Vinegar has a long history in China and has also been a part of its food and health culture for a long time. In daily life, vinegar is mainly used for cooking. The medicinal value of vinegar is equally long-standing. In the "Guā Lóu Xiè Bái Bái Jiǔ Tāng" (Gualou Xiebai Baijiu Tang) formula recorded by the famous Han Dynasty physician Zhang Zhongjing in his "Shang Han Za Bing Lun" (Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases), "Baijiu" referred to rice vinegar. There are many opinions on the medicinal value of vinegar, but the views differ.
In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of vinegar's functions, a reporter from the Health Times interviewed food experts, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) experts, and authorities in Western medicine to write this article, hoping it will be helpful to readers.
Vinegar is a condiment
Currently, vinegar is still primarily used for cooking. Like salt, vinegar is also classified as a condiment. Vinegar holds an important place in the history of Chinese cuisine. "Chái mǐ yán jiàng cǔ chá" (firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea) is a saying that lists the seven necessities of a Chinese household, and vinegar is considered an indispensable condiment in life. However, the importance of vinegar is clearly not on par with salt. In addition to seasoning, salt is also an essential substance necessary for maintaining normal human growth and development. The sodium in salt maintains the osmotic pressure of extracellular fluid. If the body lacks salt, symptoms such as dizziness, vomiting, limb weakness, muscle spasms, impaired blood circulation, and collapse may occur. Sometimes, doctors need to administer saline to save patients. If a person does not consume vinegar for a long time, there will be no significant effects.
China is the earliest country in the world to make vinegar from grains, with written records of vinegar dating back as early as the 8th century BC. According to historical data, during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there were already specialized workshops for brewing vinegar. By the Han Dynasty, vinegar production became widespread. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the production and sales of vinegar were already substantial. The famous book "Qimin Yaoshu" from that era systematically summarized the experience and achievements of the Chinese people in making vinegar from ancient times to the Northern Wei Dynasty, and it included 22 different methods for making vinegar. This is the earliest existing record of grain-brewed vinegar in China's historical materials.
China has many vinegar-producing regions, with those from Shanxi Province and some parts of Jiangnan, such as Zhenjiang in Jiangsu, being particularly famous.
Today, if we look at the condiment shelves in a supermarket, we can see a dazzling array of vinegars with various names, such as fragrant vinegar, aged vinegar, white vinegar, and dumpling vinegar.
Vinegar can be divided into two main categories based on processing methods: blended vinegar and brewed vinegar, with brewed vinegar being the main type and the most commonly encountered and consumed in daily life. Tang Boxiang, Deputy Director of the Digestive Department at Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, introduced that brewed vinegar is better than blended vinegar.
Brewed vinegar is made from starch-based raw materials such as grains, through stages of microbial koji-making, saccharification, alcoholic fermentation, and acetic acid fermentation. The main component of vinegar is acetic acid. Acetic acid mainly comes from ethanol, which comes from glucose, and glucose comes from starch. Therefore, starch-based raw materials and sugar-containing raw materials are all raw materials for brewing vinegar. Various grains can be used to make vinegar, such as rice, millet, sorghum, corn, etc. In addition, crops rich in starch, such as potatoes and sweet potatoes, can also be used to make vinegar.
Brewed vinegar also contains some other components, such as small amounts of amino acids, organic acids, sugars, vitamins B1, B2, etc. Nowadays, some brewed or blended vinegars often have small amounts of other substances added, such as salt and potassium sorbate, whose main purpose is for seasoning.
There are many types of brewed vinegar, including rice vinegar, fragrant vinegar, and aged vinegar. Rice vinegar is made from rice, fragrant vinegar from glutinous rice, and aged vinegar mainly from sorghum. Different vinegars have slight differences in nutritional value due to different raw materials.
In terms of color, vinegar is mainly divided into two types: colored and colorless transparent, which we call red vinegar and white vinegar. Liu Ping, an associate professor and postdoctoral fellow at the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University, explained that besides some color produced during fermentation, artificial colors may also be added during the brewing of red vinegar. White vinegar is mostly blended; if it is brewed, it needs to undergo decolorization treatment. During the decolorization process, some nutrients are also lost, so the taste of white vinegar is lighter compared to red vinegar.
On September 1, 2000, China issued a standard for the total acid content of edible vinegar, stipulating that in 100 ml of vinegar, the acetic acid content must not be less than 3.5 grams. Liu Ping told the Health Times reporter that aged vinegar has a relatively high acetic acid content and a more sour taste, while vinegars like fragrant vinegar have a lower acetic acid content and a milder taste. Dr. Tang Boxiang introduced that vinegar is sour, astringent, nourishes yin and promotes fluid production, and stimulates the appetite.
