But did you know: Some seemingly normal "saving behaviors" are actually silently harming our health, and many people do not know this. Like the following "saving habits", they really need to stop!

1. Turning off the hood too early

After cooking, many people have the habit of turning off the hood immediately. It may be a habit or it may be to save electricity. Especially for the elderly, according to them, not turning off the hood after cooking is a waste. But in fact, doing so is not only harmful to health but also affects the life of the hood.

After cooking, the exhaust fumes will remain in the air, containing many toxic substances. Inhaling them for a long time will harm respiratory health, and can even cause cancer. Moreover, there will be residual oil fumes inside the hood and in the pipe. If you turn it off immediately, these residues cannot be completely discharged, affecting the exhaust efficiency and life of the hood.

Correct usage:

- Continue to run for 5 minutes after turning off the stove (golden detoxification time).

- Turn on the ventilation mode when reheating food.

2. Reusing cooking oil that has been cooked many times

My mother likes to eat fried dough. Although fried dough is delicious, she has a bad "saving habit", which is to reuse cooking oil. You should know that oil that has been fried many times (more than 2 times) or oil that has been cooked for too long is not edible.

Oil will undergo chemical changes at high temperatures, creating impurities, losing nutrients and even releasing harmful substances (such as benzopyrene). These will affect human health and increase the risk of disease.

Therefore, frying oil should be used up as soon as possible and should not be mixed with new oil. When the oil turns dark red, do not use it anymore! Do not think of it as a waste, but consider it a responsibility for the health of your whole family!

3. Lazy and do not wash the pot

Not only young people, but many old people also often do not wash the pot after cooking, they think that the pot just used does not need to be washed, just rinsing is enough, it is fast and saves water.

But in fact, doing so is very harmful to health. If you do not wash the pot, grease and spices will remain. When reheated at high temperatures, carcinogens (such as benzopyrene) can be produced and the flavor and appearance of the dish will be affected.

Therefore, it is better to wash the pan before cooking the next dish! Do not harm your health just because of saving water or being lazy!

Correct usage:

- After frying food, wash it with warm water right before frying the next dish!

4. "Invisible killer" in the refrigerator

Many elderly people like to hoard plastic bags and they will not miss the bags of groceries bought from the supermarket. But do you know, these bags are not actually "free", their cost has been silently calculated into the product.

Moreover, the elderly often put food in plastic bags and put them in the refrigerator. Most of these plastic bags are made of PE material, which can be well preserved at room temperature, but if refrigerated or frozen for a long time, toxic substances can be released, causing pollution and affecting health.

How to use correctly:

- Use fresh food boxes/bags in the refrigerator (look for the PP5 logo).

- Reusable fresh food bags should be kept away from sunlight, washed in warm water and dried in the shade.

5. Cutting boards for both raw and cooked food

How many cutting boards do you have in your kitchen? Many families may only have one, you think it is convenient but in fact it is very unhygienic.

There are many bacteria and parasites in raw food, they can easily stick to the cutting board and then contaminate cooked food, causing symptoms such as diarrhea and fatigue. Moreover, some bacteria cannot be killed even by boiling.

Therefore, you should prepare at least two cutting boards, one for raw food and one for cooked food. If conditions allow, vegetables and fruits also use separate cutting boards. The same goes for knives!

Correct usage:

Separate raw and cooked foods. You can use a set of colored cutting boards to distinguish.

- Red: Raw meat

- Green: Cooked food

- White: Fruits and vegetables

6. Moldy wooden chopsticks = chronic poison

How often do you replace wooden chopsticks? Many families may not replace chopsticks for a year or even many years. Even if they are moldy and black, the older generation still thinks they can be used after washing.

But did you know? Wooden chopsticks will become a "breeding ground" for bacteria and grease after a long time of use. Especially aflatoxin is produced after mold, which cannot be destroyed even with boiling water!

Therefore, wooden chopsticks should be replaced every 5 months. If you do not want to replace chopsticks often, you can consider using 304 stainless steel chopsticks!

How to use correctly:

- Best time to use wooden chopsticks: 3-6 months.

- Remove immediately if black spots appear.