The allure of colorful vegetables: Unveiling the secrets of five-color slimming ingredients

The allure of vegetable colors

Vegetables are low-calorie foods, rich in fiber, which promotes intestinal peristalsis and the excretion of excess cholesterol. Besides the familiar green, vegetables come in many other colors, each with its own unique health benefits.

White series: white radish

White radishes are rich in fiber, minerals, and protein, and contain antioxidants. They also contain pungent components such as mustard oil and amylase, which can promote the metabolism of fats and prevent fat from accumulating under the skin.

Tips

★ It is best to eat white radishes raw, because the amylase in them is not heat-resistant and is easily destroyed when the temperature exceeds 70℃.

Yellow series: Carrots

Carrots are rich in calcium pectate, which combines with bile acids and is excreted through metabolites. When the human body needs to produce bile acids, it must utilize cholesterol from the blood, thus lowering the blood cholesterol level.

Tips

★Carrots are best cooked with oil because carotene dissolves in oil.

★ Carrots are not suitable to be eaten with alcohol. When the concentration of carotenoids is high, they combine with alcohol and free radicals, turning into pro-oxidants that attack normal cells.

Green color: Cabbage

Also known as round cabbage or head cabbage, it provides a large amount of fiber to help cleanse the intestines. Raw cabbage contains tartaric acid, which can prevent excess starch from being converted into fat. It benefits the heart and kidneys, strengthens the spleen and stomach, promotes digestion, and prevents constipation.

Tips

★ It's better to eat it raw because tartaric acid is present in raw cabbage.

Red series: Chili peppers

Capsaicin in chili peppers, just a spoonful or two, sends a "sufficient" signal to the brain, significantly reducing appetite. Another major function of capsaicin is to stimulate the body's thermogenic system and accelerate metabolism.

Eating a spicy meal can burn more than 25% more calories. Drinking a cup of caffeinated black tea while the spiciness is burning in your stomach enhances the effect. Chili peppers also promote the production of two enzymes in the body that, during the fat-burning process, simultaneously "persuade" fat cells to unload and prevent excessive fat accumulation. This weight loss method requires no dietary rules because capsaicin stimulates the production of endorphins and serotonin, while also improving your mood.

Tips

★ People with asthma should consume it in moderation, as capsaicin may trigger an asthma attack; aspirin users should also use it with caution, as chili peppers can inhibit the body's absorption of aspirin.

★ Do not use packaged seasonings, as they are all substitutes for capsaicin and will not work.

★After a spicy dish is served for 2 hours, the capsaicin will automatically heat up.

★ Regularly consuming chili peppers can gradually allow nerve endings to adapt to the stimulation of capsaicin, eventually leading to numbness.

★Beginners can drink some milk or yogurt, as the protein in them can soothe the taste stimulant of capsaicin and the stomach acid it causes.

★The weather in most parts of northern China is dry, making it unsuitable for long-term consumption of spicy food. Prolonged consumption can easily affect the digestive system and cause rough skin.

Black series: Konjac

In addition to containing a large amount of nutrients, it also contains a special component rarely found in other plants, mannan. It has the characteristics of high expansion, high elasticity and high viscosity. It can absorb gastric juice and expand to 30 to 100 times its original volume, producing a feeling of fullness. It also inhibits the body from absorbing excessive cholesterol from food and prevents salivary amylase from hydrolyzing it. It can also promote intestinal peristalsis and eliminate intestinal wall deposits.

Tips

★Raw konjac is poisonous and must be boiled for more than 3 hours before it can be eaten. Alternatively, you can choose shrunken konjac, which can be cooked and eaten after soaking.

In addition, celery, tomatoes, leeks, onions, bean sprouts, etc., all have good slimming effects.

Special recommendation: Kimchi

In South Korea, whether it's the sexy girls on the street, the office ladies, or the movie stars on screen, they're all slim and slender, making people incredibly envious. One of the secrets is kimchi.

Kimchi is arguably the most representative traditional Korean dish. Koreans love kimchi and can't live without it, with almost every household having a dedicated refrigerator to store it. This food is practically devoid of calories. It's said that Koreans only have three methods for preparing vegetables and meats: boiling, grilling, and cold salads, resulting in dishes that are naturally low in calories.

Korean kimchi uses a wide variety of ingredients and has a unique preparation method. Common vegetables such as cabbage, radish, eggplant, cucumber, bok choy, and leafy greens, as well as various seafood, can be used to make kimchi with different flavors. The main seasoning is chili pepper, along with salt, shrimp paste, sesame seeds, sugar, minced garlic, scallions, ginger, shredded apple, pear strips, and various small fish and shrimp. It is generally ready to eat after pickling for a week. Depending on seasonal needs, it can also be divided into winter kimchi and kimchi pickled for spring, summer, and autumn for immediate consumption.

South Korean scientists have discovered that kimchi not only contains various vitamins, minerals, and more than ten essential amino acids, but also has a significant weight-loss effect. Animal experiments using kimchi showed that 1 gram of liver from mice that did not eat kimchi contained an average of 167-169 mg of fat, while the liver from mice that ate kimchi contained only 145-149 mg of fat, a reduction of 15.8%. The total fat content in the blood of mice that did not eat kimchi was 246.1 mg/L, while the blood of mice that ate kimchi contained only 170-200 mg/L of fat, a reduction of 44.8%. Subcutaneous fat analysis also confirmed that mice fed kimchi showed significant weight loss.

Researchers believe that kimchi can enhance the activity of immune cells in the spleen, and has a special effect of reducing fat in the blood and liver. Furthermore, they found that eating kimchi that has been pickled for five weeks is more effective for weight loss than kimchi that has been pickled for three weeks.