When making soup, adding a small amount of vinegar can help release calcium from the bones, making it easier for our bodies to absorb. When eating rich and greasy foods like stewed meat, drinking some vinegar can help cut the grease.
When eating sweets, you can add some vinegar to enhance the taste. Adding vinegar to cold dishes helps with nutrient absorption and also has a sterilizing and disinfecting effect.
Liu Ping introduced that vinegar's effect of stimulating the appetite and aiding digestion is very significant. The acid-base environment in the stomach is mainly determined by gastric acid, and the appropriate pH value is between 1.5 and 2. If gastric acid levels are too low, drinking vinegar in moderation can help adjust the amount of gastric acid and assist in the production of enzymes in the stomach.
As a condiment, vinegar has a refreshing effect and can adjust the taste, which is very helpful for stimulating the appetite. Why do many of the drinks we consume in daily life contain some sour ingredients (like citric acid) instead of just being sweet? Because acid can adjust the taste of food. If it were just sugar water, no one would want to drink much of it, but when adjusted to a proper sweet-sour ratio, people are willing to drink it.
Vinegar essence can be used for blending vinegar or for cooking, but if consumed directly, brewed vinegar should be chosen. Vinegar has auxiliary therapeutic effects
Vinegar's role in China's health history is also long-standing.
Dr. Tang Boxiang introduced that in the summer, when you sweat a lot, you can drink some vinegar in moderation, but it is not advisable to drink vinegar when you have a cold or fever because vinegar has an astringent effect. Vinegar is very helpful in treating stomach problems. If your stomach is weak and has low acid, you can drink vinegar. Patients with chronic, atrophic gastritis can also drink vinegar in moderation to promote digestion. If the patient has symptoms like heartburn and acid reflux, which indicate excess acid, it is not advisable to drink vinegar. Vinegar and garlic also have a very good effect together. For acute diarrhea, you can mash a clove of garlic, add half a liang of vinegar, and take it to stop the diarrhea.
Various bacteria and microorganisms have a suitable pH value for survival. The acidic vinegar can change the pH value, and after the pH value changes, some bacteria will die because of it. Therefore, vinegar also has a certain sterilizing and disinfecting effect. At home, you can prevent colds by fumigating with vinegar. When making cold dishes, adding some vinegar can not only enhance the taste but also kill bacteria and ensure food hygiene.
Japan's "Mainichi Shimbun" recently summarized research results from several universities, pointing out that vinegar is not only an excellent condiment but also has multiple uses, such as preventing and improving high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and high blood sugar, and relieving fatigue. It suggested that people might as well eat more vinegar. According to a report from a research group at the Health Management Center of Osaka University of Foreign Studies, vinegar is quite beneficial for patients with high blood pressure. Researchers let a group of adult hypertensive patients drink a beverage containing 15 to 30 ml of apple cider vinegar daily. After 8 weeks, the blood pressure of this group dropped by 15 to 30 mmHg compared to another group that did not drink the vinegar beverage. 15 ml of vinegar is about a small cup. If you drink a small cup of apple cider vinegar every day, the total cholesterol content in the blood will decrease.
Liu Ping pointed out that in fact, vinegar itself does not have the effect of lowering blood pressure. However, according to the TCM principle of "the five flavors working in synergy," after putting vinegar in food, you can use less salt. This reduces the intake of sodium chloride, which may have a certain preventive effect on high blood pressure. The traditional Chinese health principle of "less salt, more vinegar" is based on this.
Dr. Tang Boxiang introduced that if you get a burn, you can apply some vinegar to the affected area of the skin to help cool it down. People with skin itching can also apply some vinegar to the itchy area to relieve itching.
Vinegar has a certain beauty effect. Liu Ping said that there are various bacteria on human skin. Washing the face with acidic vinegar can change the acid-base environment of the skin surface, thereby changing the growth environment of bacteria on the skin surface. Bacteria sensitive to the environment may be killed as a result, which is similar to the sterilizing and disinfecting effect of vinegar.
Another effect of acidic vinegar is that it can hydrolyze proteins into amino acids. Therefore, vinegar has a certain softening effect on the stratum corneum on the skin, which is beneficial to its removal. This can be said to be a manifestation of vinegar's beauty effect. Vinegar is not medicine
Regarding the medicinal value of vinegar, Liu Ping introduced that some of these claims cannot be confirmed at present. Although some health products are named "health vinegar," the actual health-promoting effect comes from other ingredients, and vinegar's main role is still for seasoning. Consumers should also pay special attention when choosing, to distinguish whether the product is a "food" grade or a "health" grade. Some fruit vinegar products are also labeled as "health vinegar" and claim to have health benefits. In fact, the main components are substances from the fruit, and although vinegar has some health benefits, it is not the main one.
