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- Traditional New Year's dishes turned out to be harmful: how to eat with health benefits
Traditional New Year's dishes turned out to be harmful: how to eat with health benefits
Olivier, herring under a fur coat and other classics of the New Year's table are unhealthy dishes. Despite the fact that they contain ingredients with important trace elements and vitamins, harmful components "overlap" the usefulness of the dishes. Experts advise replacing such foods with healthy ones and not eating more than the prescribed amount. The information about the harmfulness of traditional dishes, how much you can eat and how to replace the ingredients is in the Izvestia article.
The harm of New Year's dishes
Russians' favorite New Year's dishes contain healthy ingredients. For example, bread in sandwiches contains carbohydrates and fiber, tangerines are a source of vitamin C, and herring under a fur coat is a combination of vegetables and fish necessary for humans. According to Natalia Denisova, a senior researcher at FITZ Nutrition and Biotechnology, a dietitian, the proportion of fish in the diet of Russians does not exceed 2%, and sea fish is a source of iodine and Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.
However, in New Year's dishes, which have become traditional in Russia, there are other components that make the dish harmful.
— The benefits of classic holiday dishes are usually minimal. If you take an olivier or a herring under a fur coat, then the useful ingredients: vegetables, herbs, fish — are simply lost against the background of a large amount of mayonnaise, salt and excess potatoes. The situation is similar with a caviar sandwich: caviar itself is valuable as a source of protein and Omega-3, but the combination of white bread and butter turns the dish into a heavy fat-carbohydrate bomb," Anna Brain, a restaurant critic and author of the Neborshi project, tells Izvestia.
Olga Shuppo, founder and scientific director of the Grand Clinic network of immunorehabilitation, adaptive and preventive medicine clinics, notes in a conversation with Izvestia that most of the traditional dishes of the New Year's table should be classified as heavy and high-calorie. The list is based on salads with a high mayonnaise content, fried and baked dishes, and canned food.
The harm of the dishes, according to Brain:
— White bread sandwiches are dangerous with a combination of fast carbohydrates and processed meat products;
— Sweet soda gives a sharp and excessive dose of sugar;
— Fatty fried meat overloads the digestive system and is poorly absorbed.
Salted fish is used in herring under a fur coat, and excess salt is harmful, says Denisova. Salt is deposited in the body, causing atherosclerosis, liver and kidney diseases, and salt is also able to leach calcium from the body, and its deficiency leads to joint problems. Mayonnaise used in salads contains a lot of fat, and sprats contain transisomers of fatty acids and carcinogens, such as benzpyrene.
Safe portions of New Year's Eve meals for adults, according to Denisova:
— Herring under a fur coat — a serving of 100-150 grams;
— Olivier — 100-150 grams for New Year's Eve;
— Sandwich with sprats — 1 pc.;
— Tangerine — 3 pcs.
— The habit of long-term feasts further aggravates the situation. The digestive system is under a lot of stress. The main thing is to monitor the volume and quality of what you eat. It is important to stop when you feel full and eat in small portions. Be sure to take a break from the feast, for example, for a walk in the fresh air," Schuppo recommends.
The psychological component
New Year's Eve dishes are not just food, but tradition and care. According to the psychologist, a harsh refusal to consume can cause more harm, especially if the holiday is celebrated with the family.
— Classic dishes like olivier, herring under a fur coat or sandwiches with butter and caviar are often part of the family history. The same recipe can be passed down from generation to generation, and in this sense it performs an important emotional function, helping to maintain the connection between loved ones and maintain a sense of "we". For the older generation, cooked food is a form of caring and an expression of love. A sharp refusal can be perceived as rejection, devaluation of efforts, and even as a violation of relationships," family and child psychologist Maria Todorova notes in an interview with Izvestia.
In order for the situation to remain "eco-friendly", the expert recommends not to give up the dish and enter into conflict, but to eat a small amount. According to Todorova, such symbolic participation in a common feast is a way to keep in touch and show loved ones that they are important.
How to replace harmful products
In addition to reducing portions of unhealthy dishes, you can use another technique — replacing harmful ingredients with healthy alternatives.
— If you don't want to abandon traditional recipes, you can make them easier. For example, in olivier salad, replace sausage with boiled chicken, pickled cucumbers with fresh ones, and use homemade mayonnaise or sour cream for dressing. In a herring salad under a fur coat, use more vegetables, reduce the amount of mayonnaise, potatoes and eggs, which in combination put a lot of strain on the stomach, — says Shuppo.
She also recommends adding more dishes of fresh vegetables and fish to the New Year's table.
An alternative to harmful foods, according to Brain's advice:
— Mayonnaise — Greek yogurt with mustard or low-fat sour cream;
— Sausage in salads — boiled chicken breast or turkey;
— White bread — whole grain bread, bread rolls or lettuce leaves;
— Butter under caviar — avocado or cottage cheese;
— Sweet soda — mors or water with lemon and mint;
— Fatty meat — baked turkey or fish.
Brain argues that it is necessary to adhere to the principle and leave a few harmful dishes in the diet, while it is better to "lighten" the rest with more healthy foods. In order not to upset the family, Todorova's psychologist recommends changing dishes together.
— You can carefully make changes to recipes within the family, but it is better to do this not in the format of a ban, but in the format of dialogue and joint creativity. For example, offer to cook a light version of a familiar dish together, while preserving its appearance and symbolic meaning. Then it's not the tradition that changes, but only the form of its implementation," the expert concludes.
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