect] is greater, and when you digest and absorb it, you produce more calories, making people feel warm.
In other words, if we stew pork and beef, we can also achieve similar effects as mutton by drinking soup and eating meat. Or eat more pork and beef at a meal, you can also find your body warm.
Eat mutton [get angry], why?
Although mutton is delicious, some people will say that mutton is very angry and will [get angry] after eating it, showing dryness and heat, thirst, rash, etc.
What’s going on here? Is there a solution?
In nutrition and modern medicine, there is no concept of “excessive internal heat”. The above manifestations can be explained by other scientific basis.
For example, mutton is rich in protein. As we said just now, [food heat effect] is relatively large, which can increase the heat dissipation of the body. In addition, in the process of digestion, a large amount of water in the body will be used, thus causing thirst and dryness and heat.
To solve this situation, we should pay attention to a balanced diet, not only eat mutton, staple food, vegetables also need to eat, and drink more water properly can alleviate.
Some people may be allergic to mutton. After eating mutton, rashes and other phenomena occur. At this time, we should observe the body’s reaction more and make dietary records.
If the diagnosis is allergy to mutton, try to avoid it in the future.
Generally speaking, if there is no special discomfort after eating mutton, there is no need to worry about [excessive internal heat]. However, middle-aged and elderly friends should be specially reminded to pay special attention to food intake and not eat more mutton.
China’s dietary guidelines recommend eating 50-75g of livestock and poultry meat every day, that is, less than 22 ounces, while the mutton hotpot we like to eat at ordinary times is often half a kilo to 82 ounces per plate of meat, which is beyond the standard.
Therefore, instead of worrying about mutton [excessive internal heat], let’s pay attention to how much mutton we eat first.
Mutton soup tastes good, don’t overdo it
In addition to eating meat, many people also like to drink delicious mutton soup. Many people think that the milky mutton soup boiled to milky white is the most authentic and more nutritious. In fact, milky white mutton soup has a high fat content, it is only delicious, but it is not healthy.
The milky white color of mutton soup is the result of emulsification of fat in the soup. During the process of heating, the fat becomes small particles in churning boiling water. With the help of emulsifier (such as protein), the broth, which should have been [water-oil separation], forms stable small droplets of fat that can be suspended in water.
This pot of soup with many small droplets of fat suspended, we look milky white. An important factor affecting the milky white degree of soup color is the concentration of protein and fat, especially fat. Generally, the more fat, the easier the soup is to boil to milky white.
In other words, many of the milky mutton soup is fat. For the middle-aged and elderly friends who are often beset with “three highs”, drinking too much is not a healthy choice for what.
In addition, for friends with high uric acid and gout, drinking is even less recommended.
Recommended recipe: mutton stewed radish
Today is the winter solstice. Although mutton has no outstanding nutritional characteristics, it does not prevent us from enjoying the delicious taste of mutton. Dr. Clove recommends a mutton stewed radish. The soup is delicious and is very suitable for eating in winter.
Raw materials: mutton, radish, cinnamon, orange peel.
Practice:
1. Cut mutton into pieces, peel white radish and cut into pieces, and wash cinnamon and orange peels;
2. Put clear water and mutton cold water into the pan, wait for the water to boil, take out and rinse the blood foam, and set aside for later use;
3. Make boiling water in the pan, add blanched mutton pieces, cinnamon and orange peel, boil over high heat, simmer over medium heat for 1 hour, and take out orange peel;
4. Open the lid of the pot, add white radish pieces, boil over high heat for 20 minutes, add a little salt, and serve.