Especially biologically valuable food products
In rational nutrition, essentially all food products are used, which mankind has mastered in its history. All of them have certain biological properties and each food product has only an inherent complex of biologically active substances.
According to its chemical composition, nutritional properties and biological effect, food products used by man are mixed substances.
At the same time, some of them are of primary importance as sources of plastic and growth substances, others serve primarily as a source of energy materials, while thirdly provide the necessary vital regulatory components. And, finally, the fourth is a concentrate of biologically active substances, the amount of which in these products is much higher compared with other food products.
The sources of plastic substances include all food products of animal origin.
The most important part of them is a protein containing all the essential amino acids, favorably balanced for tissue synthesis.
The total protein content in food products of animal origin is 15-20% in meat and fish, 3-4 in milk, 15-17 in curds, and 12% in eggs.
Protein digestibility of food products of animal origin - not less than 96%.Sources of plastic substances can also serve as proteins of plant products. Use in certain ratios of animals and plant food products allows you to ensure optimal protein nutrition by complementing their amino acid composition.
The protein content in bread-making food products is 8-13%, and in beans - 22-23%.The digestibility of the protein of plant food is in the range of 70-85%( depending on the type of product and the nature of the treatment).
The sources of calories in human nutrition are mainly foods rich in carbohydrates and fats. For a long time it was believed that the main sources of carbohydrates are sugar and sweets. However, the majority of carbohydrates( and calories) give grain products, in which carbohydrates contain 60-70%, and their digestibility reaches 94-96%.
Due to bread products - bread, cereals, pasta - more than half the caloric content of the daily ration is provided. Of course, sugar can be considered an important source of calories, as well as sugary products such as sweets, chocolate, jam, etc.
However, the high level of bread and sugary foods in the diet is justified only for those who experience systematic physical stress.
To people of intellectual work, leading a sedentary, physically unloaded lifestyle, these products in large quantities are not useful, you need to limit their use.
Essential suppliers of calories are foods rich in fat that give more calories than carbohydrates or proteins( 1 g of fat gives 9 kcal, 1 g of protein - 4 kcal, 1 g of carbohydrates - about 4 kcal).
Biologically active substances normalize the metabolism and perform regulatory and other subtle functions in the vital functions of the body systems. These are vitamins, enzymes, microbiocells, etc.
We repeat, all food products to some extent are sources of biologically valuable substances.
However, in some products they are represented to the greatest extent. This applies to many vegetables, fruits and berries. They provide the human body with vitamin C and P-active substances, as well as carotene, pantothenic and folic acids, inositol, normalizing metabolism and the function of life-supporting systems of the body( central, cardiovascular, endocrine and other systems).
Vegetables, fruits and berries are, as already mentioned, sources of valuable fiber, organic acids and alkaline minerals that are especially important for people of mature and advanced age.
Lipotropic substances that possess antiatherosclerotic properties are among the most valuable.
This, for example, is as follows:
1. Choline is a vitamin-like substance, a constant constituent of lecithin.
2. Methionine is a sulfur-containing amino acid of milk protein( many methionine also in curds and meat).
3. Vitamin E is a pronounced antioxidant, normalizing the intracellular fat oxidation and, thus, supporting the normal life and function of the cell, which plays an important role in preventing atherosclerosis.
4. Vitamin A( especially in combination with vitamin E), which prevents the development of disorders in the vascular wall in atherosclerosis.
5. B vitamins, especially vitamin B1( thiamin), vitamin B2( lactoflavin or riboflavin), vitamin B6( pyridoxine), and pantothenic acid.
6. Inositol, widely represented in vegetables and dairy products.
7. Phytosterol is a sterol, found in plant organisms, which in the body of animals and humans corresponds to cholesterol.
It is already possible to establish and identify food products that, by the content of truly curative substances, contribute to the protection of arteries and prevent the development of atherosclerosis.
Milk and vegetables contain the greatest number of factors that contribute to the prevention of atherosclerosis. Along with fruits and products from whole grains, they most all contribute to the normalization of arterial walls. Thanks to this, the vessels acquire an increased natural resistance to degenerative lesions.
Along with this, it should be noted that products from white flour, sugar, refined oils and fats do not contain( or contain very little) protective substances against the formation of changes in the vascular wall, characteristic of atherosclerosis.
As these products form an essential part of the modern diet of most people, in contrast to them, it is necessary to introduce a large number of protective food products, which include, first of all, milk, vegetables and fruits.
It is known that if the intake of fat does not exceed a certain level and the diet contains natural sources of lecithin, as well as essential fatty acids( for example, whole-grain foods, whole soy, soy lecithin), then there is no increase in serum cholesterol.
Thus, data on the beneficial effect of a full-fledged diet on total fat metabolism( including cholesterol level) have been obtained.
The possibility and necessity of maintaining high biological activity( including through the inclusion in food rations of eggs) of people of all ages( including the elderly) has been proved.
Numerous studies confirm the important role and importance of biologically active substances in maintaining the optimal state of the internal environment of the body, its high resistance to many diseases.
