Vinegar is an indispensable condiment in the kitchen. Many people add vinegar when eating dumplings or pasta, and also add vinegar when making pickled cabbage, hot and sour potato shreds, sweet and sour sirloin, etc. It's delicious. Vinegar can bring many benefits to the body, such as stimulating appetite, softening blood vessels and lowering blood sugar. Some people even choose to drink it directly. What benefits can vinegar bring to us?

Why is vinegar sour

Taste experience depends entirely on taste buds. There are 2000~3000 taste buds distributed on the surface of the tongue (even in the mouth). People will become unwilling to eat when they are old, which is due to the gradual shrinkage of taste buds.
The taste buds "protrude" some tiny cilia, called taste hairs, and probe into the brain to figure out the taste stimulus that enters the mouth. Different kinds of substances dissolved in saliva will cause different taste sensations once encountering the professional taste receptors on the taste hairs. The food has five flavors: sweet, salty, bitter, sour and fresh. That's how it comes.
Vinegar is sour because its main components are acetic acid, non-volatile acid, amino acid, higher alcohols, sugar, etc. The amount of acetic acid in vinegar is also different, generally about 5~8%. The acid taste intensity of vinegar is mainly determined by the amount of acetic acid contained in it.

What are the benefits of using vinegar when eating

① Preserve food nutrition
In acidic environment, vitamin C and B vitamins in food are stable and difficult to be oxidized and destroyed by high temperature or air; Plant foods are rich in iron, a small part of which will be reduced to ferrous ions after entering the body and absorbed by the small intestine. Vinegar can stimulate the secretion of gastric acid, which is conducive to iron absorption; When eating fried and barbecued foods, add proper amount of vinegar, which can eliminate some oil oxidation products and improve food safety.
② Delay the rise of postprandial blood glucose level
Research shows that moderate vinegar can reduce postprandial blood sugar, especially in patients with pre diabetes. There are two reasons. First, the acetic acid contained in vinegar can inhibit the activity of amylase and delay the decomposition of starch into glucose; Second, acetic acid can delay gastric emptying and reduce the speed of blood sugar reaction

Is it bad to drink too much vinegar

Many people are used to drinking vinegar directly, or add too much vinegar to their food, which can stimulate oral mucosa and esophageal mucosa, and induce inflammation and ulcers; At the same time, it will also change the pH value of gastric juice, damage the gastric mucosa, and then cause nausea, vomiting and stomach pain. In severe cases, it can induce acute gastritis; Drinking too much vinegar will also lead to excessive sodium intake and affect blood pressure control.

It's said that vinegar has these functions

Can Q1 prevent cancer?
There are a lot of polyphenols in vinegar, which are antioxidants and can play a certain antioxidant effect. Antioxidants can protect cells in the body from oxidative stress, which may stimulate tumor growth. However, vinegar can inhibit the growth of cancer cells, and this effect is only shown in cell and mouse experiments. Whether it is effective in humans has not been studied enough.

Q2 I heard that vinegar can soften blood vessels?
Vinegar does not soften blood vessels, because vascular sclerosis is caused by lipid deposition and inflammatory reaction. Acetic acid does not affect blood lipid levels and inflammation. Moreover, the vinegar eaten will not enter the blood vessels, but will be absorbed in the small intestine. It is a small amount of acetic acid that is eliminated by the immune system, and can not play the role of softening blood vessels at all.

Q3 Drink more vinegar to lose weight?
Drinking vinegar can really promote food digestion, but it will not dissolve the stored fat, so the weight loss effect is negligible.

Q4 Kill parasites?
Some people are used to dipping in vinegar when eating raw fish slices or shrimp, and think it can kill parasites, but it is not. No matter what condiment can kill parasites or bacteria, the best way is to cook it at high temperature.

Q5 Treat beriberi?
Some people with beriberi often soak their feet in vinegar, but it has little effect. Instead, it damages the sebum layer, reduces skin resistance, further aggravates the problem of beriberi, and even induces contact dermatitis.

It can be seen that vinegar can not cure or prevent some diseases at all, but a small amount of it is harmless to the body. When cooking food containing vitamin C, you can add a few drops of vinegar to avoid the loss of vitamin C; When cooking vegetables containing anthocyanins, such as purple cabbage or spinach, vinegar may be added to make the food more beautiful and prevent the color from turning blue or black.

How to be jealous correctly

Whether the choice is based on regional brands or the preference of raw materials based on taste, the first thing to do is to look at the food label and see the acidity, sodium, sugar and other ingredients.

The higher the acidity of vinegar, the stronger the acidity. You can take whatever you want according to your taste and cooking purpose. Generally speaking, vinegar with acidity below 5 degrees is suitable for cooking, and 5~6 degrees is suitable for dipping.

The acidity of vinegar can not only be used as a reference for flavoring, but also an appropriate acetic acid concentration can improve the nutritional value and sense of cooked food. For example, to protect the vitamin C in the ingredients from being lost, the vegetables rich in anthocyanins show beautiful red color, and avoid turning blue and black.

Therefore, whether you like vinegar or not, you can add vinegar to dishes rich in vitamin C, such as shredded potatoes and bean sprouts, or to vegetables such as purple cabbage, amaranth and red radish. In addition, vinegar contains sodium. When cooking with vinegar, you must reduce the amount of salt. Some vinegar can also be added with sugar, which should also be noted.