Vinegar has a bactericidal effect; it can kill pyogenic staphylococcus, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and dysentery bacteria within 30 minutes. In the hot summer, various intestinal infectious diseases are prone to spread. Adding a little vinegar to cooked dishes, especially cold salads, can kill pathogenic microorganisms.
Preventing Winter Illnesses
Bactericidal and preservative effects are vinegar's "specialty." Ancient Chinese records state: "When epidemics are rampant, heat stones and pour vinegar over them, letting the steam熏 the residence can effectively expel the infectious epidemic qi." People in the past also pickled fish, meat, and vegetables in vinegar to preserve food, which shows the wisdom of the ancients. In an era without preservatives, vinegar and salt were both used as the best preservatives.
Modern medical research has confirmed that vinegar has a strong bactericidal effect; it can kill pyogenic staphylococcus, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and dysentery bacteria within 30 minutes. In the hot summer, various intestinal infectious diseases are prone to spread. Adding a little vinegar to cooked dishes, especially cold salads, can kill pathogenic microorganisms. Many restaurants and food preparation places now also use vinegar for disinfection. During winter and spring, when respiratory infectious diseases are prevalent, you can mix some water into vinegar, heat it over a fire, and let it slowly evaporate in the room, which has a good effect in preventing influenza.
Relieving Fatigue
The human body often feels tired and fatigued in daily life, manifesting as stiff shoulders, listlessness, and lower back pain. The reason for this is an acidic body fluid.
Originally, when the human body consumes carbohydrates such as starch, they are digested and absorbed into glucose, which enters the liver through the blood and becomes glycogen. It is then transported to various parts of the body through the blood to be burned and converted into heat energy. In the process of burning glycogen, pyruvic acid is produced, which then breaks down into lactic acid. Some of the lactic acid is excreted through the urethra, but a considerable amount remains in the body.
Especially during intense exercise or labor, and after consuming large amounts of protein and meat, the amount of lactic acid is greater. At this time, the body fluid becomes significantly acidic, and the brain or spinal cord is stimulated, leading to fatigue. To change the acidic state of the body fluid, you can add some vinegar to your food during cooking. This can oxidize the accumulated lactic acid in the body, thereby achieving the goal of relieving fatigue.
Aiding Digestion and Treating Illnesses
Vinegar can treat diseases, which is recorded in the "Jin Gui Yao Lue" by the famous Eastern Han physician Zhang Zhongjing, and in the "Ben Cao Gang Mu" by Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty, which also contains recipes for treating various diseases with vinegar.
Legend has it that Wu Zetian, the empress of the Tang Dynasty, once suffered from bloating and listlessness, with no appetite. The imperial physicians in the palace treated her for a long time without success and were very worried. Later, two palace attendants went out in plain clothes to visit the common people and got a secret recipe that vinegar could cure this disease. After Wu Zetian drank a small amount of vinegar daily, her appetite greatly improved. In less than a month, her chronic illness was completely gone.
Vinegar has such a miraculous effect because its main component is acetic acid. It can stimulate the gastric nerves, enhance gastric secretion, and prevent excessive fermentation of food in the stomach, thereby acting as an appetizer and relieving stagnation.
In modern clinical applications, vinegar is also used to treat the following diseases: For patients with high blood pressure, regularly eating vinegar can gradually lower blood pressure and prevent vascular sclerosis. For patients with biliary ascariasis, taking vinegar can relieve pain. For patients with atrophic gastritis, where gastric acid secretion is reduced, eating vinegar can increase digestive ability and also treat the disease. For children with mumps, mix a little aged lime with aged vinegar, apply it evenly to the affected area to reduce swelling. For body tinea or hand and foot tinea, you can apply vinegar to the affected area daily. For mild burns or scalds, washing the affected area with rice vinegar can relieve pain and prevent blistering. If a person accidentally ingests an alkaline poison, immediately drinking a large amount of diluted vinegar can have an emergency effect.
Beauty and Skin Care
Vinegar also has its unique effects in beauty and skin care, mainly including moisturizing, astringent, and alleviating pigmentation of the skin and hair. For example, when eating raw vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, and Chinese cabbage cold, adding a moderate amount of vinegar can not only prevent the loss of vitamin C in the vegetables but also reduce facial pigmentation and prevent wrinkles. Mixing vinegar and glycerin in a one-to-five ratio and applying it to the skin can make it delicate.
Take one tablespoon of vinegar, add 250 grams of cold water and 10 grams of honey, and take it before bed once a day to make the skin delicate and ruddy. Soak 250 grams of Job's tears in 500 grams of fragrant vinegar, seal and store for 10 days, then take one tablespoon of the vinegar liquid daily to improve rough and dull skin. Take two eggs, one tablespoon of wheat germ oil, and one tablespoon of fragrant vinegar, mix them, and apply to the roots of the hair after washing. After half an hour, rinse the hair with water to wash away grease from the hair, making it black and shiny. Washing the hair with vinegar before bed can prevent dandruff.
Seasoning and Nutrition
Vinegar is also one of the main seasonings in cooking, with a fragrant aroma, and it is the main ingredient for sweet and sour flavor. It removes fishy smell and greasiness, and enhances umami and aroma. The "West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy" from the "Louwailou" restaurant in Hangzhou is a famous dish made with vinegar. Vinegar can reduce the loss of vitamin C during the heating process of food, while also making the dishes more delicious and increasing appetite.
When cooking fish, adding vinegar not only removes the fishy smell but also makes the calcium and iron in the food easier to dissolve, which is beneficial for human absorption and utilization. For foods that are too salty, spicy, or greasy, adding vinegar can reduce the salty and spicy taste, decrease the greasy feeling, and make them more refreshing. When cooking meat, adding vinegar can not only make the meat tender faster but also increase the meat's aroma.