Honey and its derivatives
Honey leads a group of especially active food products. It is difficult to compare with it any other food product, both in terms of the number of constituent components, and in terms of biological properties. Even such products are actively expressed in biological terms, like sea buckthorn, lemongrass, eleutherococcus, in terms of the versatility of biological and therapeutic action inferior to honey.
A distinctive feature of honey is the diversity of its biological effect and the versatility of medicinal properties. Honey is first of all an unrivaled normalizer of many initial disorders and disorders of a healthy state of the organism and its individual systems.
Honey as a remedy was used in ancient times. Yet the Egyptians used it to heal wounds.
As a medicine, honey was used by the ancient Greeks. In ancient China, honey for a long time was sold in pharmacies on a par with medicines.
As the study of all biological and medicinal properties of honey deepened, scientists came to the conclusion that it, as well as sea buckthorn( and possibly as garlic and horseradish), can be attributed to medicinal products.
Well-known value of honey as widely used in folk medicine for treating colds. Not less widely known was honey and as an easy laxative. Daily use of honey( 50-100 g) acts in a regulating manner for the bowel movement.
Honey has long been attributed to unsurpassed restorative and tonic aids for various types of depletion, weakening after the transferred illness and other types of recovery of various body functions.
The role of honey in overtraining is exceptionally high. There are data on its favorable effect with neuropsychic overloads and stressful conditions. The successful use of honey for the treatment of peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, as well as gastritis and other diseases of the digestive system is known.
Honey is very effective in diseases of the liver and in the normalization of metabolism.
If you gather all the available information about the beneficial properties of honey, it will become even more obvious its high value not only as a food product, but also as a great health-improving food in the fight against many ailments.
Today certain specific ways of medicinal use of honey based on its property are enriched by those substances that are contained in nectar collected by bees. If a certain amount of any drug affinity is added to the feeding( in the sugar solution), its bees in the process of processing canto transfer to honey. Thus, it became possible to give honey a purposeful curative property( for example, for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases).
Now a few words about the properties of honey as a food product.
Honey - nectar of flowers, processed by bees into a food product. The most valuable are the bright types of flower honey - linden, from the flowers of white acacia, etc.
Of darker types of honey, buckwheat, collected from buckwheat flowers, is most often found. With a lack of nectariferous flowers, bees produce honey from honey dew collected from the leaves of trees( oak, birch, maple, poplar, linden).Honey pomade honey has an unpleasant taste and a lower nutritional value.
The main component of honey - invert sugar( a mixture of glucose and fructose), the content of which in honey reaches 69%.The high content of invert sugar makes honey one of the most easily assimilated foods.
Despite many positive nutritional and biological properties of honey( given its high caloric content), abundant, unlimited consumption of honey is not recommended. Honey can be consumed daily in the same quantities as sugar( 60-100 g per day).With excess weight and low physical exertion, honey, as well as sugar, will not benefit.
Important components of honey are organic acids( lactic, malic, citric, oxalic) and enzymes( diastase, kata-laz, invertase, lipase, phosphatase).
The healing properties of honey attract close attention. Among the population there is a perception of inexhaustible, including not yet open, its medicinal properties. Of particular interest are substances associated with honey and its attendant. We are talking about apilaka, propolis and pollen, which undoubtedly have high biological activity and multi-purpose therapeutic properties.
Apilac, or royal jelly, is the secret of the allotrophic glands of worker bees. Has a multi-purpose therapeutic property, which is based on a tonic and antispastic action. Under the influence of apilac, the general tone of the organism rises, blood pressure normalizes, the development of atherosclerosis is delayed, the cholesterol level decreases with its elevated blood content. Apilac has a regulating effect on metabolism( especially on fat and cholesterol).
Apilac is used to treat various forms of anemia( anemia).Under the influence of this treatment, the content of iron in the blood increases, the quality and quantity of hemoglobin increases.
Successfully royal jelly is used in the treatment of peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, it reduces pain syndrome and accelerates the healing of ulcers.
Apilac in psychiatry has been widely used in the treatment of a number of mental illnesses( schizophrenia, for example).With depression, under the influence of apilac, the oppressed emotional-volitional manifestations are animated, the neuropsychic state is normalized, and the mood improves.
Apilac also applies to geriatric drugs. Has a toning, rejuvenating effect on people in old age. Thus, in terms of its therapeutic effect, royal jelly can be referred to expressed biological stimulants.
The biological effect of apilac is due to the high content of a large number of various active substances, including folic acid and other vitamins of group B), hormone-like substances, gamma globulins, etc. Apilac is manufactured by the medical industry. It should be applied 1 tablet 3 times a day( under the tongue) for two to three weeks.
Royal jelly is widely used in a mixture with honey for nervous and psychological overloads, neuroses, irritability, stressful conditions, with general overwork, asthenia, insomnia, anemia, premature aging, liver damage, gout, etc.
Propolis, or bee glue, has antimicrobial, "glue-forming" properties. With it, bees seal up the cracks in the hives. When bees enter animals( mice, snakes, etc.), bees kill them. Unable to remove corpses from the hive, they leave them there forever, pre-coated with a layer of propolis. In such a walled "sarcophagus" dead animals lie for a long time( several years) without decomposition.
