Is the edible alkali at home poisonous?

We always encounter alkali in our lives, of course, it is used more often when cooking. I never thought about whether alkali is poisonous before, because we use it more frequently now, and they are all edible alkali, so we have never doubted whether alkali is harmful to our body. But now we all attach so much importance to health, and there are many adulterated products now, so are we more worried about whether edible alkali is poisonous? Let’s learn more about it!

It is used to neutralize excess acid in traditional flour-made dough, a process called "neutralizing the acid". The dosage of alkali should be appropriate. Too little is called "small alkali", and the noodles will become dead and sour. Too much is called "large alkali", and the noodles will bloom and turn yellow. When using commercially available active yeast to make dough, there is basically no need to neutralize it with alkali. Adding a little alkali flour when cooking corn porridge can increase its viscosity. Drinking this kind of corn porridge regularly is especially good for people with stomach acid, without having to specifically drink soda water. This is just like eating more vegetables instead of buying vitamin pills. It is a good way to treat disease through food.

With our full understanding of its ingredients and functions, we can come to the conclusion that if we use it fully, reasonably and in appropriate amounts, its value will be positive; if we use it in violation of regulations, such as increasing the spiciness of hot pot or cleaning animal offal, the consequences will be very harmful. The example of adding alkali to hot pot illustrates its harmfulness. The alkali added to the hot pot, when passed through high temperature, enters the digestive system along with the food, and will continuously neutralize the stomach acid to generate carbon dioxide. Symptoms may occur, such as constant burping and expansion reaction of the digestive tract. If this type of substance is consumed for a long time, it will damage the human digestive system, causing the digestive system to become less functional and even cause pathological reactions.

The investigation revealed that the disadvantage of alkali is that it has a strong destructive effect on vitamin B1, B2 and vitamin C in food, and it also affects the body's absorption and utilization of certain minerals. Therefore, it should not be abused.

Through the above explanation, we have a better understanding of whether edible alkali is poisonous. In the past, we only knew to eat it and never paid attention to these issues. Now we can learn about this knowledge through learning, which can make us pay more attention in the future life to prevent improper use and bring great harm to the health of ourselves and our families.