Soup is a kind of common food in our daily life. The nutritional value of it is very high. What’s more, it is easy for people to digest and absorb the nutrients contained in soup. Many people think that drinking soup is very common and easy. In fact, it is necessary for people to drink soup in a healthy way, and thus the nutrients can be absorbed completely to improve the physical conditions for the human body.
The experts advise that people should drink soup before dinner. If the foods want to enter the stomach, they must pass the oral tract and the esophagus. If people drink soup before dinner, the soup can lubricate the alimentary canal and prevent the stimulation of mucous membrane of the alimentary canal caused by the hard foods. It is also beneficial for people to drink a little soup during the dinner, which can dilute the foods and improve the gastric and intestinal digestion and absorption of the foods. If people do not drink any soup before and during the dinner, the secretion of gastric juice can make the body fluid lose too much and cause the thirst. If people drink water at this moment, the gastric juice can be diluted to affect the digestion and absorption of the foods. Drinking soup before dinner is beneficial to the human health, but it does not mean that people should drink soup excessively. Generally speaking, people should drink less than a bowl of soup.
The temperature of soup should not be too high, as the human oral tract, esophagus and gastric mucosa can only bear 60 degrees. The high temperature can hurt the gastric mucosa. Therefore, the soup at less than 50 degrees is more suitable for people to drink. In addition, people should not boil the soup too long. The heating for a long time can destroy the vitamins like vitamin C contained in soup and decrease the nutritional value. Some people like to use the soup to soak rice. The experts do not agree with such a kind of eating way. It can decrease the normal functions of digestive system and even cause the gastric diseases. When the soup is mixed with the rice, the rice can not be chewed completely before it enters the stomach. In addition, the gustatory nerves can not be stimulated adequately. Because of the diluted digestive juice, the foods can not be digested well and the gastric diseases can be finally caused.