The thermos cup under the health standard is really not as safe as you think.
As the saying goes, "there are three treasures in middle age, and the Chinese wolfberry and jujube thermos cup." After beginning of winter, thermos cups became the standard for many middle-aged people, and even some young people started the "health-preserving mode" and made jujube and wolfberry tea with thermos cups. But friends who like to drink like this should pay attention, because if you are not careful, the thermos cup in your hand may turn into a "bomb" — —
A good thermos cup, why does it explode after soaking red dates and medlar? What drinks are not suitable for putting in a thermos? How do we choose qualified and healthy thermos cups? Today, I will talk to you about the "thermos cup".
Soaking dates and medlar in a thermos cup caused an explosion.
In August 2020, a girl in Fuzhou soaked red dates in a thermos cup but forgot to drink them. Ten days later, when the thermos cup was unscrewed, an "explosion" occurred, and the lid of the cup popped up, causing the girl’s right eyeball to rupture.
In January, 2021, Ms. Yang from Mianyang, Sichuan was preparing to eat when the thermos cup with Lycium barbarum on the table suddenly exploded, blasting a hole in the ceiling … …
In this regard, experts explained that red dates, boat-fruited Sterculia and other hair products will ferment after soaking in water. Then the sealed air of the thermos cup is added with the expanding gas, which is easy to cause the phenomenon of "gushing" at the moment when the bottle cap is unscrewed.
In fact, the explosion occurred when the vacuum cup was soaked in red dates and medlar, which was caused by excessive gas production by microbial fermentation.
There are many sanitary dead ends in our thermos cup, such as a large number of bacteria hidden in the gap between the inner container and the bottle cap; However, dried fruits such as jujube and medlar are rich in nutrition, and the sugar and other components in them are dissolved after soaking in water, which is easier to be used by microorganisms.
Therefore, in an environment with suitable temperature and sufficient nutrients, these microorganisms will ferment to produce a large number of gases such as carbon dioxide, and the longer the time, the more gases they produce; The air pressure in the closed thermos cup is getting bigger and bigger. Once the lid of the cup is unscrewed suddenly, hot water may gush out, causing an "explosion" to injure people.
This also reminds everyone that the use of thermos cups is very knowledgeable. If you are not careful, the thermos cup will become a "killing cup".
The risk of "explosion" of the thermos cup is also these.
Nowadays, many parents pursue health preservation and like to soak medlar or other health tea in a thermos cup. Sometimes, by the way, children will be given some scented tea, especially in the season of changing seasons. Functional teas such as moistening the lungs and drying are very popular with parents. However, it should be noted that there are certain hidden dangers in soaking scented tea in the thermos cup.
Through the above analysis, we can know that the food with rich nutrition and suitable for microbial reproduction is an important factor leading to the explosion if it is placed in a thermos for a long time. Therefore, in addition to red dates and medlar, longan, tremella and other high-sugar and high-nutrient foods, it is best to soak and drink them now, and not to put them in a thermos for a long time.
In addition, effervescent tablets and other drugs will quickly release a large amount of carbon dioxide after contact with water, and carbonated drinks themselves contain a large amount of gas. This kind of food will increase the air pressure in the cup. If it is shaken, it is likely to cause the cup to burst, so it is best not to brew or store it in a thermos cup.
Another important reminder is that many people like to put boiling hot water in the cup, thinking that it will last longer, but there are two "dangers" in doing so — — First, boiling water is put into a thermos cup, which takes a long time to cool, so it can’t easily enter the mouth and it is inconvenient to go out for drinking; Second, boiling water into the cup, after opening again, there is a danger of hot air spewing, which is easy to hurt your hands or face.
[Tips]
In fact, what we usually call "drinking hot water" means drinking warm water, not hot water. Therefore, the water usually put into the thermos is best not to exceed 65 degrees Celsius; When using a cup with good sealing performance, such as a thermos cup, it is best to preheat it with hot water and then pour it out, and then add hot water to avoid the sudden increase of air pressure due to excessive temperature difference, which will cause the hot water to "gush"; It is best not to unscrew the lid of the cup at once before drinking. You can release gas by carefully opening and closing the lid repeatedly, and don’t point the mouth of the cup at people when opening it to prevent injury.
These drinks had better not be put in thermos cups.
