{"id":35331,"date":"2021-12-07T00:20:41","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T16:20:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ox7.ee3.mytemp.website\/macrobiotic-nutrition-lifestyle-the-superpowers-of-umeboshi-plum\/"},"modified":"2024-05-17T18:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T10:30:00","slug":"macrobiotic-nutrition-lifestyle-the-superpowers-of-umeboshi-plum-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ox7.ee3.mytemp.website\/zh\/macrobiotic-nutrition-lifestyle-the-superpowers-of-umeboshi-plum-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Macrobiotic Nutrition & Lifestyle: The Superpowers of Umeboshi Plum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Umeboshi Fruit, Harvesting and Preparation<\/h2>\r\nUmeboshi<\/strong> is a species of fruit-bearing tree sharing the same family roots with cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Umeboshi which is often called a “plum” is actually a cross between an apricot and plum.\r\n\r\nTraditionally made by harvesting ume fruit when it ripens around June, young umeboshi are packed in barrels with shiso leaves (which add flavour and a pinkish red colour), water and 20% sea salt per weight of fruit. The sea salt extracts a salty sour liquid called umezu, often translated as \u201cume vinegar\u201d. Ume soaks in it for about two weeks and is then ready for consumption.\r\n\r\nFinished umeboshi plums have a sweet, sour and salty flavour and traditionally served as a side dish for rice or eaten on rice balls for breakfast and lunch, but can also be used to season salads, boiled vegetables and even pasta sauces.\r\n\r\nIn macrobiotic nutrition, thanks to its many alkaline properties, umeboshi plums, paste and vinegar hold a very special place and are often used in cooking and preparation of medicinal drinks.\r\n

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Umeboshi Chemistry<\/h2>\r\nUmeboshi are a good source of polyphenols, which reduce the risk of diabetes, help lower blood pressure, prevent hardening of the arteries, and boost calcium absorption. Sea salt, citric acid, and polyphenols also contribute to antimicrobial activity, so umeboshi are a natural preservative for foods and help prevent food poisoning and other bacterial stomach problems.\r\n\r\nBenzoic acid, a key component of umeboshi\u2019s preservative properties is also an important part of the aroma. The compound limits the ability of bacteria to proliferate, a trait thought to be one of the reasons for the popularity of umeboshi in rice balls.\r\n\r\nIt has been recently found that heating umeboshi produces vanillin, a chemical that helps to restrict the bloating of fat cells, providing support for people trying to control their weight.\r\n\r\nOne potential drawback of umeboshi is the high sodium content, though this makes umeboshi an effective way of combatting the dangers of heatstroke during the brutal summers. Still, it is probably a good idea to avoid consuming too many umeboshi on daily basis. Like with every other food, moderation is the key.\r\n

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Umeboshi\u2019s Medicinal Properties<\/h2>\r\nThe small, wrinkled umeboshi plums are full of health benefits. They help the body absorb calcium, increase saliva production and improve digestion, soothing headaches and activating metabolism, preventing nausea and combating systemic toxicity (including hangovers). Umeboshi also protect against aging!\r\n\r\nCitric acid, along with lending umeboshi a mouth-watering sourness that sharpens the appetite, improves circulation and boosts the immune system, reducing the chances of coming down with a cold or catching a nasty bout of the flu. Umeboshi\u2019s antibacterial effects proved very useful during the epidemics of cholera of the nineteenth century in Japan.\r\n\r\nUmeboshi has also been shown to limit the activity of the pylori bacterium, a leading cause of gastroenteritis, stomach ulcers, and stomach cancer. In addition, it boosts energy and aids the body in recovery after exertion by helping break down and flush out lactic acid, one of the causes of physical fatigue.\r\n\r\nTraditionally, for their energizing qualities, umeboshi were esteemed by the samurai to combat battle fatigue. Today, in Japan they are still consumed to regain energy. Eating umeboshi in Japan is the equivalent of the English expression “An apple a day keeps a doctor away”.\r\n\r\nTo this day, however, the active ingredients of umeboshi and their health-giving effects are not widely known among the public.\r\n

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Umeboshi in Cultures Around the World<\/h2>\r\nThe umeboshi style of pickling is common in Japan and is similar in style to other Asian preserved pickling techniques found in China, Vietnam, and Korea.\r\n\r\nIn South Asian countries, a fruit called \u201camla\u201d in Hindi, or \u201camala\u201d in Nepali, is prepared in the same way, but with Indian gooseberries instead of ume.\r\n\r\nIn Mexico, it is known as \u201cchamoy\u201d and is usually made with apricot, ume or tamarind and a mix of salt and dry chili.\r\n\r\nIn South Africa, a similar style of preserved dried fruit is used to produce a salty, acidic variety.\r\n\r\nPeople in Japan have eaten umeboshi for centuries, having learned from experience of their restorative and preservative properties along with their virtues in helping to ward off colds and other bugs.\r\n\r\nWhen umeboshi were first introduced to Japan 1,500 years ago from China, they weren’t seen as a food but as medicine. Called “ubai” in China, these small plums macerated in salt is cited in Chinese pharmacopoeia written 2,000 years ago.\r\n\r\nFrom the twelfth century, umeboshi consumption became very popular among priests and samurai who attributed extremely powerful effects to it. It was able to revive a fighter, or even bring him back to life!\r\n\r\nPreserved, and therefore able to be stored a long time, samurai consumed umeboshi on the battlefield for its nutritional benefits. It was in the nineteenth century that umeboshi found its place on the Japanese table and usually served as a side dish for rice or eaten on rice balls (often without removing the pit) for breakfast and lunch. They are occasionally served boiled or seasoned for dinner.\r\n\r\nYounger Japanese today are eating far fewer umeboshi than previous generations did. However, proponents are fighting back, arguing that the combination of health benefits and unique flavour make the humble umeboshi the ideal superfood for the twenty-first century.\r\n\r\nA few Umeboshi characteristics:<\/strong>\r\n