Sauerkraut: benefits, harm, proper preparation

What Russian doesn't know sauerkraut? The question, of course, is rhetorical, because our grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers also prepared it, and in Germany, by the way, sauerkraut generally acts as a national dish. Why this product is useful and how it can be prepared - all this in our article. 

The benefits of sauerkraut

Sauerkraut enjoys special respect among nutritionists. It contains a lot of vitamin C: 100 g of ascorbic acid product contains as much as 20 mg, despite the fact that the daily requirement of this vitamin for an adult is about 70 mg. Vitamin C, as many people know, directly affects strength of immunity, it also prevents early aging of cells and tissues. But sauerkraut is not only rich in it. There is a lot in it and B vitamins, A, K and U. All of them guard our health and prevent the appearance of many serious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, including ulcers. This cabbage also contains iodine.

Cabbage is fermented by lactic acid bacteria, which, when they enter the body, work hard to normalize the intestinal microflora, suppress the activity of harmful microorganisms, stimulating beneficial ones. Thus, cabbage allows you to get rid of dysbiosis.

Often this product is used for medicinal purposes in order to relieve the symptoms of chronic gastritis. To do this, it is enough to eat a small portion of cabbage three times a day for several weeks, half an hour before meals. Diabetics can improve their health in a similar way, since sauerkraut lowers blood sugar levels.

Sauerkraut is also useful for liver problems, but for such purposes, the brine that is released during fermentation is more often used. It is already a proven scientific fact that regular consumption of sauerkraut leads to reducing cholesterol in the blood, and the compounds present in it have a powerful antioxidant effect, thereby seriously reducing the likelihood of oncological diseases of the intestines, mammary glands and lungs.

Sauerkraut has a positive effect on the protective functions of the body, makes it less susceptible to stress, starts and normalizes metabolic processes, stimulates the production of red blood cells and rejuvenates the body as a whole. Under its influence, the heart also becomes stronger. It is especially useful for men to eat sauerkraut, because then their potency will become a source of pride for them and joy for their women.

Need it quickly cope with hangover? Then sauerkraut is what you need. Moreover, if you eat a portion of the product before a feast, the alcohol will not hit your head so hard, so keep this in mind.

Harm of sauerkraut

There simply cannot be any harm from sauerkraut, unless you overeat it, of course. However, it is worth mentioning that such a “dish” has its own contraindications. The negative effect may be due to a large amount of organic acids. For this reason, sauerkraut is not recommended for consumption by people with high acidity of gastric juice, hypertension, kidney failure, problems with the pancreas, as well as those who have been diagnosed with urolithiasis. In other cases, no harm will be caused to the body, but it is not recommended to overeat sauerkraut even for healthy people, so as not to cause stomach problems.

Sauerkraut during pregnancy

We have already told you that sauerkraut is a real storehouse of benefits, but is it ok to eat it during pregnancy? Indeed, during the period of bearing a baby, doctors place many restrictions on the future mother’s nutrition and advise her to strictly monitor her diet. Any wrong action will affect the health of both. We hasten to reassure you if there are no general regulations limiting the possibility of consuming sauerkraut, i.e. the list of contraindications does not apply to you, then eat for your health and your baby’s health!

This cabbage is very good at saving expectant mothers from terrible toxicosis and more:

• Most pregnant women suffer from a decrease in the level of the body's protective properties, as a result of which they suffer from various viral diseases. Due to the high content of vitamin C, you can maintain and strengthen the immune system, thereby making the baby’s health stronger.
• Almost every second pregnant woman can see low iron levels in her medical record, anemia. Sauerkraut allows you to avoid such health problems, which means that the baby will receive oxygen without interruption and will feel cheerful.
• Folic acid, which is also abundant in sauerkraut, directly affects the formation of the nervous system and promotes the formation of new cells.
• It will help stock up on vitamin K, which will be very important during childbirth. It increases blood clotting, and a sufficient amount of it in the body will not allow you to lose a lot of blood during delivery.
• By eating sauerkraut during pregnancy, you are protecting your baby from cancer and ulcers.
• With its help, a pregnant woman will protect herself from digestive problems, constipation, bloating, excess weight, and heartburn.
• Regular consumption of sauerkraut has a positive effect on the condition of nails, skin and hair, which, by the way, so often suffer during the perinatal period.

