Don't think that eczema only grows in the hot summer; autumn is also a peak season for eczema, especially after rain, when skin eczema is more severe. How to prevent and treat autumn eczema? The editor recommends 7 different vegetables to clear heat toxins, prevent and treat eczema, and take the first step in autumn health preservation!
7 Vegetables to Prevent Eczema
A reasonable diet can effectively prevent and treat eczema and prevent its occurrence. TCM experts recommend several vegetables for long-term consumption by eczema patients:
1. Hyacinth Bean
Nature: neutral; Flavor: sweet. It is both a medicine and a food, able to tonify the spleen and stomach and transform damp-heat. For those with skin eczema, consuming it has both medicinal and therapeutic effects, providing both medicinal and nutritional tonification. "The Interpretation of Medicinal Properties" states: Hyacinth bean, its flavor is sweet and neutral, not overly sweet; its qi is fragrant and refreshing, not pungent; its nature is mild and its color is slightly yellow, making it most compatible with the spleen's nature. For patients with skin eczema, regular consumption of hyacinth bean strengthens the spleen's transportation function, thus eliminating damp-heat and helping to cure stubborn eczema.
2. Mung Bean
Nature: cool; Flavor: sweet. It has the effects of clearing heat, removing summer heat, promoting urination, and detoxifying. Ancient physicians believed it could treat erysipelas with vexing heat, urticaria, resolve smallpox toxin, and heal carbuncles and pustule ulcers, all relying on its power to clear heat, promote urination, and detoxify. For those with acute skin eczema, consuming it helps to remove dampness and clear heat.
3. Winter Melon
Nature: cool; Flavor: sweet and bland. It has the effects of promoting urination and clearing heat. "New Compilation of Materia Medica" says it can promote urination to remove wind-dampness, thus it is beneficial for both acute and chronic eczema.
Recipe for Stir-fried Loofah with Eggs
4. Calabash
Nature: cold; Flavor: sweet. It can clear heat and promote urination to remove dampness. Medical books say it treats sores and toxins. Skin eczema can also be considered a disease of sores and toxins; consuming calabash to clear and drain damp-heat can cure eczema. "Flora of Yunnan" records: For various sores with purulent discharge and ulceration: Wrap the calabash with buckwheat flour, burn it until charred, remove the flour, grind it into a powder, and consume it. This is similar to stubborn eczema with infection. A simple and effective method is to decoct it for consumption.
5. Loofah
Nature: cool; Flavor: sweet. It is advisable for those with skin eczema to consume it regularly, as it can achieve the effects of clearing heat, cooling the blood, and detoxifying. "Introduction to Medicine" once said: It treats all types of malignant sores in men and women, residual toxin from smallpox in children, as well as mastitis and carbuncles. These conditions are mostly caused by damp-heat, similar to skin eczema. Consuming loofah can achieve the purpose of removing damp-heat and resolving damp-toxin.
6. Watermelon
Nature: cold; Flavor: sweet. It has the effects of clearing heat, relieving summer heat, and promoting urination. It is suitable for consumption by those with skin eczema, as it allows the pathogenic damp-heat to be expelled through urine. It is also advisable to drink watermelon peel decoction as a tea, which can also achieve the effect of clearing and draining damp-heat.
7. Chinese Yam
Nature: neutral; Flavor: sweet. Its function is to tonify the spleen and stomach and strengthen its transportation function. In TCM, the spleen is the foundation of acquired constitution and governs the transportation and transformation of water and dampness. Patients with skin eczema have a condition caused by the spleen's failure in transportation, leading to internal generation of damp-heat. Regular consumption of Chinese Yam strengthens the spleen and stomach, gradually resolving water and dampness. It is suitable for consumption all year round, whether stir-fried, boiled, or in a decoction.
The vegetables above can be consumed long-term by eczema patients. However, for sudden eczema or severe symptoms, it is advisable to take Chinese medicine for conditioning to effectively improve eczema symptoms.