One of the most common reasons why kimchi is unhealthy is that there are a lot of nitrite in kimchi, which will cause cancer.
In fact, this statement is too one-sided. Not all pickles contain a lot of nitrite. Whether kimchi contains a lot of nitrite is related to its fermentation process.
Nitrogen is a widespread element in nature, and the growth of plants must have nitrogen fertilizer. Plants absorb nitrogen from the environment and eventually convert it into amino acids in the body, which inevitably produces nitrate. There are also some reductase in plants, which will reduce some nitrate to nitrite. Therefore, all plants contain nitrate and nitrite.
Kimchi is made of fresh vegetables and naturally contains nitrate and nitrite.
In the process of kimchi production, fermentation bacteria have a great influence on kimchi. It is found that if pure acetic acid bacteria or pure lactic acid bacteria are used in kimchi fermentation, it will not lead to excessive nitrite, because the activities of these bacteria will hardly produce nitrite.
However, when people make pickles and sauerkraut in daily life, there is no condition for pure strain fermentation, which will inevitably pollute miscellaneous bacteria, but it does have the trouble of producing nitrite. But you don't have to worry too much. Because as long as kimchi is fermented for a long time, the nitrite content will not be much, so don't worry about normal consumption.
It was found that with the extension of curing time, the nitrite content would gradually decrease, and finally even basically disappear. At which time is the most nitrite, different pickles will definitely be different, but it is usually about the first half of the month. Therefore, as long as you don't eat freshly pickled kimchi, you don't have to worry about nitrite.
Kimchi contains lactic acid bacteria, which is good for health?
Kimchi is healthy because of lactic acid bacteria and lactic acid in kimchi. Many people say that kimchi contains probiotics-lactic acid bacteria and lactic acid produced by fermentation, which is good for health. In fact, this also exaggerates the role of kimchi.
Kimchi does contain lactic acid bacteria and lactic acid produced during fermentation. But this amount is usually too small, and most of it is in the juice when brewing, so we won't drink it.
Whether probiotics will have a health impact on human products needs to meet three conditions:
1. requires specific strains and must be beneficial to health;
There are enough bacteria in the intestine. If the quantity is small, it won't affect. If you can't eat more than 100 million live bacteria at a time, it is generally difficult to have any health care effect, and you have to take it continuously for a period of time.
3. Enough living bacteria can reach the large intestine. In addition to seeing if it is alive, it is more important to see if it is alive, how many, and how many can enter our intestines.
In the past decades, scientists have conducted thousands of studies and published many research results on promoting digestion, improving diarrhea, enhancing immunity, allergies, cancer, women's health and so on. Unfortunately, most probiotic products do not have enough evidence to prove the impact on human health. On the one hand, the number of live bacteria in these products is very small, on the other hand, it is difficult to survive through the action of human gastrointestinal tract.
The EFSA assessment of the European Food Safety Agency also believes that there is not enough evidence for health claims such as probiotics enhancing immunity and improving intestinal health. So, if you think kimchi is healthy because it contains lactic acid bacteria and lactic acid, then Tucson is bad.
Safe kimchi mainly needs enough pickling time. Generally speaking, the pickles and pickles we buy in the supermarket are the least worried about nitrite, because the pickling time is relatively long, usually a few months, and nitrite has long been decomposed or used and disappeared.
As for the packaged pickles sold in supermarkets now, as long as they are products produced by regular manufacturers with QS logo, they are generally considered to be safe to eat. After all, their products have strict quality control and supervision, and the risk of nitrite exceeding the standard is very small.
What we need to worry about is the kind of bulk pickles sold in farmers' markets or roadside stalls, because it is unlikely to be made of pure strains, and many businesses may not have enough pickling time to sell them as soon as possible.
Therefore, it is suggested that when you buy kimchi, try to go to a regular place to buy regular products.
Can I enjoy kimchi?
So does this mean that we can enjoy kimchi? Not exactly. Because, no matter whether there is nitrite or not, all pickles have a lot of salt, which is a high-salt food. Eating more is not good for your health.
Although the present kimchi can meet the needs of consumers by adding sugar and preservatives, the salt content has obviously decreased, but generally speaking, the salt content of kimchi is still 3% ~ 8%. This level is not low.
Moreover, compared with fresh vegetables, the vitamin C content in kimchi is very small, so it is not suitable for eating in large quantities, and fresh vegetables cannot be eaten because of kimchi.
In 2009, a review article summarized various studies in Asia, and pointed out that people who often eat kimchi have about twice the probability of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The incidence of gastric cancer in South Korea and Japan, which are big kimchi countries, is still very high. Many people think it may be because pickled kimchi is often used.
According to the data of food and health collected by China Nutrition Society, from the current scientific research, excessive consumption of pickled food will increase the risk of esophageal cancer, gastric cancer and hypertension, and also increase the risk of female breast cancer. The reason may be that kimchi contains a lot of sodium, which also increases the risk of gastric cancer.
Who lists kimchi as 2B carcinogen.
Therefore, you still can't eat more kimchi.
How to eat kimchi?
Kimchi tastes sour and refreshing, and it can stimulate appetite. Many people still want to eat. So, how to eat kimchi healthily?
1. I ate too much. The biggest problem with kimchi is its high salt content. Eat less and eat occasionally.
Use it to cook instead of salt. Although the content of vitamin C is very low, pickles are rich in potassium and dietary fiber. Anyway, you should put salt in cooking. It is better to use pickles instead of salt. As long as the salinity is well controlled, some minerals and dietary fiber can be added to the salt directly. Moreover, pickles can also add flavor and make dishes more fragrant and delicious.