The main importance of propolis as a remedy is its antimicrobial properties - its ability to stop the life of microorganisms, fungi and bacteria, putrefactive, purulent( staphylococci, streptococci), as well as tuberculosis microbacteria.
Propolis can be classified as a therapeutic agent with an antimicrobial effect, which has a curative effect in many skin diseases( acne, eczema, furuncles), with burns, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, pulmonary tuberculosis, inflammatory gynecological diseases, hemorrhoids, etc.
Propolis for medicinal purposes is used in the form of 10-, 15-, 20-, 30- and 40% ointments for external use and in the form of propolis oil( propolis in butter for internal use).
Propolisnye ointments are prepared on vaseline or lanolin with the addition of lemon or fish oil. This fatty base is brought to a boil in enameled dishes. In the boiling fat is added finely chopped propolis in an amount corresponding to a specified percentage of the obtained ointment( for example, with a 10% ointment - 100 g fat 10 g propolis).
After the addition of propolis to the fat, the mixture in the hot state is continuously stirred for 30 minutes, then filtered through one layer of gauze and poured into cans. The resulting propolis ointment is very stable and can maintain its healing properties without reducing it for several years. To store propolisnuju ointment, however, it is better in a temp a cool place( at all in case of solar illumination).
Prolis oil( propolis in butter) is prepared in the same way as the propolis ointment. Take 1 kg of butter, place it and enameled pot and heat to a boil. After boiling, the heating stops and the hot butter is injected with finely chopped propolis in an amount corresponding to the specified concentration( at 10% concentration - 100 g propolis, at 15% 150 g propolis per 1 kg hot butter).
A hot mixture of propolis and butter for half an hour is thoroughly stirred continuously to distribute and extract propolis evenly into the oil. Take propolisnoe oil to accelerate the healing of stomach and duodenum ulcers at 10-15 g( a teaspoon) for 1-1.5 h before meals in combination with strict performance of antiulcer, sparing diet. The course of treatment is 2-3 weeks.
Flower pollen is not a product of the life of bees. However, it is inextricably linked with honey, as bees, collecting nectar of flowers, simultaneously collect and flower pollen. Flowers and leaves of many plants are covered with pollen grains, which have nutritional, biological and medicinal properties. Especially a lot of pollen is given by oaks, elms and many other trees. Apple tree flowers, for example, contain up to 100 000 pollen grains, and the hazelnut flower - up to 1 000 000. The air of the forests is abundantly pollen. Bees collect a significant amount of pollen, but the bulk of it remains unused.
Given the exceptionally high biological value of pollen, a number of countries collect and use it for human health. The pollen harvest in France is especially high.
Flower pollen is able to have a multifarious healing effect on the human body.
It can be considered that pollen is one of the most effective natural biological products in modern conditions, necessary for normalization of health.
Flower pollen contains a rich complex of amino acids, including vital, essential amino acids.
The pollen contains an expanded complex of minerals, including a complex of highly biologically active microelements( iron, copper, cobalt, manganese, strontium, zinc, arsenic, silicon, sulfur, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, etc.).Such an extensive range of mineral elements is necessary for the normalization of mineral metabolism, hemopoiesis and optimization of osmotic processes occurring in the cell and intercellular environments.
Pollen contains most of the vitamins in relatively large quantities. It contains vitamin C, vitamins B1, B2, B6, folic acid, carotene, pantothenic acid, calciferol( vitamin D), tocopherol( vitamin E), etc.
Pollen is rich in routine( vitamin P), the content of which reaches 17mg%.
The therapeutic effect of pollen is noted in diseases of the digestive system, with gastritis and chronic colitis, accompanied by diarrhea. It is an effective means of normalizing the function of useful intestinal microflora, reducing putrefactive processes in the intestine and preventing auto-toxication by putrefactive products.
Flower pollen has a general strengthening, tonic effect for various kinds of weakening of the organism after the diseases, in old age, etc. The positive effect of the application of flower pollen in anemia of adults and children, as well as in violation of the exchange of uric acid and the development of gout.
Flower pollen is used for some skin diseases, as well as an effective cosmetic agent for revitalizing sluggish skin cells of the face.
Take honey preparations of pollen according to the instructions given on the label of the can, for example 1 teaspoon before meals in the morning and in the evening. The course of treatment is sufficient for two cans of flower pollen with a capacity of 0.5 liters.
Prolonged independent use of pollen without consulting with a doctor is not recommended.
Seabuckthorn and sea buckthorn oil
Seabuckthorn refers to plants that have extremely high biological activity. It can reasonably be attributed to medicinal plants.
Useful properties of sea-buckthorn were known for a long time. She was credited with the ability to heal scurvy and certain skin diseases, accelerate the healing of ulcers, and also stimulate physical activity and improve the overall condition of the body. It is still widely used in folk medicine.
Almost all parts of the sea-buckthorn plant - fruits, seeds, leaves - have biological activity. In the largest complex, biologically active substances are represented in fruits, in less quantity - in seeds, even in smaller - in leaves. Especially high biological value is the sea buckthorn oil, which can be considered as a recognized, highly effective in the therapeutic and preventive treatment of the drug.
