The Truth! "Unpalatable" Foods Are Very Nutritious
Coarse grains are rough on the mouth, lemons are sour, garlic is pungent, bitter melon is too bitter... The "texture" of many foods often makes people hesitant, but now they are health foods praised by nutritionists. Could it be that, like medicine, "good food is often bitter to the tongue"? Let's take a look at the benefits of these "unpalatable" foods.
Loving sweet, refined, and rich foods while disliking bitter and coarse ones—this preference is actually formed from a very young age. Millions of years ago, or even just four or five decades ago, people often had to live on coarse food. At that time, their main concern was not diabetes, heart disease, or obesity, but how to avoid malnutrition. But now, our diet is completely different from our ancestors', and we worry more about preventing obesity, lowering blood fat, and reducing the risk of cancer.
According to modern nutritionists, these "unpalatable" foods are not lacking in nutrients. Let's see which foods we should eat even if they are "unpalatable"!
Bitter Foods
Unripe persimmons, purple grape skins—these are foods with a strong astringent taste. Their astringency comes from tannins, phytic acid, and oxalic acid in the food. These substances are powerful antioxidants and are beneficial for preventing diabetes and high blood lipids. Moreover, for the same type of fruit, the astringent varieties are more nutritious. For example, a small, sour apple is better than a large, sweet Fuji apple.
【Little Knowledge】
Tannins from astringent foods are widely used in beauty products, mainly for their astringent, sun-proof, whitening, wrinkle-preventing, and antioxidant effects. Therefore, astringent foods are truly rare and valuable beauty foods for women.
Coarse Foods
Foods are coarse because they are rich in insoluble fiber, such as coarse grains, celery stalks, and cabbage leaves. It is these dietary fibers that help prevent constipation, protect against colon cancer, help排出 metal ions, aid the body in detoxification, and reduce weight. If you are worried about gaining weight from high-fat dishes like boiled fish or braised pork, you can eat these foods, as this is when coarse foods are most effective.
【Little Knowledge】
Dietary fiber is a type of carbohydrate that cannot be digested by the human body. It can be divided into two basic types based on solubility in water: soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin are three common types of insoluble fiber, found in plant cell walls. Insoluble fiber can reduce the risk of colon cancer, prevent constipation and diverticulitis by absorbing toxins from food, and reduce toxins excreted by bacteria in the digestive tract. Soluble fibers, such as pectin and gum, are found in non-fibrous substances in nature. Common foods rich in soluble fiber include barley, beans, carrots, citrus, flax, oats, and oat bran. Soluble fiber can slow down digestion and speed up the excretion of cholesterol, helping to regulate immune system function and promote the removal of toxic heavy metals from the body.
Bitter Foods
Foods like lemon peel, tea, and dark chocolate are rich in various glycosides, terpenes, and polyphenols, which are what make them bitter. For example, naringenin in lemon peel and grapefruit peel, tea polyphenols in tea, and polyphenols in red wine and chocolate can prevent cancer and heart disease and also give the food a slightly bitter flavor.
【Little Knowledge】
The most accepted bitter food is probably bitter melon. Bitter melon has the effects of clearing heat and relieving summer heat, nourishing blood and qi, tonifying the kidneys and strengthening the spleen, and nourishing the liver and improving eyesight. It also has certain effects on treating dysentery, sores, heatstroke, excessive prickly heat, and conjunctivitis. In addition, bitter melon is high in vitamin C, which can prevent scurvy, protect cell membranes, prevent atherosclerosis, improve the body's stress response, and protect the heart.
Pungent Foods
For example, radishes, garlic, and onions. These foods have a very strong taste, and you might even have bad breath after eating them. This is because they contain substances like glucosinolates and allyl disulfides, which are very helpful in preventing cancer. For instance, garlic is a "health guard" for humans. Numerous epidemiological surveys have shown that in garlic-producing areas and among populations that consume garlic long-term, the cancer incidence rate is significantly lower.
【Little Knowledge】
How to quickly get rid of bad breath after eating "pungent" foods?
1. Milk: Drink a glass of milk to eliminate the garlic odor.
2. Tea: For bad breath after eating garlic or lamb, take a small pinch of tea, place it in your mouth in parts, chew it slowly, and swallow the tea after it has been dissolved by saliva. The effect is quite good.
3. Peanuts: Chewing on some peanuts, walnuts, or almonds, which are high in protein, can also reduce the garlic taste.
Spicy Foods
The spiciness in food is generally provided by capsaicin or volatile sulfur compounds. Capsaicin has analgesic effects and can boost metabolism, aiding in fat burning and weight loss. Wasabi has a strong spicy taste and a strong stimulating effect; it can regulate female endocrine function, enhance sexual function, stimulate blood vessel dilation, and enhance facial blood circulation, making a woman's complexion rosier.
【Little Knowledge】
The main component that makes wasabi pungent is isothiocyanate. This component not only prevents cavities but also has certain effects on preventing cancer, preventing plaque buildup in blood vessels, and helping to treat asthma. Additionally, wasabi can prevent high blood lipids, high blood pressure, and coronary heart disease, and reduce blood viscosity.
Sour Foods
Such as sand pears, hawthorns, and pickles. Their sourness comes from organic acids like citric acid and malic acid. These natural acidic substances promote the absorption of minerals, such as iron. For the same variety of fruit, the sourer ones generally have a higher vitamin C content, and the vitamins are more stable and easier to preserve.
【Little Knowledge】
Many women especially crave sour foods during pregnancy. Sourness can stimulate gastric juice secretion, increase the activity of digestive enzymes, promote gastric motility, and is beneficial for the digestion of food and the absorption of various nutrients. Therefore, craving sour foods during pregnancy is beneficial for the health of both the fetus and the mother. Nutritionally, eating sour foods is good for the pregnant woman and the development of the fetus. Sourness stimulates gastric acid secretion, increases the activity of digestive enzymes, increases the pregnant woman's appetite, and alleviates early pregnancy reactions.
"Smelly" Foods
Durian has a strong smell, and saying it "stinks to high heaven" is no exaggeration. But in Thailand, due to its high nutritional value, it is often used as a tonic for patients and postpartum women to nourish their bodies. Durian is "hot" in nature, it can invigorate blood and dispel cold, relieve menstrual cramps, and is especially suitable for women troubled by dysmenorrhea. It can also improve symptoms of a cold abdomen, can promote body temperature, and is an ideal tonic for people with a "cold" constitution. Although durian has many benefits, you shouldn't eat too much at once, otherwise it can easily lead to "internal heat" and cause "heatiness" due to the digestive system's inability to fully absorb it.
"Strange Aroma" Foods
Some foods, although named with "fragrant" (香), have a very strange taste, such as cilantro and toon shoots. Cilantro contains a lot of boron, which helps the body absorb minerals and protect bones, making it most suitable for middle-aged people over 40. Cilantro is also rich in iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, vitamin A, and vitamin C, which helps stabilize blood sugar and prevent cancer. Toon shoots contain volatile aromatic organic compounds like toonin, which can strengthen the spleen and whet the appetite, increasing appetite. It has the effects of clearing heat and dampness, promoting urination and detoxification, and is a good adjuvant for treating enteritis, dysentery, and urinary tract infections. Studies have shown that toon shoots contain vitamin E and substances related to sex hormones, which have anti-aging, yang-tonifying, and yin-nourishing effects, and have a certain therapeutic effect on infertility, hence it is known as the "pregnancy aid".