Rumor:

Soaking raisins in vinegar is more nourishing than eating them directly! Clearing intestines and detoxifying, blood pressure also dropped.

Refusing rumors:

There has been no shortage of health-preserving rumors on the Internet. For example, I recently saw a rumor that "vinegar-soaked raisins can lose weight quickly", and a closer look at the content is even worse. "Soaking raisins in vinegar is more nourishing than eating them directly, clearing the intestines and expelling toxins, and even lowering blood pressure!" If I am a "struggling household" to lose weight, it is absolutely false to say that such a title and content are unattractive. We all hope to have a simple and easy trick to easily accomplish the great cause of losing weight, not to mention that raisins and vinegar are not rare and precious ingredients. After reading the title and the first sentence, I really want to try soaking raisins in vinegar.

But as a nutritionist, my 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 components of raisins

first of all, we can learn some basic nutritional information about raisins. Raisins are a kind of food made from fresh grapes by air drying. The difference between raisins and grapes mainly lies in the difference of water content, and the content of some water-soluble vitamins may change slightly. In order to facilitate everyone's understanding, the following table is a comparison of the main nutritional components of raisins, grapes and apples:

From the above table, we can easily see that compared with apples, grapes and raisins are not particularly outstanding in vitamins and dietary fiber. Moreover, the sugar content of raisins is greatly increased after air drying, and sucrose, fructose and glucose, which account for the majority, can have a great impact on blood sugar, and are foods that need strict control for diabetic patients. Even for ordinary people without diabetes, the rich sugar in raisins can stimulate a large amount of insulin secretion, and one of the functions of insulin is to mobilize blood sugar into fat cells to synthesize fat, which obviously runs counter to the original intention of losing weight.

so could it be that other substances in grapes are at work?

In this rumor, two special substances are really mentioned: anthocyanin and resveratrol. It is claimed that grapes are rich in anthocyanins and resveratrol, which can soften blood vessels and reduce fat and weight. However, after looking at the food composition table, we can find that many grape samples did not get anthocyanins that can reach the detection value. Only one piece of data can see anthocyanins with a total of less than 1mg/1g, which is really pitiful compared with the following mulberries, which often jump with 1mg/1g anthocyanins. The content of resveratrol in grape skin is relatively rich, but its content in different grapes varies greatly, ranging from 2μg/1g to 2, μ g/1 g, which is really not a good source of resveratrol. Moreover, there is a great controversy about the health function of resveratrol in the academic circles, and there is no strong evidence to support its function in many health care effects. The actual effect of its health care claims really needs to be questioned.

what about vinegar?

As a condiment, vinegar has very simple nutrients. Except for water and acetic acid, there are only minerals and a small amount of vitamins from brewing water and grain. Compared with grain, vegetables and fruits, the contents of minerals and vitamins are not prominent, not to mention its special health effects.

So, these rumors are actually just taking advantage of the public's loopholes in nutrition and health knowledge, using novel food combinations to attract people's attention, and at the same time making unrealistic promises that meet the needs of the public, so as to achieve the purpose of increasing attention or selling related products. When reading similar news, you must keep your eyes open and carefully verify it, and don't be led by people with a heart.

References:

1. China Food Composition Table (Standard Edition), 6th Edition, Volume I, 218

2. China Food Composition Table, 2nd Edition, Volume I, 29

3. Zhang Jianwei, Wang Junbo, Wang Mengyuan, et al. The central regulation of insulin on metabolism [J 49 (6): 41-41. doi: 1.3969/j.issn.559-7765.218.6.1.

Denial expert: Liu Yiqun, Associate Research Fellow, Institute of Nutrition and Health, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Review expert: Researcher, han hongwei National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center.