The most important indicator of the biological value of the fruit of sea-buckthorn is the high content of vitamin C( ascorbic acid) in them. The fruit contains from 200 to 900 mg% of vitamin C. According to the C-vitamin activity, the fruits of sea-buckthorn can be classified as the most important C-vitamin carrier, such as rose hips, black currant, etc.
During periods of lack and absence of vitamin C of sea-buckthornhas always served as a reliable means of preventing the development of scurvy and other forms of C-vitamin deficiency among the population.
In addition to vitamin C, the fruits of sea buckthorn contain other vitamins( Bl, B2, PP, carotenoids, choline, betaine, etc.).A special feature of the vitamin composition of the fruit of sea-buckthorn is the high content of carotenoid in them( up to 28 mg%), including 4-8 mg% of carotene.
In addition, the fruit of sea buckthorn contains folacin( folic acid), vitamin E( up to 20 mg%), vitamin F( essential unsaturated fatty acids), vitamin P and tannins.
The presence of vitamin A, carotenoids, choline, betaine in the fruits provides sea-buckthorn lipotropic properties( the ability to prevent obesity of the liver, normalize cholesterol metabolism and thus have an anti-atherosclerotic effect).The conducted experimental studies confirmed the presence of lipotropic properties in sea buckthorn and showed that the fruits of sea buckthorn and their juice reduce the fat and cholesterol in the liver. Thus, the fruits of sea buckthorn, in addition to antiscorbutic properties, have anti-sclerotic properties.
The most important concentrate of biologically active substances is sea buckthorn oil, which increasingly receives reliable confirmation of its high therapeutic and prophylactic properties. It contains a number of valuable and biologically active substances, the most important of which are carotenoids( provitamin A), tocopherols( vitamin E), essential unsaturated fatty acids( vitamin P), phospholipids( lecithin, etc.), sterols( beta-sitosteroland etc.).
The above substances are related to fat and cholesterol metabolism. They participate in the normalization of these types of metabolism and, thus, play an important role in preventing the development of atherosclerosis.
Carotenoids combine a group of substances that can be converted into vitamin A in the body. Beta-carotene has the most activity in this respect, which in addition to provitamin properties plays an independent role in the body, participating in the function of endocrine and some other systems.
Sea-buckthorn oil contains up to 200 mg% of carotenoids, including about 70 mg% of carotene. Recall that in such an acknowledged source of carotene as red carrots, its content does not exceed 8 mg%.
Tocopherols( vitamin E) combine a group of substances that have a multifaceted biological effect. One of the important properties of tocopherols is their antioxidant( antioxidant) action. Tocopherols in the body protect the lipids( fats) of cells and tissues from oxidation( peroxidation).
The need for tocopherol is quite large - 20-30 mg per day).To satisfy her is a known difficulty. The real source of complete satisfaction of the need for tocopherols is the inclusion of vegetable oil in the food ration.
The content of tocopherols in vegetable oils is different. So, sunflower oil contains tocopherols 60 mg%, in cotton - 90, in corn - 100, in soy - 120 mg%.The highest content of tocopherols is noted in sea buckthorn oil. It contains 200 mg% of tocopherols( 2-3 times more than in other oils).Sea-buckthorn oil can be considered as a natural concentrate of tocopherols.
Sterols are present in animal fats, predominantly in the form of cholesterol, and in vegetable oils as a useful, highly active betatsitoserina. If animal sterols( eg, cholesterol) play a negative role in the development of atherosclerosis, plant sterols are a pronounced anti-atherosclerotic agent.
Plant sterols( especially beta-sitosterol) are important in the normalization of fat and cholesterol metabolism. They form insoluble complexes with cholesterol, which are not absorbed and are excreted from the body. Thus, an increase in the level of cholesterol in the blood is prevented.
The content of sterols in animal fats is in the range of 200-500 mg%.In vegetable oils, the content of sterols is: in soybean oil - 150-380 mg%, in cotton oil - 260-310, in sunflower oil - up to 300, in olive oil - 230-310, in corn oil - 580-1000 mg%.Thus, the highest content of sterols is distinguished by corn oil. It is possible that this explains the high efficiency of corn oil in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.
But here is the sea buckthorn oil. It contains 2400-2600 mg% sterols - more than 2 times compared to corn oil and 13 times more than in sunflower or cottonseed oil.
As you can see, sea buckthorn oil is an unsurpassed source of sterols, which play an important role in the prevention of atherosclerosis. It should be noted that in the number of sterols of sea buckthorn oil 52.3% is beta-sitosterol, which is characterized by high biological activity and anti-atherosclerotic orientation.
The composition of sterols of sea buckthorn oil contains 16.8% of stigmasterol, which also has an antisclerotic effect.
Phospholipids are highly bioactive substances. Their most important representatives are lecithin, cephalicine and cephalomyelin. They all have an effect on cholesterol metabolism and play an important role in maintaining normal blood cholesterol levels.
Lecithin prevents the accumulation of excess amounts of cholesterol in the body, promotes its cleavage and excretion from the body.
Sea-buckthorn oil contains 1000 mg% of phospholipids, which in the amount of one third are represented by lecithin and two thirds - cephalin.
