China is the world's earliest country to use grains to brew vinegar, with written records of vinegar dating back to the 8th century BC. By the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, the production and sales of vinegar had reached a great scale. The important work "Qimin Yaoshu" that has been passed down from that time systematically summarized the vinegar-making experience and achievements of the Chinese working people from ancient times to the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Vinegar is the culmination of the hard work and wisdom of generations of Chinese people, and it exudes a rich fragrance in the Chinese culinary culture.
Four major benefits of consuming vinegar in moderation
Vinegar itself contains nutrients beneficial to the human body, such as the 18 amino acids needed to synthesize proteins, glucose, fructose, maltose, and abundant inorganic elements (such as calcium, iron, and phosphorus), all of which are essential components in the human metabolic process. Vinegar is considered a superior condiment among all condiments, and in summary, it has four main benefits:
1. Vinegar can enhance flavor and increase appetite.
Vinegar can play a role in regulating appetite. The simplest way to season it is by using vinegar, soy sauce, minced garlic, and other ingredients in cold dishes. Eating some vinegar-dressed side dishes before meals can have a good appetite-stimulating effect for people with poor appetite. Vinegar is particularly effective for patients with chronic diseases and the elderly with diminished sense of taste, as it can significantly improve their appetite.
In addition, vinegar can stimulate gastric acid secretion, thereby promoting digestion. Vinegar is very helpful for people with low gastric acid secretion, but people with normal digestive function do not need to drink vinegar to improve their digestion.
2. Vinegar can reduce salt intake.
Using vinegar to enhance the flavor of food is much healthier than using salt. Using less salt and more vinegar in cooking is a healthy eating habit.
Eating too much salt not only harms your health, but it also makes you crave saltier food, leading to increased consumption of other foods and water, resulting in weight gain. For those who love salty flavors, try adding a little vinegar to your dishes. More vinegar and less salt will not make the food taste salty; instead, it will enhance its flavor and make it healthier.
3. Vinegar has antibacterial properties.
Vinegar contains 0.4% to 0.6% acetic acid, which can inhibit the growth and reproduction of various bacteria to a certain extent. Therefore, when local bacterial and viral diseases are prevalent, people can add an appropriate amount of vinegar when stir-frying or making cold dishes. This can both stimulate appetite and inhibit bacteria, which can be described as "killing two birds with one stone".
4. Vinegar can remove fishy smells and cut through greasiness.
Vinegar is a good ingredient for removing fishy smells and greasiness. When cooking aquatic products or animal offal such as stomach, intestines, and heart, vinegar can eliminate the fishy smell and odor of the food. For some raw materials with a strong fishy smell, they can be soaked in vinegar in advance, and at the same time, some of the grease attached to the surface can be removed.
Recognizing common misconceptions about vinegar
Having consumed vinegar for so many years, I honestly had no idea it was so magical, capable of even killing bacteria. While vinegar does have some antibacterial properties, it's not really meant to kill germs. If that were true, there wouldn't be so many flu outbreaks. In reality, vinegar's main function is to flavor and stimulate appetite; as for other "benefits"... let vinegar rest on its laurels.
Vinegar cannot soften blood vessels
The claim that "vinegar can soften blood vessels and lower blood pressure" has been circulating among middle-aged and elderly people for a long time, but this is a misconception.
Vinegar can dissolve calcium, but atherosclerosis is not simply a matter of calcification. Arteriosclerosis refers to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques within blood vessels, leading to decreased vascular elasticity. The idea that simply consuming vinegar can soften blood vessels lacks scientific basis. Acetic acid itself is weak and cannot exert the aforementioned "effect" in the body; there is currently no research, either domestic or international, to prove or suggest that vinegar has such an effect.
There are many ways to maintain healthy blood vessels, such as a light diet, eating less oily food, exercising more, quitting smoking and limiting alcohol consumption, and maintaining blood vessel elasticity by lowering blood lipids.
Vinegar won't help you lose weight.
The method of losing weight by drinking vinegar was once very popular. Soaking soybeans or black beans in vinegar to make pickled beans, and claiming that eating 10-20 beans every morning and evening could achieve weight loss, was based on the argument that vinegar could boost metabolism and prevent fat accumulation. However, there is currently no scientific evidence to support this claim. If drinking vinegar were truly effective for weight loss, it would only work if one drank large amounts of vinegar until they felt full and couldn't eat anything else, or if they replaced their usual high-calorie snacks with pickled beans, thus reducing overall calorie intake.
However, this weight loss method is unsustainable and can easily lead to nutritional imbalances and even damage to the digestive system in the long run, harming health. Conversely, drinking vinegar-based beverages may actually cause weight gain. Some vinegar-based drinks contain large amounts of sugar to enhance the taste, and are not low in calories. When purchasing, pay attention to whether sugar is listed in the ingredient list, as well as the carbohydrate content and the calorie information indicated on the product label.
This article is a collaborative work with a publishing house and may not be reproduced without permission. For content collaborations with publishing houses, please contact: 020-37617238
