The dangers of nuts eaten during Tet

During Tet, in addition to cakes, candies, and jams, nuts such as pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and pistachios are indispensable. However, if eaten incorrectly, nuts during Tet can pose many health risks.

Throat irritation from overeating

During Tet, almost every family buys a variety of nuts such as watermelon seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, green beans, roasted red beans, etc. to serve guests. All nuts have a delicious taste. Eating these nuts not only helps us enjoy them, but using nuts properly in our diet also brings many health benefits.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Lam, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, said that most Tet nuts such as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chestnuts, cashews, etc. are good for health because they have a lot of energy and unsaturated fats. These are healthy fats, and when you eat nuts with a lot of fat, it will help you absorb more fat-soluble vitamins.

Seeds provide many vitamins (vitamin B, E, etc.), fiber, iron, magnesium, antioxidants, etc. For example, sunflower seeds contain large amounts of phytochemicals, folate, vitamin E, selenium and copper. These nutrients, when entering the body, help prevent cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerosis. Watermelon seeds are rich in protein, vitamin B, and very high in potassium, so they have nutritional value and prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure. Meanwhile, pumpkin seeds have the effect of protecting bones and treating prostate cancer, etc.

Although the above mentioned nuts have high nutritional value, they also pose many health risks if consumed in excess. Like other foods, not all foods are good to eat. Nuts when eaten often give us a feeling of anxiety for a long time. Eating too many nuts during Tet without a balanced diet can easily cause overweight, obesity... When eating nuts, you should pay attention to limit drinking cold water, beer, alcohol, smoking, talking too much... at the same time because it irritates the throat, leading to loss of voice, hoarseness because nuts are rich in fat, the amount of fat in nuts stimulates the throat lining.

During Tet, we should eat fruits rich in Beta carotene, a precursor of vitamin A. To absorb Beta carotene, we need fat, so we can combine fruits with nuts to increase vitamin absorption.

Food experts say that nuts have a lot of essential oils so they are susceptible to mold, which makes the nuts taste bitter and spicy. Mold produces carcinogenic toxins such as aflatoxin, ozchatoxin, etc. In addition, nuts are also susceptible to being preserved by manufacturing facilities using anti-mold chemicals. If you accidentally buy and eat nuts using anti-mold chemicals, it will create toxins in the body, gradually accumulating and damaging the liver, kidneys, etc. Therefore, to limit the possibility of poisoning, consumers should buy raw nuts, then wash them with water, drain them, and then roast them.

How to handle when children choke on seeds

When using nuts on Tet holiday, parents need to be very careful when there are young children in the house, especially those under 3 years old. Every year, there are many unfortunate accidents with children due to foreign objects in the airways. There are cases of airway obstruction that are not treated promptly, leading to death. Many cases are saved, but because the foreign object is stuck for too long, it causes a lack of oxygen to the brain, leading to mental and motor complications later on.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Dieu Thuy, Head of the Department of Pediatrics (Hanoi Medical University), the first thing is not to let foreign objects fall into the airway, that is the best measure. Children, especially from 6 months to 4-5 years old, are very susceptible to choking on foreign objects, so when eating and drinking, they should sit in one place, not play around, or make reflexive movements. If you see a child crying, coughing, or turning purple, you need to handle it.

When children under 3 years old choke on foreign objects, parents need to give first aid properly. Illustration

For children choking on foreign objects, first aid on the spot is very important and must be done immediately before being taken to the hospital. Family members should avoid the situation where when seeing the child choking and having a purple face, they do not immediately perform first aid but rush to the hospital, as the risk of death for the child is very high.

However, if parents keep putting their hands in the child's mouth, the foreign object will get deeper and more swollen. Therefore, parents should encourage the child to spit it out. If the child no longer has the reflex to spit the foreign object out, parents can lift the child up so that the head is facing the ground, pat the child to make the foreign object fall out, and then take the child to the emergency room. There are several possibilities: Coughing and the foreign object falls out; Blockage right there, causing difficulty breathing, cyanosis; Blockage below the lungs, with no way to remove it, in this case, medical staff must perform a bronchoscopy and anesthesia to do it.

For children around 14-15 years old, when choking, parents should hold the child close to their body, wrap both hands around the abdomen and press and shock the abdomen 5 times to make the child cough. Parents should stop when they see the child cough and dislodge the foreign object. Only when they see the child can breathe and look rosy again should they take them to the hospital.

Absolutely do not stroke down because this will accidentally cause the foreign object to go deeper into the lungs, making the situation more dangerous. After doing the above actions and the foreign object cannot be ejected, quickly take the child to a medical facility.

According to Gia dinh.net