Essential unsaturated fatty acids( vitamin F) are known to be vital components of nutrition. They participate in fat and cholesterol metabolism and play an important role in preventing the development of atherosclerosis.
The need for essential unsaturated fatty acids is determined on average 5-8 g per day. Despite the relatively small need, it is difficult to satisfy it, since the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in food products is negligible. Only vegetable oils are an exception and contain relatively many essential unsaturated fatty acids.
The therapeutic use of sea buckthorn oil is very diverse. As already noted, sea buckthorn oil is effective in treating wounds. Under its influence, regeneration and restoration of damaged tissues are accelerated. Particularly effective sea buckthorn oil was found in the treatment of burns( healing is accelerated by one and a half times).
Sea buckthorn oil has a beneficial effect in the treatment of patients with atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease. Under the influence of sea buckthorn oil in patients with coronary atherosclerosis there is a sharp decrease in angina attacks, the disappearance of the heartbeat, normalization of pressure and improvement in overall well-being.
Apply sea buckthorn oil only as directed by a physician.
Protein-lecithin complex
Protein-lecithin complex has pronounced lipotropic, antisclerotic properties. It does not occur in any other food, except dairy. In the largest amount, the protein-lecithin complex is represented in buttermilk and cream.
Protein-lecithin complex is located only in the membrane that covers the fatty ball of milk fat.
Milk fat, as is known, consists of the smallest in size fat globules. Therefore, the area of the membranes covering the fat globules is so huge. They constitute an essential part of milk fat, and the substances contained in the shells form important biologically important complexes.
According to modern scientific data, the membrane of fat globules is a complex biological system of a membrane type. It is established that it has a peculiar, original composition, nowhere else found. It concentrates a number of substances that have lipotropic properties - the ability to normalize fat metabolism, prevent obesity of the liver, etc. The basic substances of fat globule membranes contribute to the normalization of cholesterol metabolism, increase the excretion of cholesterol from the body, reducing and limiting the deposition of cholesterol in the vascular wall.
The components of the fat globule shell are interrelated and form a single complex, called "shell material".It consists of a mixture of fat and protein components. The protein part is about 80% of the total amount of shell material.
The coat protein differs from other proteins in its amino acid composition. Amino acids of the coat protein are balanced with the greatest antisclerotic orientation.
Attention is drawn to the high content of the histidine amino acid in the coat protein, which is particularly important in the nutrition of children and plays a significant role in ensuring their normal growth and development. Many of the shell protein is also the amino acid of threonine, which is necessary for the normalization of growth and development processes.
The coat protein is distinguished by the same high content of methionine and cystine.
The opinion of experts on the importance of the balance between methionine and cystine and participation in methionine transformations has recently been expressed.
Methionine and cystine are known to belong to the same group of sulfur-containing amino acids that have anti-sclerotic properties. In this regard, it is essential to take into account the total content of methionine and cystine in a particular food product. The total content of methionine and cystine in the envelope protein exceeds that in the main protein of milk.
Fats( lipids), which are part of fat globules, are also of great biological value.
The most important property that distinguishes shell fat from the fats of other foods is that 35-45% of shell fat is phospholipids. They contain such vital, irreplaceable components as lecithin, choline, sphingomyelin and other substances related to the normalizers of fat metabolism.
Fatty acids are optimally balanced for the manifestation of lipotropic action( prevention of obesity of the liver) and other anti-sclerotic properties.
In shell fat, there are many essential fatty acids. Among them, arachidonic acid, which gives shell fat a particularly useful properties.
Thus, fats( lipids) of fat globule shells can be referred to fats of high biological value, whose activity is directed to the normalizing effect of fat and cholesterol metabolism.
Protein-lecithin complex, formed in the shells of fat globules, is a more active substance than separately taken shell proteins and fats. It should be noted again that this complex is unique in its composition and biological action in the body and has no equal.
Flavors
Flavors have always attracted unflagging attention at all times. People sought to make food tastier and in ancient times, and these days.
Consumption of gustatory substances was also considered as a health factor, as many taste substances were attributed various healing properties.
In all countries of the world, more and more new herbal remedies have been sought, combining expressed individual taste manifestations and medicinal properties.
A huge number of different seeds, fruits, flowers, herbs, plant roots was an extensive world fund of flavoring substances, numbering in its assortment tens of thousands of items. Accumulation and creation of flavoring substances always went in parallel with the creation of a fund of herbal remedies. A significant part of the taste buds has firmly become part of the pharmacopoeia of many countries in the world, in which they have received a fairly thorough approbation.
About the importance that flavor substances were given, numerous inscriptions and images of them on the monuments of antiquity say. So, on the pyramid of Cheops, there are inscriptions about onions and garlic that were part of the food ration of the builders of this pyramid. Garlic in the Chinese alphabet is depicted in the same hieroglyph as objects of the most ancient origin.
In modern science of rational nutrition, gustatory substances are considered as an indispensable component of any diet. High taste characteristics of food are the best means of increasing its digestibility. Under the influence of gustatory substances, the digestive glands are stimulated, the quality of the juices is increased, the activity of the enzymes is enhanced, the processing of food by digestive juices is improved, and the digestive process is generally improved.
