Is drinking apple cider vinegar effective in reducing weight and improving physical condition? Astragalus sweet and sour pork strengthens the spleen and stimulates appetite

There is never a shortage of various weight loss methods on the Internet. Recently, apple cider vinegar has become a new favorite for weight loss. In addition to her unique eating habits and exercise to lose weight, actress Ariel Lin also drinks apple cider vinegar to help promote fat metabolism. It is even rumored on the Internet that as long as you drink apple cider vinegar every day, you can achieve the effect of losing weight. What do Chinese medicine practitioners think about the benefits of drinking vinegar? Is vinegar really good for weight loss? If you want to strengthen your spleen, replenish qi, reduce swelling and improve your appetite in summer, Chinese medicine practitioners recommend a delicious sweet and sour pork dish made with white vinegar, astragalus and ophiopogon.

Long-term consumption of vinegar to lose weight can easily lead to malnutrition and damage the spleen and stomach

Regarding the popular saying that "drinking fruit vinegar can help you lose weight", Western medicine studies have shown that fruit vinegar is closely related to insulin resistance and obesity-related diseases. Acetic acid can lower blood sugar after meals, avoid insulin spikes, and thus reduce the possibility of carbohydrate conversion to fat. However, it is stated that this does not mean that drinking apple cider vinegar can directly achieve the goal of weight loss.

If drinking vinegar can help you lose weight, it is only because vinegar contains amino acids and organic acids, which can promote the production of peracidified lipids in the body and are beneficial to balancing the body's acidity and base. However, this peracidified lipid is not easy to excrete, but will increase the burden on the body and affect health. In particular, most commercially available fruit vinegars, such as apple cider vinegar, contain added fructose and sugar. Excessive intake of these vinegars is high in calories and is not conducive to blood sugar control, making it difficult to lose weight.

Chinese medicine practitioner Wang Xinmei reminds people not to believe that drinking vinegar can help you lose weight. Not only is it not sustainable, it can also lead to malnutrition, increase calories, and more importantly, damage the spleen and stomach. In particular, the elderly, people with excessive stomach acid, and people with ulcers should drink less vinegar to avoid irritation to the gastrointestinal tract and even aggravate the ulcers.

Traditional Chinese Medicine: Drinking vinegar to change the acid-base constitution is a wrong myth

In addition, it has been widely rumored on the Internet that the body has a pH value, and drinking more vinegar can help improve physical condition. Is this true? Because most people know that people with "acidic body constitutions" are prone to inflammation, often get sick and catch colds, or are easily bitten by mosquitoes, they believe that they can change their body constitution to alkaline by eating vegetables, fruits, and drinking vinegar. Chinese medicine practitioner Wang Xinmei pointed out that according to medical reports, the pH value in the human body is fixed and is not affected by food. Therefore, this is a wrong myth.

She said that there is no doubt that consuming vinegar in moderation and correctly is good for health. However, under normal circumstances, human blood is weakly alkaline (about PH7.4), and the popular saying that "eating meat makes the body acidic" and eating vegetables, fruits and drinking vinegar can adjust the body to alkaline has no scientific basis. Traditional Chinese medicine distinguishes differences in physical constitution based on yin and yang, the five elements, internal organs, qi and blood, etc. There is no such thing as an "acid-base constitution".

From the perspective of Western nutrition, the human body has its own mechanism to maintain the pH balance of the blood, which involves complex enzyme action and probably cannot be changed by simply eating certain foods. Usually, only those who take large amounts of medication for a long time or have an extremely unbalanced diet may experience fluctuations in the pH value of their blood. Most people do not have problems with their blood being drastically acidic or alkaline. However, eating meat for a long time can cause a damp and hot constitution. Vinegar can aid digestion and reduce the burden on the body caused by eating too much meat.

Adding a small amount of vinegar to pork rib soup helps calcium absorption

Putting aside the unscientific claims that drinking vinegar can help you lose weight and adjust your acid-base constitution, vinegar is a very healthy food that can stimulate people's appetite, gastric acid secretion and aid digestion in the hot summer. Eating vinegar in moderation can help some people who originally have less gastric acid secretion. However, people with normal digestive tract function do not need to deliberately drink vinegar to improve digestion. People who are prone to osteoporosis can add a small amount of vinegar when cooking pork rib soup, which helps release calcium in the bones and makes it easier for the body to absorb calcium.

Vinegar dishes in summer can stimulate appetite and prevent loss of appetite

The weather is hot in summer, and children often suffer from loss of appetite, which leads to slow development and malnutrition, and is a stumbling block on the road to growth. Therefore, Chinese medicine practitioner Wang Xinmei provides a recipe for "Sweet and Sour Pork to Clear Away Heat and Replenish Qi", which can stimulate the appetite, boost appetite, and promote growth and development in the summer. Among them, Astragalus can strengthen the spleen and replenish Qi, and enhance physical strength; Ophiopogon japonicus can nourish yin, clear away heat, restrain sweat, relieve dry mouth and tongue, and help sleep, which helps to improve the physique of puffiness and is a delicacy suitable for invigorating the spleen and stomach in midsummer.

【Sweet and sour pork to clear away heat and replenish qi】

Medicinal materials: Astragalus, Ophiopogon japonicus, White Peony Root, and White Vinegar.

Ingredients: 1 pound of tenderloin, appropriate amount of minced garlic, 1 spoon of olive oil, 1 cup of tomato sauce, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of white vinegar, 3 spoons of sweet potato starch, 1/4 onion, 1/2 green, red and yellow pepper, appropriate amount of eggs.

Marinade: 1 spoon of soy sauce, appropriate amount of sugar, appropriate amount of pepper, appropriate amount of rice wine.

practice:

Step 1: Wash all the herbs, boil them in 6 bowls of water for 30 minutes to make a thick juice, slice the bell peppers and blanch them for later use.

Step 2: Marinate the meat for half an hour, coat with egg and sweet potato flour and fry until golden brown, then remove and set aside.

Step 3: Add oil to a hot pan, add minced garlic to the tomato sauce, then add the medicinal juice, sugar, and white vinegar, then add onion slices, green peppers, meat cubes, red and yellow peppers, mix well and serve.

【Tip from Chinese medicine practitioners】:

No matter how strong your stomach and intestines are, do not drink vinegar on an empty stomach. You should drink vinegar between meals or one hour after a meal. This will not irritate the stomach and intestines, but will help digestion. The recommended daily intake of vinegar is 30 cc of natural fermented vinegar diluted into 250-500 cc. If you want to maintain your health by drinking vinegar, Chinese medicine practitioner Wang Xinmei recommends choosing natural vinegar such as grain vinegar, because they take a longer time to ferment, smell less pungent and sour, and have many health benefits such as antioxidants and antibacterials. In addition, pay more attention to the ingredient list before purchasing to avoid choosing artificial vinegar made from vinegar essence and water.