Rumor:

Soaking raisins in vinegar is more nourishing than eating them directly! The intestines are cleansed and toxins are detoxified, and the blood pressure is also lowered.

Rumors refuted:

There has been no shortage of rumors about health care on the Internet. For example, I recently saw another rumor that "raisins soaked in vinegar can help you lose weight quickly", and if you look closely, the content is even more It’s incredible. “Soaking raisins in vinegar is more nutritious than eating them directly. It clears the intestines and detoxifies, and even lowers blood pressure!” If I were a person who had difficulty losing weight, such a title and content would not be attractive. That is absolutely false. We all hope to have a simple and easy-to-follow trick to easily achieve weight loss. What’s more, raisins and vinegar are not hard-to-obtain precious ingredients. After reading the title and this first sentence After that, I really wanted to try soaking raisins in vinegar.

But as a nutritionist, professional knowledge and rational thinking always make me feel that something is wrong in this matter. So I went to find some information to prove it.

Nutritional composition of raisins

First of all, we can understand some basic nutritional information of raisins. Raisins are a food made from fresh grapes that have been dried. The difference between raisins and grapes mainly lies in the difference in water content. In addition, there may be slight changes in the content of some water-soluble vitamins. To facilitate your understanding, the following table is a comparison of the main nutrients of raisins, grapes and apples: < /p>

From the above table, we can easily see that compared with apples, a very common fruit, grapes and raisins do not have particularly outstanding performance in vitamins and dietary fiber, and the sugar content of raisins after being dried is greatly increased. Increase, the majority of which are sucrose, fructose and glucose, which can have a greater impact on blood sugar, and are foods that need to be strictly controlled for diabetic patients. Even for ordinary people without diabetes, the rich sugars in raisins can stimulate a large amount of insulin secretion. One of the functions of insulin is to mobilize blood sugar into fat cells to synthesize fat. Obviously, this is completely consistent with the original intention of losing weight. Going in the opposite direction.

Could it be that other substances in grapes are at work?

Speaking of which, this short rumor article actually mentioned two special substances: anthocyanins and resveratrol. The article claims that grapes are rich in anthocyanins and resveratrol, which can soften blood vessels, eliminate fat and lose weight. However, after checking the food composition table, we can find that multiple grape samples did not obtain anthocyanins that can reach the detectable value. There is only one piece of data that can be seen with a total of less than 10mg/100g of anthocyanins, and the following frequently Compared with mulberries, 100mg/100g of anthocyanins is really pitiful. Resveratrol is relatively abundant in grape skins, but its content in different grapes varies greatly, ranging from 2 μg/100g to 200,000 μg/100g. It is not really a good source of resveratrol. Moreover, the current academic circles are highly controversial about the health effects of resveratrol. Many health effects do not have strong evidence to support its effects. The actual effects of its health claims really need to be questioned.

What about vinegar?

As a condiment, the nutritional content of vinegar is actually very simple. Apart from water and acetic acid, there are only minerals and a small amount of vitamins from brewing water sources and grains. Compared with grains, vegetables and fruits, its mineral content is The content of substances and vitamins is not outstanding, let alone it has any special health effects.

So, these rumors are actually just taking advantage of the public’s knowledge about nutrition and health, using novel food combinations to attract attention, and at the same time making unrealistic promises that are in line with public needs, thereby increasing attention. For the purpose of promoting or selling related products, when reading similar news, you must keep your eyes open and verify carefully, and don’t let anyone lead you.

References:

1. "Chinese Food Composition List (Standard Edition)" 6th Edition Volume 1, 2018

2. "Chinese Food Composition List" "Table" 2nd Edition Volume 1, 2009

3. Zhang Jianwei, Wang Junbo, Wang Mengyuan, et al. Central regulatory effect of insulin on metabolism [J]. Progress in Physiological Sciences, 2018, 49(6): 401-410. DOI:10.3969/j.issn.0559-7765.2018.06.001.

Rumor refuting expert: Liu Yiqun, associate researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Review expert: Han Hongwei, researcher at National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center