For salad dressings, to make a nutritious and delicious salad, the role of the dressing is crucial. Today, I'll tell you about the four treasures you should use when making salads.
First treasure: Vinegar.
Adding vinegar to salads can whet the appetite, stimulate the taste buds and gastric juice secretion, and aid in digestion and absorption. Additionally, vinegar has excellent antibacterial properties that can effectively prevent intestinal diseases and reduce the formation of nitrites. Moreover, adding vinegar to salads can largely protect vitamins C and B from being destroyed and promote the absorption of calcium and iron ions. The sourness of vinegar can also increase the taste buds' sensitivity to saltiness, thereby reducing the amount of salt needed.
Second treasure: Olive oil.
Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, which can lower low-density lipoprotein levels and increase high-density lipoprotein levels in the blood, thus helping to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, as a vegetable oil, olive oil can promote the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and phytochemicals in salads by the human body, such as beta-carotene and lycopene.
Third treasure: Ginger.
Ginger has a unique spicy flavor that can stimulate the taste buds and whet the appetite. Ginger is mild in nature and can neutralize the coolness in salads, expel cold from the body, and has antibacterial and detoxifying properties. Additionally, ginger is a very effective antioxidant that can inhibit the production of lipid peroxides in the body, thereby slowing down cellular aging.
Final treasure: Garlic.
The unique aroma of garlic can stimulate appetite, enhance gastric juice secretion and gastrointestinal motility, and promote digestion and absorption. Allicin in garlic has strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions that can delay aging, resist radiation, and improve the body's immunity. More importantly, allicin has powerful antibacterial and sterilizing properties. Therefore, on hot summer days, adding some garlic to salads, whether they are cold or cooked, is a healthy choice.