The list of benefits that the body of mother and baby receives can be listed for a long time, but the essence will remain the same - sauerkraut is a very, very valuable product. But at the same time, it is worth mentioning everything about the characteristics of the expectant mother’s body. Considering its “interesting” position, it would be wiser to start eating cabbage with small portions. If the body reacts well to this product, then you can fully introduce it into the diet. To be on the safe side, it is still better to consult with your supervising doctor.

Sauerkraut juice

Some are of the erroneous opinion that they mistake the brine obtained by fermenting cabbage for juice. And despite the fact that cabbage brine itself is healthy, the juice is still found directly in the cabbage itself and its concentration is much higher than that of the brine. In order to obtain sauerkraut juice, like any other vegetable or fruit, you need to put it through a juicer.

The advantages of juice over brine are higher amounts of ascorbic acid. By the way, if you prepare white and red cabbage together, then the level of vitamin C in such a drink will increase fourfold. This drink also contains a lot of vitamin P, which strengthens the walls of capillaries and reduces their permeability.

In the case of medicine, sauerkraut juice is often prescribed to treat low acidity of gastric juice, weakened intestinal motility, neuralgic diseases, low mobility and a sedentary lifestyle. This drink is excessively rich in lactic acid, which is required by the body for smooth carbohydrate metabolism. It is useful for people with diabetes to drink cabbage “nectar” several times a day; it is advisable to add lemon juice to the drink. It helps control blood sugar levels by keeping them low.

Previously, sauerkraut juice was given to patients with epilepsy. Such a folk medicine, of course, did not help to completely cure the disease, but it seriously weakened the attacks and reduced the number of their manifestations. This drink also contains substances that perfectly clean blood vessels and improve blood circulation. It helps with both diarrhea and constipation, paradoxically as it may seem. Simply by consuming it, the entire functioning of the gastrointestinal tract is improved and stools are normalized.

Here are some useful recipes that may come in handy:

• To prevent duodenal and gastric ulcers, it is useful to use the following recipe: for three weeks, drink fresh sauerkraut juice an hour before meals three times a day, in a volume of only a quarter glass.
• To eliminate diarrhea Mix equal volumes of tomato and cabbage juices. The finished drink is consumed throughout the day until the problem goes away.
• Using a similar recipe (tomato + cabbage juices) and the same principle of administration, they treat pain in the liver and help the cells of this organ recover.
• For bleeding hemorrhoids or constipation, drink the juice in its pure form, 250 ml three times a day.
• For colds and sore throats, it is useful to rinse with sauerkraut juice while taking it orally.

But it is useful to use sauerkraut juice not only for oral administration. With its help you can create beauty!

• Great content lactic acid allows you to effectively cleanse the dermis and prolong its youth. To do this, every morning you need to wipe your face with a cotton pad soaked in fresh juice. After this, leave the composition on your face for a quarter of an hour and wash.
• Using this juice you can whiten age spots and freckles. To do this, you need to moisten a gauze in it and apply it to the problem area for a quarter of an hour. The procedure is done at intervals of a day until satisfactory results are obtained, but no more than 30 sessions. Then a break is taken for a couple of months and, if necessary, the course is duplicated.
• To avoid the hassle of making juice every day, you can make cosmetic ice from it. After wiping with this product, you need to wash your face only after a quarter of an hour.
• To make your hands softer and more tender, you can conduct sessions with a hand bath, which will be filled with sauerkraut juice. A couple of times a week is enough and the result will not be long in coming.
• To strengthen your curls, you need to rub fresh juice into the very roots and leave for a while, then wash your hair in the usual way.

Sauerkraut for weight loss

Sauerkraut juice is often and effectively used by those who want to lose weight. True, not as a main nutritional element, but as an auxiliary one, which helps improve metabolism and dull the feeling of hunger. Surprisingly, such a simple component of proper nutrition can reduce, or even completely suppress, cravings for salty and sweet foods, which means restrictions in these areas will not be so painful, if not completely unnoticeable.

