by Ou Young Foon

Created on: June 28, 2010

Vinegar has many benefits to our body.  Besides increasing our appetite, reducing tiredness and increasing our body's ability to absorb calcium, vinegar can be used in many ways in cooking.

Firstly, vinegar increases our appetite and helps digestion.  The sourness in vinegar lifts our spirit, enhances proper blood circulation and promotes the secretion of the digestive juices.  People with hypertension who need to limit their salt intake can substitute salt with vinegar without sacrificing the taste of the food.  The acetic acid in vinegar is helpful in treating hypertension and the symptoms of over drinking.

Secondly, vinegar reduces tiredness.  The intake of vinegar in our body increases metabolism, aids the tired body to remove waste faster.  Drinking a glass of diluted vinegar can remove the after effects of over drinking, help digestion and refresh our body.  When we take vinegar, it turns alkaline when being absorbed by our body.  It is believed that an acidic body environment leads to illnesses and causes ageing.  Hence vinegar can help to correct the body's pH balance.

Thirdly, vinegar can dissolve minerals like calcium.  Calcium is an important mineral to our body.  The calcium in vegetables is not as readily absorbed by our body as that in dairy products.  We may add a little vinegar to our salad to help our body to absorb the calcium in the vegetables.   Here is a simple method of making vinegar egg that is full of calcium and vinegar which benefit our body when drank regularly:

Clean an egg and soak it in a glass of vinegar.  Let it stand overnight.  When the egg shell softens the next day, remove the membrane below the egg shell and mix the egg yolk, egg white and vinegar.  Dilute with water and drink.

Vinegar is very useful in cooking too.  Add some vinegar while grilling fish can reduce its saltiness and soften the fish bones.  Vinegar is the strongest germs killer among all the food seasonings.  Vinegar can destroy all the harmful germs in food within ten to thirty minutes.  Hence vinegar is a good food preservative agent.

Add two spoonfuls of vinegar to a pot of uncooked rice can help it remain fresh longer when cooked.  This is because the bacteria that remains hidden in the uncooked rice is hard to destroy.  The introduction of vinegar in the uncooked rice, together with the heat generated during cooking will help to destroy the bacteria easily.  Moreover, there will not be any trace of vinegar smell left in the cooked rice since the vinegar has already been evaporated during the steaming process.

Soaking vegetables and fruits in diluted vinegar for half an hour can preserve the food's natural colour and stop fruits such as apples from turning brown after peeling or cutting.  Adding a little vinegar to food rich in vitamin C can prevent the loss of the vitamin due to exposure to air.

Vinegar is commonly found in most households.  Use it wisely and you will reap the full benefits from it.

Learn more about this author, Ou Young Foon.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.