Carola Felchner is a freelance author in the NetDoktor medical editorial team and a certified training and nutrition consultant. She worked for various trade magazines and online portals before setting up her own business as a journalist in 2015. Before her traineeship, she studied translation and interpreting in Kempten and Munich.
The sauerkraut diet aims to reduce weight in an inexpensive, simple way. The low-calorie, vitamin-rich cabbage is combined with as many different foods and drinks as possible. There are no strict quantity or product guidelines. Learn everything you need to know about the sauerkraut diet here.
What is the sauerkraut diet?
The sauerkraut diet is, contrary to what the name suggests, not a mono-diet. Sauerkraut makes up the main ingredient of every dish in this diet, but it may and should be supplemented with other foods.
The concept: the stomach is filled with the low-calorie cabbage, which keeps the Abnehmwilligen full for a long time. The lactic acid, minerals, fiber and vitamins contained in the sauerkraut are to prevent deficiency symptoms and strengthen the immune system.
This is how the sauerkraut diet works
In the sauerkraut diet, sauerkraut is eaten at every meal if possible. It makes up the largest portion of the ingested food portion, as it contains few calories but fills you up well. In 100 grams there are only 19 calories.
Other foods are allowed and even encouraged. There are no strict prohibitions, but high-fat and high-calorie products should be omitted so that the sauerkraut diet can develop its full effect and the intake of daily calories does not exceed consumption.
Make sure to drink enough: in the morning a glass of sauerkraut juice to stimulate digestion, throughout the day preferably calorie-free drinks such as water or unsweetened tea.
That brings the sauerkraut Diät
With the sauerkraut diet you can lose weight, if – as intended in the diet concept – mainly cabbage is eaten and you reduce the daily calorie intake.
But the sauerkraut diet is not only to help lose weight, but also to strengthen the immune system. The high fiber content in sauerkraut stimulates intestinal movements and thus digestion. In addition, sauerkraut is said to reduce the risk of breast cancer and reduce anxiety.
Risks of the sauerkraut diet
If you are not prepared to look a little at the composition of your diet, you run the risk of eating too one-sidedly on the sauerkraut diet and not getting all the necessary nutrients – deficiency symptoms are then imminent.
It has not been scientifically proven that the vitamin B12 in sauerkraut, which is formed by microorganisms, can be absorbed by the body. It is therefore unsuitable as a reliable source of vitamin B12. Vitamins B6 and K are also not present in significant quantities.
If you use ready-made pasteurized sauerkraut from a can, you usually get much less, if any, of the microorganisms. Pasteurized sauerkraut still contains lactic acid, but no living lactic acid bacteria. So it is better to buy sauerkraut from the barrel.
Sauerkraut diet: Conclusion
In order not to risk deficiency symptoms in the medium term, you have to deal with your diet. If one does not do this, the supply of important nutrients suffers. In addition, this form of nutrition then quickly becomes monotonous, and the risk of discontinuation increases.
For a limited period of time, however, the sauerkraut diet is certainly suitable for losing weight.