The "Compendium of Materia Medica" states that vinegar can "dispel blood stasis, treat jaundice and yellow sweat," and is believed to "stimulate the appetite and nourish the liver." The "Great Dictionary of Chinese Medicine" also has detailed records on using vinegar in combination with other drugs to treat acute and chronic infectious hepatitis. TCM teaches that "the five flavors enter the five organs," and the sour flavor enters the liver, so vinegar has a good health effect on the liver.
Japanese media have pointed out that vinegar also has wonderful uses in the prevention and improvement of visceral fat syndrome. In addition to measures such as exercising more, avoiding overeating, reducing salt intake, eating more vegetables and fruits, and eating less fried food, vinegar can also help prevent and improve visceral fat syndrome because, in addition to citric acid that can relieve fatigue, it also contains various amino acids such as glutamic acid.
In this regard, Sun Wenbing, Director of the Hepatobiliary Center at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital (West Campus), said in an interview with the Health Times reporter that there is not much available information on the effects of vinegar on the liver and gallbladder, and there are no clear records of its effects. Liu Ping said that from a TCM perspective, vinegar has a good effect on the liver and can play a certain role in protecting the liver and preventing liver diseases. However, whether vinegar can treat liver diseases is not yet supported by relevant research.
Dr. Tang Boxiang introduced that in modern life, people consume a lot of alkaline meat foods. Drinking some vinegar in moderation helps with acid-base neutralization, can prevent high blood lipids, arteriosclerosis, fatty liver, and can also protect and soften blood vessels. TCM has a dietary therapy for regulating blood pressure by pickling peanuts in vinegar—soak peanut kernels in vinegar for more than 7 days, then eat 10 to 15 peanuts daily for more than a week. In people's experience, folk remedies such as pickling peanuts and black fungus in vinegar are effective. Shanxi people love to drink vinegar. According to reports by Shanxi media, the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases among Shanxi people is relatively low, which has a certain relationship with their love of vinegar.
Famous cardiologist Professor Hu Dayi, Director of the Institute of Cardiopulmonary Vascular Diseases at the General Hospital of the Beijing Military Region, holds a conservative attitude towards the claims that vinegar can lower blood pressure, soften blood vessels, reduce cholesterol accumulation, and improve atherosclerosis. Professor Hu Dayi stated that according to the principles of evidence-based medicine, the medicinal benefits of vinegar for the cardiovascular system cannot be clearly confirmed at present. Professor Hu Dayi also stated that the claim that vinegar has anti-cancer effects is even more far-fetched.
Regarding the effects of vinegar on the liver and cardiovascular system, there is also a folk remedy of using "vinegar eggs" for treatment, believing that vinegar can soften the eggshell with an "obvious therapeutic effect." In fact, the main component of vinegar, acetic acid, is an acidic substance. When mixed with the neutral eggshell (calcium carbonate), it softens the eggshell through a normal chemical reaction. As for what effect vinegar has on fat-soluble substances, Liu Ping introduced that there is currently no relevant information to prove it.
Liu Ping emphasized that some people believe that vinegar can degrade the toxic and side effects of drugs, but this is actually very unsafe. Each drug has its own mechanism. If you drink vinegar after taking medicine, it may react with the drug and cause adverse consequences.
In addition, there is no conclusion yet on whether vinegar has the effect of sobering up. Liu Ping introduced that the main component of alcohol, ethanol, is not good for the human body and is a toxic substance. Therefore, after entering the body, cells must break it down. The current debate in the industry is whether drunkenness is caused by ethanol's harm to the human body or by acetaldehyde's harm to the human body. If drunkenness is caused by ethanol, the sobering-up effect of vinegar can be explained; if it is caused by acetaldehyde, then vinegar not only has no sobering-up effect but may even worsen the degree of drunkenness.
Dr. Tang Boxiang emphasized that although vinegar has many health benefits, you cannot achieve a certain purpose by drinking a large amount of vinegar at once. The sour flavor enters the liver, and vinegar has a good health effect on the liver, but sourness also damages the spleen, so you should pay attention to moderation when consuming it. In terms of quantity, it is best not to drink more than 20 ml of vinegar per day. In addition, try not to drink it on an empty stomach or without diluting it with boiling water, as this can cause certain harm to the stomach. Only by consuming vinegar appropriately and in moderation in daily life can its health effects be exerted.