The importance of high taste of food rises sharply in conditions of physical, muscular unloading, with a sedentary lifestyle among people in "sedentary" occupations. And they are becoming more. ..
Under the influence of insufficient muscular load, as is known, a special state of the body, called hypokinesia, develops. All the body systems in this case work for a "resting state".In other words, the work of the body systems proceeds at the very "low speed" and "low speeds".As a result, there is a development of an inability - an inability to overcome any tension, if it arises.
Monotonous, malovkusnoe nutrition - a factor that contributes to the development of digestive hypokinesia. Malovkusnaya food does not induce the digestive organs to active activity. Today, a number of new problems have arisen in the field of nutrition. One of them is an increase in the activity of nutrition.
It is becoming increasingly clear that consumed food should induce all parts of the digestive system to be active. A sharp decrease in the physical load of our contemporaries leads to a wide spread of hypokinesia, a special unstable state of the body, to the development of atherosclerosis and hypertension, an increase in neuro-emotional excitability and inadequate reactivity.
The development of general hypokinesia, as has been repeatedly pointed out, can lead to a decrease in the activity of the digestive system, a decrease in its motor and secretory function. Against the background of general hypokinesia fast and pronounced weakening of the digestive system is facilitated by digestible food, rich in refined products and poor in flavoring substances. Such easily digestible, tender food does not induce the secretory and motor apparatus of the digestive system to be active.
That's why to increase the activity of nutrition is especially important to include in food natural foods with the maximum preservation of their natural properties, including taste.
Improving the taste of food - a means of increasing the activity of digestion and preventing the development of hypokinesia in the digestive system.
The provision of the necessary flavoring properties of food is primarily achieved through the use of high quality raw materials and high qualification of people engaged in food preparation for cooking. However, neither the high quality of the initial products, nor the mastery of the cook, will provide the required level of food taste, if there are no flavoring substances in it.
And now there are hundreds of tastes. Despite their large number, they can be represented basically in the form of three groups: 1 - spices( pepper, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, bay leaf, cumin, bodian, coriander);2 - spicy vegetables( parsley, dill, onion, garlic, etc.) and 3 - artificial, synthetic flavors( vanillin, dill essence, food acids, aromatic, bitter, sweet and other flavoring agents).
Spices
Spices are different parts of spicy plants( seeds, stems, fruits, bark, leaves, flowers, roots).
Spices, or spices, are widely used in all countries of the world. These include a large range of natural plant products that have a pronounced taste and smell.
Common to all spices is the presence in their composition of essential oils, which have pronounced aromatic properties, and specific substances of different chemical structure( glucosides, alkaloids, etc.).They are present in spices in small amounts, but they show a strong stimulating and irritating effect( blue mustard, pepperin pepper, etc.).
Today spices have acquired the importance of the most important food component of the population of all countries of the world. The reason is simple. They unlimitedly improve the taste of consumed food, give it spice and piquancy. Among millions of people there was a strong belief in the great utility of spices for health. Doctors confirmed that with the consumption of spices in their patients, undoubtedly, general digestion improved, sowing increased, gas formation decreased, bowel emptying improved.
It is now generally accepted that spices are an important factor in increasing nutrition activity. It is also established that the use of several types of spices in a mutual synergistic combination allows to significantly increase the flavor, aromatic, biological and general nutritional value.
Study of mixtures of spices has another important side. Recently attracted attention to biologically active substances, which manifest their effect in the body, causing a variety of effects on metabolism and many other processes. Real storehouses were many vegetable products - leaves, fruits, berries.
Well-known high biological activity of sea buckthorn berries, rose hips, tea leaves, etc.
Vitamins occupy a leading place among biologically active substances, to which an even greater assortment of biologically active substances( enzymes, phytoncid, etc.) now joins.
Recently, antioxidants( antioxidants) have become more and more attractive.
The important role of antioxidants and the normalization of the state and functions of cell membranes and prevention of oxidation of intracellular lipids are becoming increasingly clear.
Decreased peroxidation processes in the body are an important factor in preventing atherosclerosis and prolonging life.
Apparently, the nutrition of modern man( especially in old age) should have not only lipotropic, but also antioxidant properties. Enriching the nutrition of antioxidants, which are quite scarce, is an important health problem. All sources of antioxidants are of great value. Recently, for example, high antioxidant activity of catechins and tea polyphenols has been revealed. Despite the small amount of these substances in the tea drink, tea undoubtedly plays a positive role in increasing the antioxidant activity of the human food diet.
One of the important biological properties of spices is antioxidant activity.
Many spices( cloves, ginger, cumin, garlic) have pronounced antioxidant properties and are able to inhibit the development of peroxidation in the body. If we take into account the pronounced synergism in the antioxidant effect, then the spice mixtures, quite possibly, have a greater antioxidant effect than a particular kind of spices taken separately. In this regard, the development of mixtures of spices is promising. It will be very valuable biologically.
