Dim sum bad for your health

[bhchao]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/T205453.htm

A study has found dim sum to be highly loaded with fat and sodium. Eating dim sum everyday may end your heart. One of my favorites when I was a kid was char siu bao, and my least favorite was shao mai.

"Lovers of dim sum, beware.

A study in Hong Kong has found the tiny, mouthwatering Chinese snacks are high in fat and sodium and excessive consumption will increase the risk of obesity.

"You definitely cannot have a dim sum meal every day because it's not possible to get a balanced diet that way," said Ho Yuk-yin, a consultant with the government's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, who led the research.

The study on the Chinese culinary delights, which date back to the Sung Dynasty (960-1279), is the first of its kind anywhere in the world, Ho told reporters on Wednesday.

Researchers analysed 75 popular dim sum snacks for carbohydrates, protein, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, dietary fibre, sugar, sodium and calcium.

Results showed that total fat, saturated fat and sodium were generally high while calcium and dietary fibre were low.

Some of the chief culprits were marinated jelly fish, which contained up to 18 grammes of total fat a plate, or 230 calories. An innocent looking piece of steamed beancurd sheet roll was found to contain 12 grammes of fat, or 140 calories.

Ho warned that excessive intake of saturated fat in the long run will increase the risk of chronic health problems such as cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer, while too much salt will increase blood pressure.

For dim sum diehards, Ho recommended that they select dim sum dishes sensibly, ordering more steamed buns, for example, and fewer pan-fried and deep-fried items.

They should also eat half a plate of boiled vegetables, minus any sauce, and complement their diet later in the day with high-calcium foods such as dairy products, soybean curd and green leafy vegetables.

Hong Kong people are especially fond of dim sum and families gather frequently in tea-houses where they can snack for hours. "

[skylee]

The detailed report ->

English -> http://www.fehd.gov.hk/safefood/report/dim_sum/dim_sum_news.html

(click the buttons at the top to get the traditional/simplified Chinese versions)

I think it is quite surprising that steamed beancurd sheet roll has the highest total fat content (I mean it is not even fried).

[paul62tiger]

bhchao, you can't do this to me.

I only found dim sum a little over a year ago and have grown to love it. To tell me now that it will kill me is a cruel and inhuman thing to do.

Been today to a very nice place in Sheffield with some malay chinese friends - still if i have to die it's not a bad way to go.

[bhchao]

paul, there is an antidote if you can't avoid it. Drink two or three cups of green tea following each dim sum meal.

[paul62tiger]

Always drink chinese tea with dim sum - hope thats ok.

Must survive at least 6 weeks until i return from malaysia.

[confucius]

I always load up on ha gow and cheung fen. I can eat 2 or 3 baskets of those shrimp dumplings and I like to eat cheung fen plain, not drowned in soy sauce. I also tell the waitresses not to pour that dadgum condensed milk on the mango pudding.

Another healthy tip I have for everybody is opening up the cha siu bao and extracting the white fatty bits with your chopsticks. You simply pull them out and leave the lean pork and sauce inside.

I wonder how fatty luobo gao is? I always end up finishing off the luobo gao when there's nothing else left to eat. You know people try to cut it in half but I simply take the whole big square cube and put it on my teacup saucer. Why chop it up when you're just going to eat the entire thing anyway?

Oh yeah, I'm a real popular guy at the dim sum table.

[geraldc]

I wonder how fatty luobo gao is? I always end up finishing off the luobo gao when there's nothing else left to eat. You know people try to cut it in half but I simply take the whole big square cube and put it on my teacup saucer. Why chop it up when you're just going to eat the entire thing anyway?

You mean the turnip cake? You have to cut it up to increase the surface area, so there's more area to cover with chilli sauce/oil.

The truly great thing about yum cha/dim sum is that when conversation with your friends/family becomes boring, it's not considered rude to just get out a newspaper and just read and eat. In fact most people probably read about how unhealthy dim sum was, while eating dim sum...

I think the dim sum in HK is probably more unhealthy than that served in the rest of the world, e.g. in London the deep fried dim sum doesn't come with a saucer of mayonaise/miracle whip for dipping, like it does in Hong Kong.

It is worrying that the HK govt is spending their time examining the dangers of dim sum when I don't know that many people who've had a bad experience from eating too much of the stuff, whereas I know so many people who've eaten themselves stupid at those eat as much you can western buffets at HK hotels

[Homeward]

I know this is old news but what the hey! My A-level exams are nearly over (got Chemistry left) so now I can relax and respond to some topics.

Firstly, I can't believe, "Dim Sum" is bad for your health and they look so healthy! Curses! Looks can sure be deceiving huh? ROFL

But I don't see how this can affect the food industry in Hong Kong, usually, the Government and its citizens ignores these sort of things until mass pandemic crisis occurs regarding "Dim Sum".

I love eating various "Dim Sum" but whenever I'm in Hong Kong, I try to avoid the fried stuff, I remember watching this rather middle-aged woman fry this tofu (well it looked like tofu) and it was oily and glistening, let's just say, if stress doesn't kill, this oily tofu will.

However the next time I visit Hong Kong and don't eat "Dim Sum" and drink various Chinese tea then, it wouldn't be the full Hong Kong experience, would it?

[geek_frappa]

uumm... isn't that why we eat 龟苓膏 after pigging out?

[chefintheprc]

Besides the evident fat and cholesterol values in the food, one should also be aware that things such as, the dough around your delicious BBQ pork bun, actually has some rather unappealing ingredients added for color and texture reasons. Alkaline water and ammonia are common additives in old school Canton kitchens and may not exactly be the best for your health. Not to mention that you’re favorite you tiao stand on the street may be adding powered soap detergent to the batter for a certain “flavor”, urban myth? My research points otherwise.

[geek_frappa]

for the record, i don't add detergent in my you tiao.....

.... anymore....

[chefintheprc]

It’s all good, haha. Everyone has secret ingredients.

[bhchao]

However the next time I visit Hong Kong and don't eat "Dim Sum" and drink various Chinese tea then, it wouldn't be the full Hong Kong experience, would it?

Good point. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to clog your arteries with cholesterol-laden 蛋撻, greasy shao mai, and layers of those long, white egg strips in soy sauce.

I guess once in a very long while is ok. Frankly I cannot stand 蛋撻. Currently my taste buds are inclined towards the cuisines in the 'northern' direction, Shanghainese, Shandong, Korean.

[goldie]

while we bemoan fatty, heart clogging food such as dim sum, isn't it important to remember that East Asian people have, on the whole, been much thinner and healthier than those of us in the West, in particular the US and now the UK in terms of obesity. i grew up eating tons of road side snacks in Taiwan, including 'cong you bing' and 'tian bu la'. don't know what in the heck the 'tian bu la' was made of, but i lurved it! also, food all around the world containes tons of unhealthy additives, might as well enjoy good food while you can

[catsiu]

l have been to back homeland. My relative alway call us at homeland for morning tea. l alway call for ribs and feet with rice togeather beef meat ball vinegar. Alway share it with my mum to eat. and that for lunch time till afternoon lunch it depand how you go about all the time in Hong Kong weather you be dehydrated and how your body act in food.

[Tiana]

Wow, the topic has been waiting nearly 10 years for you, catsiu!

 

I love eating dimsum even though I'm aware of the MSG in it. Since I don't have frequent enough occasions to eat it, I don't worry about the harm it may do to my health. To be frank, driving is one way of harming ourselves and others, but we've come to accept it as part of life.

[889]

By odd coincidence, the HK Standard replayed this old story today as well.