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The health benefits of tepache

This fermented beverage has multiple nutrients and improves digestion

Tepache is a pre-Hispanic fermented beverage – Photo: File photo/EL UNIVERSAL
27/07/2019 |09:41Omar Campa |
Redacción El Universal
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In Mexico , there are fermented beverages of pre-Hispanic origin, like pulque or aguamiel, that have different properties , tepache is one of them.

This beverage was originally made from the fermentation of corn and was sweetened with brown sugar .

After the Conquest , several fruits were added to tepache, but the most popular way to prepare this beverage is by the fermentation of pineapple and its peel in wooden barrels and sweetening it with brown sugar and a bit of cinnamon .

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In many places, it is prepared with apple , orange , or pear . Tepache has a low grade of alcohol , depending on the fermentation, which varies from 1 to 8 degrees.

Among its multiple benefits is a high content of vitamin C , when it is made with pineapple because it is a citrus fruit ; it also provides vitamins A, B and minerals like magnesium .

It protects the microbial flora of the colon, and it also helps to fight intestinal parasites contributing to good digestion since it contains bromelain , an enzyme that helps to improve the digestive process.

Tepache contains tibicos , which revitalize tissue harmed by traumatism and recurrent infections, relief colitis , urinary infections and helps with weight loss , according to Dr. Rubén Darío Moreno Terrazas Casildo, from the Autonomous Metropolitan University.

Many people do not like tepache because of its taste , but according to a study of the Chemistry Department of the University of Guadalajara , this is because “the amount of brown sugar used for the production of tepache is the factor with the highest impact in the degree of acceptance among consumers. However, the pH also has a significant effect on the creation of products and the acceptance of tepache.”

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