I don’t know if you have ever had such experience:
I have worked so hard to make a table of dishes, but I have no appetite at all.
Simply stir-fry a dish, eyes astringent, throat dry, and even headache, chest tightness and tinnitus.
Perhaps, someone will tell you that this is [drunk oil syndrome] coming to you!
So, what is this [drunk oil syndrome]? Is there any way to prevent it?
[Drunken Oil Syndrome] in the Kitchen
Many kitchen cooks, such as housewives and cooks, may suffer from various physical discomfort after finishing meals, including nausea, loss of appetite, discomfort in eyes, nose and throat, dizziness, headache, chest tightness and tinnitus, which is called “drunk oil syndrome”.
The main culprit causing [drunk oil syndrome] is cooking fume.
In the process of cooking, cooking oil will produce lampblack at high temperature, which contains many irritating harmful substances, which may damage the health of respiratory system, skin, etc. At the same time, the smell of lampblack may also reduce people’s appetite.
Of course, people need not be too nervous. [Drunken Oil Syndrome] is not a real disease, but a common name used to describe a kind of uncomfortable symptoms like [Holiday Syndrome] and [Spring Festival Syndrome].
Small lampblack, big hidden danger
Although the pollution range and endurance of the kitchen lampblack are not as good as the thick smog outside the window, don’t underestimate the smell of lampblack floating from time to time at home.
In addition to the discomfort caused by [drunk oil syndrome], many studies have confirmed that cooking fume contains a large amount of inhalable particulate matter and toxic and harmful substances, which is a greater health threat.
For people with respiratory diseases, it may aggravate the disease and induce asthma and inflammation.
What needs more attention is that kitchen lampblack will increase the risk of respiratory diseases and is an important pathogenic factor for lung cancer.
Clever Measures to Protect Health
We cannot do without three meals a day, and people who need to cook, or relatives who cook for us, will inevitably come into contact with cooking fume. So, is there any what method that can reduce the damage of lampblack and protect ourselves and our loved ones?
Yes! We can start from the following aspects.
1. Cooking
First of all, use the right oil.
- Be careful not to reuse cooking oil. For example, avoid using fried oil to continue cooking. In addition, do not use unrefined crude oil. For example, Many crude oils have not been refined, with many impurities and low smoke points. Smoke billows when heated slightly, which is even more harmful to people’s health. Try to choose oils with better stability, such as refined olive oil and mustard oil. Coconut oil can be selected for frying. As for virgin olive oil and walnut oil, it is best not to heat them, but to mix cold dishes directly.
Secondly, you should be able to use oil.
Don’t wait for the oil to smoke obviously before putting the vegetables. Once it starts to smoke, it means that the temperature of the oil is already relatively high. The more smoke, the more harmful substances. Therefore, as long as you faintly see a little smoke, or put the vegetables into the pan before smoking, the temperature at this time has already fried the vegetables.
Finally, use less oil.
- Try to avoid using high-temperature cooking methods such as frying, stir-frying and dry pan. Don’t stir-fry every meal, use steaming, stewing, mixing, oil boiling, etc., and choose cooking methods with less oil and low temperature. You can also use microwave oven to cook, minimizing the chance of generating harmful substances. If you really want to make fried food, you may as well buy an air frying pan, which can also effectively control the generation of lampblack.
2. Equipment
Buy a thick pot.
At present, many frying pans on the market are fast-heating type, with thin bottom, fast heat transfer, cheap and convenient. However, if such a pan cannot master the cooking time well, a large amount of lampblack and paste is inevitable.
Therefore, if the budget supports it, it is better to change to a thick-bottomed pan with slow hot spots, give yourself and the oil in the pan more time, and reduce the chance of generating a large amount of lampblack.
Protect yourself.
Wear aprons and sleeves to minimize the contact area between skin and lampblack. If necessary, you can also wear a mask when cooking to avoid inhaling too much lampblack.
Ensure ventilation.
- Ensure the air circulation in the kitchen, can effectively reduce the concentration of lampblack, reduce damage. It is best to open the window for ventilation before cooking. It is recommended that everyone install a range hood in the kitchen, and the power of the range hood must be large enough. Moreover, do not close it immediately after the meal, open it for a while, ensure that there is no smell of lampblack in the room, and then close the range hood.