Because of its outstanding heat preservation function and good sealing, many people use it to soak red dates and medlar, and also to hold milk and soybean milk. Experts say that although some drinks are packed in thermos cups, there is no hidden danger of explosion, but they may affect the nutrition and taste of drinks, and even shorten the service life of thermos cups!
Making tea in a thermos cup: loss of nutrients
Tea contains tea polyphenols, tea polysaccharides, caffeine and other nutrients, which has a strong health care effect. When hot water is used to make tea in a teapot or ordinary glass, the active substances and flavor substances in the tea will soon dissolve out, making the tea fragrant and sweet. However, if you use a thermos cup to make tea, it is equivalent to boiling tea with high-temperature water, which will destroy the active substances and aromatic substances in tea due to excessive heating, resulting in nutrient loss, dark color and bitter taste of tea soup.
Milk and soybean milk in thermos cup: perishable
Milk, soybean milk and other high-protein drinks, it is best to keep them in a sterilized or low-temperature environment. If it is placed in a thermos for a long time after heating, the microorganisms in it will easily multiply, leading to rancidity of milk and soybean milk, and even floc, which will easily cause gastrointestinal discomfort symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea after drinking. In addition, milk contains acidic substances such as lactose, amino acids and fatty acids. If it is stored in a thermos for a long time, it may react with the inner wall of the thermos and lead to the dissolution of some alloy elements. Drinking these water containing heavy metals for a long time is tantamount to "chronic poisoning"! Therefore, it is suggested that hot milk, soybean milk, etc. should not be filled in thermos cups as far as possible, and these drinks should not be left for too long, and it is best to drink them within 3 hours.
Chinese medicine in thermos cup: perishable and difficult to clean.
Some people are used to frying Chinese medicine in a thermos cup and drinking it several times a day. However, it should be noted that the temperature in the thermos cup is high, and the traditional Chinese medicine is prone to deterioration after being placed for a long time. It is generally recommended to put it in the refrigerator after cooling, and then heat it until it is warm when you want to drink it next time. Moreover, the acidity and alkalinity of traditional Chinese medicine are different, which may also corrode the stainless steel inner wall of the thermos cup and produce chemical reactions; If you use a fake thermos cup, it will also dissolve heavy metals in the soup, which will hurt your health even more. In addition, if the traditional Chinese medicine is filled in a thermos for a long time, the special taste of the traditional Chinese medicine will be "adsorbed" in the gap between the wall of the thermos or the bottle cap, and it will be more difficult to clean and deodorize the thermos later.
Do it and pick it out.
Qualified thermos cup
In this way, although the thermos cup is powerful, not everything can be loaded, and it may cause hidden dangers if you are not careful! Of course, if you want to use the thermos safely, you have to choose qualified and healthy products besides figuring out its users. So how do we choose them?
Look at the mark: identify the material of the liner
The liner material of the thermos cup is generally made of stainless steel. At present, there are three kinds of common stainless steel materials in the market, which can be identified by the marks on the bottle mouth or liner — —
201 stainless steel: It is industrial grade stainless steel, and its corrosion resistance is poor, so it can’t resist acidic solution at all. Even in water, rust spots will appear, so it is not recommended to buy it.
304 stainless steel: it is recognized as food-grade stainless steel with good processability and corrosion resistance. Generally, there will be marks such as SUS304, S304XX, 304, 18/8 and 18-8 on the bottle mouth or liner.
316 stainless steel: it is medical grade stainless steel, with better corrosion resistance than 304 stainless steel, but the price is a little higher. Generally, there will be marks such as US316 and S316XX on the bottle mouth or liner.
Touch the bottom: look at the insulation performance.
We can fill the thermos cup with boiling water and tighten the lid. After about 2-3 minutes, we can touch the surface of the cup body with our hands. If we find a warm feeling, it means that the thermos cup has lost its vacuum layer, and the insulation effect of the inner container is not good, otherwise the insulation performance is good. To a certain extent, thermal insulation performance can be used as an important reference factor to measure the quality of thermal insulation cups.
Invert: Look at the tightness.
This is very important. We can fill the thermos cup with boiling water, then tighten the lid, and then turn it upside down for five minutes. If there is leakage in the thermos cup, it indicates that it is not well sealed.
Comprehensive Popular Science China and Sohu Health Report