Now it can be considered firmly established that the use of spices in the diet of healthy people is fully justified. However, in the case of physical stress, neuropsychic and emotional overstrain and other conditions of increased nervous excitability, systematic daily use of spices( especially in unimportant amounts) can hardly be recommended. They cause a strong irritant effect on the central nervous system, on the excretory system( kidneys), as well as on the activity of the liver and some other systems. Therefore spices in the least degree can be recommended for wide independent use in nutrition.
In the diet of healthy people, we repeat, spices can be used sparingly and in limited quantities. As for the elderly and people with severe atherosclerosis, then spices are contraindicated.
Spicy Vegetables
The second group of flavors are spicy vegetables, which are the most desirable types of flavoring. They can be recommended for the widest application in home and public catering, for people of all ages and professions. They should be considered as an obligatory component in the recipe of a dish.
Unlike spices, spicy vegetables( onions, garlic, dill, parsley, horseradish, etc.) contain in their composition enough vitamin and phytoncids.
The largest number of them contain thiamin C, carotene, folic acid and vitamin B6( pyridoxine).
This set of vitamins In spicy vegetables forms an active complex, which manifests its biological effect even with a relatively small amount of spicy vegetables in the diet.
The most important type of spicy vegetables is parsley, which, with its delicate aroma, soft, unruly and pleasant taste, has gained universal recognition in cooking, greatly improving the taste of food( especially broths).There is parsley root and leaf;in the first, roots and leaves are used for food; in the second, only leaves.
Green parsley contains 8,40 mg% carotene and 126 mg% ascorbic acid. In addition, the leaves of parsley contain a significant amount of iron( 5.9 mg%).
To increase the taste of food and food products, the addition of dill has a great influence. Who does not know the aroma and unsurpassed taste of freshly salted freshly prepared cucumbers! And whose merit is that? Dill.
A great taste effect is provided by dill when it is added to salads and ready meals. It contains 111 mg% ascorbic acid.
The most common type of spicy vegetables is onions.
Different types of onions are known - onion, leek, onion, bat-onion, onion( green onion), etc. By taste, onions are sharp, semi-acute and sweet. Onion differs from all other flavors in that it is often used as a food product as an independent dish or garnish.
In some countries( in France, for example), onion soup is widely spread. Onions are also known for fried meat products, etc. Salads made from green onions are also used.
Onion is not only a flavor, but also an independent food product. Onions contain 8.4 mg% ascorbic acid, and green onions - 5 times more( 48 mg%).It contains carotene( 4.8 mg%).
Given the relatively high level of consumption of onions, we can say that it plays a certain role in the vitamin supply of the body, especially during periods of inadequate fresh vegetables.
A special place among spicy vegetables is garlic. It has sharp aromatic and flavor properties, depending on the content of garlic oil, which includes biologically active allylic substances. Garlic, because of its sharp smell and taste, is used in small amounts as a seasoning for food, as well as pickling cucumbers and other vegetables. The content of vitamin C in garlic is insignificant and of no practical value.
Phytoncids of garlic have a bactericidal effect on pathogenic microorganisms, including on causative agents of intestinal diseases. From garlic phytoncid preparations are obtained, among which the most known are allicin and sativin. It has a value and as a medicinal plant, finding use in the treatment of helminthiases, vascular and other ailments.
Garlic has bactericidal properties due to the high content of phytoncids in it. A remarkable property of garlic is that it is capable of securing phytoncides after 200 and even 700 hours after grinding. In most plants, the release of phytoncides ceases immediately( in the first minutes and seconds) after grinding.
A very useful seasoning, worthy of the broadest recommendation for use in nutrition, is horseradish.
Horseradish has a high content of ascorbic acid, the amount of which reaches 128 mg%.In the horseradish variety of minerals are presented, the content of which reaches significant values. Especially a lot of potassium is contained - 371 mg% and iron - 1.3 mg%.Horseradish is also a source of phytoncids.
The need for spicy vegetables is about 2% of the total consumption of vegetables.
Artificial and synthetic aromatic substances
It is possible to distinguish in the third group flavoring artificial and synthetic aromatic substances( vanillin, dill essence), food acids( citric, acetic, apple), sweet substances( saccharin, sorbitol, xylitol) and a large group of substances that improvethe quality of products that provide a better consistency, plasticity and other necessary properties of the food products produced.
Artificial gustatory substances in everyday life and public catering are used extremely narrowly. Here, spicy vegetables and( partly) spices are most used. As for artificial flavors, they are widely used in the food and canning industry, in the production of sausages, canned goods, ice cream and other food products. In mass production of food products, special means for improving the quality and flavor properties of the products manufactured are applied.
These products, improving the organoleptic and other quality indicators of products used in the food industry, are conventionally called "food additives"( dyes, fragrances, bleaches, softeners).
Table salt and its restriction
An extremely important role in the normal function of body systems belongs to sodium, potassium and their quantitative ratios.
Both sodium deficiency and its excess and the associated disruption of the sodium-potassium ratio adversely affect the functions of the body's basic systems( cardiovascular, excretory, neuropsychic), and also on water-salt metabolism.
In continuity with the intake of sodium is the supply of chlorine, because they come together in the body in the form of table salt - sodium chloride.
