I believe that many people have eaten sauerkraut, and the sweet and sour taste of sauerkraut will make people instantly have an appetite...
Many places in the south and north of the continent have the habit of pickling sauerkraut. The pickling process of sauerkraut is not complicated to say, the vegetables that need to be pickled are cleaned, and then put into a well-sealed jar and pressed, and the appropriate amount of salt and condiments are added to seal and ferment for a certain period of time. From a health point of view, sauerkraut is rich in crude fiber, pectin substances, eating properly can lose weight to help digestion and prevent constipation.
But in recent years, the sauerkraut carcinogenic theory is widely circulated, even the World Health Organization has listed pickled vegetables as a 2B carcinogen, the main reason is that sauerkraut contains nitrite, nitrite will cause cancer, but in daily life, many foods, in fact, more or less contain nitrite. What is the truth? Can you still eat sauerkraut happily? Let's explore this question today.
Is the nitrite content in sauerkraut really extremely high? Does it induce cancer?
Sauerkraut is made by natural fermentation, and the pickling process does produce nitrite, but what many people may not know is that the nitrite content of sauerkraut in the pickling process is first increased and then declined, and its nitrite content peaks mostly around the 10th day of pickling, and then gradually declines.
Some studies have shown that in the case of pickled cabbage, the nitrite content in cabbage was the highest on the 6th day of fermentation, with an average value of 246 mg/kg, but over time, its nitrite content gradually decreased, and on day 20, the average value dropped to only 1.7 mg/kg.
The "Pickle Hygiene Standards" promulgated by the mainland in 2003 stipulates that the nitrite content of various pickles ≤ 20mg/kg, and it is clear that the nitrate content of cabbage after the 20th day of pickling is far below this threshold, so as long as the pickling time is long enough, the nitrite content in sauerkraut is not extremely high.
See here usually like to eat sauerkraut friends may breathe a sigh of relief, since the nitrite content in sauerkraut is not high, indicating that the carcinogenicity is low, then you can eat it every day, right? In fact, it is not, we often say: "Regardless of the dose to talk about toxicity is to play hooligans", although the content of nitrite in sauerkraut is not high, but it still contains nitrite, and if you eat it every day, nitrite will also accumulate in the body, if it exceeds the acceptable safety range of the human body, it may really induce cancer.
Therefore, even if you like to eat sauerkraut, it is recommended that you eat a meal once in a while to relieve your hunger, and do not eat sauerkraut as a home-cooked dish every day. Moreover, long-term eating sauerkraut is also detrimental to health, because no matter how often you eat it, it may cause cancer, and you also need to put more salt when sauerkraut is pickled, so long-term eating sauerkraut will also greatly increase the risk of high blood pressure.
How to eat sauerkraut relatively safely?
Sauerkraut is delicious, do not overdose, safe to eat sauerkraut also remember the following points:
1) Marinate long enough
In addition to not eating sauerkraut every day, the pickling time of sauerkraut is also very important, and studies have shown that if the pickling time exceeds 20 days, the nitrite content will be greatly reduced, so the pickling time of sauerkraut is best long enough.
2) Serve with fresh vegetables
Studies have found that vitamin C has a degrading effect on nitrite, it may be that vitamin C and nitrite have a redox reaction, and fresh vegetables contain a lot of vitamin C, so adding fresh vegetables while eating sauerkraut can also play a role in preventing cancer.
Therefore, although sauerkraut is delicious, but also can not be gluttonous, we have to eat both appetizing, but also eat healthy, at the same time, special reminder, hypertension and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease patients, try to eat less sauerkraut, because the salt content of sauerkraut is relatively high, it is easy to lead to excessive intake of sodium, thereby affecting blood pressure standards, inducing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease attacks.
bibliography:
Wang Wanshui,Wang Liping,Pang Ruifa. Study on the change of nitrite content in pickled vegetables[J].Journal of Qiqihar Medical College,2002,23(5)561-562.
Liu Wendan,He Ping,Chen Yunxiang,et al. Effect of vitamin C on nitrite in commercially available pickles[J].Journal of Dali University,14(10):68-70.
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