If you need to lose weight quickly, then you can follow this plan. For the first two days, only juice is drunk, other food is excluded. Next, the juice is consumed a quarter glass one to six times a day, between meals. At this time, you need to eat low-calorie foods, such as vegetables, fruits, dairy products, dietary fish and meat. Sugar, salt and alcohol, of course, should be completely excluded. With such a nutrition system, 3.5 kg can be lost per week, but the plumb line is individual for everyone.

It is better to limit the diet itself to a short period of time, since such a long-term diet can cause harm to the body. But you can continue to drink juice in the intervals between meals for a long time. You can use juice for fasting days, and so that you don’t get tired of it, you can dilute it with carrot, apple and other appropriate juices.

How to make sauerkraut

Classic version

• two kilos of cabbage;
• a couple of carrots;
• three bay leaves;
• a few black peppercorns.

for brine:

• two large spoons of sugar and salt;
• 1.5 liters of water.

1. Prepare the brine by adding salt and sugar to the water and mixing well.
2. Wash and remove the first leaves from the cabbage and chop.
3. Grind the carrots, first freeing them from the peel.
4. Combine the prepared vegetables and move around.
5. Place everything in jars and press down a little.
6. From time to time, do not forget to add bay leaves and a few peppercorns.
7. Pour in the brine until it completely covers the vegetables.
8. Cover the jar with gauze folded in several layers. The jar needs to be placed in a plate so that when the brine begins to flow out through the edges it ends up in the bowl.
9. Leave to ferment for two to three days, periodically compacting the top layer of cabbage so that it does not remain without brine. It is useful to sometimes pierce the cabbage with a wooden stick to release the gas so that the cabbage will be crispy.
10. When ready in a couple of days, store the cabbage in the refrigerator.

Cabbage with plums, rowan berries and lingonberries

Calculation of ingredients approximately for a five-liter jar:

• 3.5 kg cabbage;
• six green apples;
• lingonberries or cranberries (amount to your taste);
• a little carrot;
• five juniper berries;
• a quarter glass of sugar;
• white bread crust;
• salt to your taste;
• currant leaf;
• some cumin seeds;
• a glass of vodka.

1. Place a couple of whole cabbage leaves and bread at the bottom of a clean jar.
2. Finely chop the rest of the cabbage and mix it with sugar, salt, carrots and cumin seeds. Take some of the cabbage and press it onto the bottom of the jar so that the layer is about five centimeters thick.
3. Next, add currant leaves.
4. Peel the apples, cut them as you wish, and peel them from the seeds.
5. Place a layer of cabbage and apples in a jar.
6. Add the next layer of cabbage, mixed with a small amount of cranberries or lingonberries, and caraway seeds.
7. The last layer is cabbage and carrots again.
8. Distribute the juniper berries evenly. Pour a glass of vodka and cover the jar with gauze.

This cabbage takes about 3-5 days to prepare at room temperature. At your discretion, instead of lingonberries and cranberries, you can put the plums mentioned in the name or chokeberry.

Sauerkraut recipe for the winter

As practice shows, sauerkraut is perfectly stored even without special preservation and rolling in jars. Therefore, you can choose any recipe, place the prepared product in clean jars, close with nylon lids and store in a cool place.

Sauerkraut with apples

For gourmets, the option of preparing sauerkraut with apples is suitable.

What you will need:

• two or three green apples;
• three small spoons of salt;
• large carrot;
• three heads of cabbage.

Preparation:

1. Chop the cabbage into strips, peel the apples and carrots and grate them. Combine everything and add salt.
2. Mix everything very well and press with your hands so that the juice begins to stand out from the cabbage.
3. Prepare clean jars and tamp the cabbage into them. Leave the jars to sit at room temperature for forty hours to allow the composition to ferment.
4. In order for the cabbage to be snow-white and have a characteristic crunch, it is important to provide an outlet for fermentation gas. To do this, you need to stick wooden sticks into the jars.
5. As soon as the fermentation process comes to an end, put everything in the refrigerator and after two or three hours you can enjoy it.