The basic need of the organism is satisfied by the sodium chloride added to food products( bread, etc.), and by adding table salt directly to food and the moment of its preparation and salting at the time of its consumption.
If we take into account the definition of the demand for sodium chloride daily excretion from the body( which is 7-8 g per day), then this amount is easily absorbed by the usual mixed, varied nutrition, at average energy levels. Especially 7-8 g of sodium chloride is sufficient for hypokinetic conditions( low physical activity), in the presence of excess weight, developing atherosclerosis and other, alas, frequent in modern conditions.
Therefore, for the elderly, as well as for overweight people, it is unlikely that the recommended values of the sodium chloride demand - 15-20 g per day - can be useful.
As the most acceptable standard should be considered 10 grams per day.
As for young people, as well as middle-aged people involved in sports and leading a physically active, mobile lifestyle, consumption of sodium chloride can be increased to 20 g per day.
Increased consumption of table salt for healthy, young people does not present special harm.
However, for people of advanced age, as well as for those who suffer from diseases of individual body systems( with weakened kidney function, atherosclerosis, excessive body weight, hypertension, thyroid dysfunction), the use of table salt should be limited. After all, salt contributes to the retention of water in the body, which means overweight.
However, this restriction must be made to a certain limit, below which you should not descend.
Cooking salt plays a diverse role in the body. In particular, it is extremely necessary to ensure normal water-salt metabolism, maintain acid-base balance, form hydrochloric acid of gastric juice, maintain normal blood composition, etc.
About a fifth( 20%) of the amount of sodium and chlorine in the body is used for educationhydrochloric acid in gastric juice.
Salt is capable of retaining fluid in the body( 10-15 g of table salt can hold 1.5-2 liters of liquid in the body).When consuming plant foods rich in potassium, the need for salt increases.
The importance of interrelation and interaction of sodium and potassium on various functions of the body systems is increasingly being revealed.
The most important condition for normal cell life is the difference in potential between the intercellular fluid washing the cells and the cell itself. The necessary difference in potentials is provided by maintaining the content of a certain complex of minerals both inside the cell and in the surrounding intercellular fluid.
Inside the cell, mainly potassium, phosphorus and calcium are present, in the intercellular( cell-washing liquid) are mainly sodium, chlorine and calcium.
The potential difference between the washer fluid and the cell provides a normal cell function.
When the potential difference is reduced, the cell can not function normally. In its composition, the specific weight of sodium increases, and the content of potassium increases in the intercellular washing fluid.
The difference in potentials is lost and the possibility of normal supply of cells to nutrients is disrupted, and the removal of unnecessary, waste substances from the cell is disrupted.
As already noted, a physiological norm of sodium chloride can take an average of 10 grams of table salt per day. At the expense of food products, about 5 g of salt is supplied( half the demand), the other half( 5 g) comes from the salting of such food.
Food products have different levels of table salt in their composition. Knowing the content of salt in these or other food products, it seems possible to regulate the content of table salt in the diet.
A lot of salt is found in bakery products. Note that 100 grams of black bread contains 1.6 g of table salt, and in white bread - half of this amount.
Herrings with a salt content of 6-10% are particularly salty. Many salts have some types of cheeses and sausages. Not everywhere salt is used equally. If in European countries the average consumption of table salt is 15 g per day, in Japan it often reaches 60 grams per day.
High intake of salt served as a basis for studying the effect of this factor on health. Studies have established a relationship between excessive salt intake and the morbidity structure, in particular the prevalence of cerebral sclerosis and the frequency of cerebral hemorrhage.
It was found that in Japan, cerebral sclerosis and strokes are registered somewhat more frequently than in other countries. At the same time, coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction are less common in Japan than in European countries. This fact served as the basis for suggesting the predominant negative effect of excess salt on the state of the blood vessels of the brain and cerebral blood supply as a whole.
It has been proven that excessive consumption of sodium chloride for a long time can have a negative impact on health and, first of all, on the state of the vascular system.
As a practical guide, we recommend the following:
1. High intake of table salt can be recommended in conditions of high temperature( work in hot shops, in hot climates, etc.), as well as with severe physical exertion, with sports, etc. InIn these cases, salt intake can reach 20-25 g per day.
2. In mature and old age, with excess weight, atherosclerosis and hypertension, salt intake should be limited to 6-8 grams per day.
3. The consumption of salt should be limited by eliminating salty foods( herring, pickles, salted cheese - brynza), salted meat products, certain sausages from the food ration, as well as reducing the significant salting of the finished food at the time of consumption.
If there is a need to completely eliminate the consumption of sodium chloride, then, on the prescription of the attending physician, some substitutes may be used instead of table salt. They do not have the negative properties of sodium chloride, but at the same time they can cause a sensation of salinity and give the food a normal salty taste.
The substitutes for table salt include a special dietary salt - sanasol, which consists of the following components: potassium chloride - 60%, potassium citrate - 10, calcium glucon - 10, magnesium aspartate - 5, ammonium chloride - 10, glutamic acid - 5%.It is used in diseases of the kidneys, cardiovascular diseases and inflammatory processes, as well as for dosage of ready meals before consumption. In addition to sanasol, there are other substitutes for table salt.