Glorious Chinese cooking… it’s hard to imagine anyone who doesn’t like it. I could easily live off Chinese food for lunch every day (provided that I could alternate with Indian food for dinner)!
Usually cheap and always cheerful, Chinese restaurants have spread to every street corner of the world. Of course it’s always a treat to eat but concerns for a healthy diet have certainly helped to make Chinese cuisine even more popular.
We often hear how healthy Chinese cooking is: low in meat and saturated fat and rich in fresh, crunchy vegetables and healthier types of oil such as sesame and peanut oil.
But does Chinese food really deserve its healthy reputation? In particular, does it contribute to lower blood pressure and a healthy heart?
Leaving aside the issue of enjoyment for the moment (as hard as that is to do) let’s look at the facts both for and against Chinese food as healthy eating. First, there are definitely some important elements in its favor; let’s look at some common Chinese ingredients:
Ginger: This fragrant tuber/herb is ubiquitous in Chinese food, one of the 3 or 4 cornerstones of this style of cooking. Ginger has long been prized as a general tonic and stimulant. It offers a long list of medicinal benefits that include acting as a digestive aid and an anti-inflammatory.
Even more importantly, recent research reveals that ginger contains powerful compounds called “gingerols” that act to relax the walls of blood vessels. This in turn allows blood vessels to dilate and the improved blood flow lowers blood pressure. In this way, ginger acts directly to influence our blood pressure in a healthy way.
Garlic: Another cornerstone ingredient of Chinese cooking with many effects that are similar to ginger. Volatile garlic compounds also act to relax and open blood vessels. In fact, garlic has such a positive effect on circulation that it has long been offered in supplement form to improve cardiovascular health.
Like most foods, however, garlic is most beneficial in its natural and whole state as used in cooking. And eating Chinese food can be an enjoyable way to consume garlic in abundance.
Chilli Peppers: Growing numbers of people are learning to enjoy eating peppers: the hotter the better! Now we know that spicy food is not just a seansual delight but also extremely good for the health.
Despite the sensation of tensing up that some people experience eating hot peppers, their internal effect is just the opposite. Capsicum, the active ingredient that makes peppers hot, is able to relax blood vessels and thus lower blood pressure. Other compounds in peppers are known to thin the blood and reduce its “stickiness”, further contributing to better circulation.
Chilli peppers pack a double-barreled punch in both taste sensation and health benefits; the hotter, the healthier! Regional Chinese dishes such as those from Szhechuan and Hunan are often rich in chilli peppers as well as garlic and ginger.
Chinese cooking often contains even more healthy ingredients that are sometimes missing from our diet including fresh vegetables and unusual spices. What’s more, the fast and furious style of Chinese cooking in woks can be healthier than Western styles as it tends to lock in natural flavors and nutrients.