Post Date December, 03 2023
Entering autumn, tonifying the kidney and spleen has become the focus of health preservation, so how can we tonify the kidney and spleen? What is good for tonifying the kidney and spleen? Chinese medicine believes that chestnut is the best food for nourishing the kidney and spleen.
Chestnuts are rich in nutrients. According to measurements, they are rich in various nutrients such as protein, fat, carotene, vitamins, minerals, etc. Among them, the content of carbohydrate in chestnuts is about 70%. Chinese medical experts throughout the ages have regarded chestnuts as the best tonic for replenishing qi, strengthening the spleen, tonifying the kidney, and strengthening the body. Han Dynasty medical expert Tao Hongjing said, "Chestnut nourishes qi, thickens the intestines and stomach, replenishes kidney qi, and makes people endure hunger.". Tang Dynasty medical expert Sun Simiao said, "Chestnuts are the fruit of the kidney, and it is appropriate to eat them for kidney disease; raw food can cure lumbar and foot failure."
In the Qing Dynasty, Cixi loved chestnuts. The imperial dining room uses high-quality chestnuts, which are finely processed and then paired with rock sugar, and then steamed into small buns of chestnut flour for her to enjoy. Everyone knows that Cixi has a healthy body and moist skin throughout her life. Some people believe that eating chestnuts often is one of her tricks.
Modern medicine believes that the unsaturated fatty acids contained in chestnuts have the effect of nourishing patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease, and arteriosclerosis. If the elderly often eat chestnuts, they can also resist aging.
There are many ways to use chestnut as a dietary remedy in China, and now I will introduce a few for you to try:
Chestnut with brown sugar
Specific methods:
"8 chestnuts, peeled and boiled with water, then 15 grams of brown sugar were added. After cooking, eat chestnuts and drink soup. Every night, drink them late before going to bed, and take them continuously for 2 to 4 weeks.".
Efficacy:
Strengthen the spleen and kidney, suitable for patients with body deficiency and limb weakness after the disease.
Stewed chicken with chestnuts
Specific methods:
400g chestnuts, remove the shell and skin, fry in lard until golden brown, remove and drain; 500g chicken, peeled, cut into 2cm cubes. Leave about 80g of oil in the pot, stir fry chicken cubes, ginger slices, sugar, and then add fresh soup, scallions, pepper, and soy sauce. After boiling, simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, then add chestnuts, cook until the chicken is cooked and chestnuts are crisp, then add MSG and pepper to serve.
Efficacy:
Nourishing liver and kidney, strengthening spleen and nourishing stomach. Suitable for middle-aged and elderly people's beauty care.
In addition, autumn is also suitable for eating the following foods
Walnuts:
It can nourish the kidney and consolidate essence, warm the lungs and calm asthma, replenish qi and nourish blood, moisten dryness and moisten the intestines.
Red Dates:
Red dates eaten in autumn are a refreshing and nourishing food that nourishes yin and dryness, benefits the lungs and replenishes qi. If cooked together with tremella, lily, and yam, the effect is better.
Bitter gourd:
Bitter gourd has the effects of clearing heat, dispelling heart fire, detoxifying, brightening the eyes, and tonifying qi and benefiting essence.
Yam:
Its characteristic is to replenish without stagnation, not to heat without dryness. It is suitable for consumption regardless of whether men, women, old and young, sick or not, or in good health or infirmity.
Lily:
It has the effects of tonifying the lungs, moistening the lungs, clearing the heart and calming the nerves, eliminating fatigue, and moistening dryness and relieving cough.
White lentils:
In early autumn, white lentils can be used to cook Congee or decoct soup clothes, which can reduce the heat and damp, strengthen the spleen and stomach, and increase appetite.
Monopterus albus:
Eating eels in autumn not only has a strong tonic effect, but also has a certain regulating effect on human blood sugar. It can be used to cook eel segments, stew eel, stir fry eel shreds, and Congee of eel.
Peanuts:
After the peanuts mature in late autumn, use fresh flowers, raw kernels, and foam to cook in soup or water for consumption. It is not suitable for stir-frying.
Lotus Root:
Lotus root has a sweet taste and a smooth nature. It has the effects of diminishing inflammation and resolving stasis, clearing heat and resolving dryness, and relieving cough and phlegm. Raw lotus root can clear heat, promote fluid production, and quench thirst; Cooked lotus root can strengthen the spleen, stimulate the stomach, and benefit the blood. There is a saying that "lotus root is suitable for growing in summer, ripe in autumn when it is cool, fresh and tender when it is eaten raw, and strong and aged when it is cooked".
In autumn, it is also suitable for eating pears, water chestnuts, jellyfish, carrots, shepherd's purse, mushrooms, kelp, tomatoes, and rabbit meat. For tonifying, it is suitable for using astragalus, ginseng, sand ginseng, wolfberry fruit, and polygonum multiflorum.
(Intern Editor: Liu Jinhao)
