Asthma is a common and frequently occurring respiratory disease, and preventing "asthma attacks" in summer is a hot topic. For chronic patients with asthma, bronchitis, or pulmonary heart disease, summer requires extra caution. The persistent low pressure in summer makes it unbearably muggy, and those with severe underlying lung diseases are more prone to relapses, leading to incessant coughing and even getting out of breath from minimal activity... Experts remind that people with asthma should focus on health preservation in summer, and using targeted dietary therapy can also alleviate the condition. Below are several pumpkin medicinal diets recommended for asthma patients.
Pumpkin is also known as winter squash, Japanese pumpkin, golden melon, and golden winter melon. It has a comprehensive range of nutrients and high nutritional value. Young pumpkins are richer in vitamin C and glucose, while old pumpkins have higher levels of calcium, iron, and carotene. These are all beneficial for preventing and treating asthma. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, pumpkin is sweet in taste and warm in nature, and functions to tonify the middle jiao, replenish qi, resolve phlegm, and stop coughing. Its dietary therapies include:
Red Date and Brown Sugar Pumpkin
20 pitted red dates, about 500 grams of fresh pumpkin, a small amount of brown sugar. Peel and cube the pumpkin, boil it with the red dates in water until soft, then add brown sugar to taste and serve. The serving amount can be adjusted according to the patient's specific condition.
Honey and Ginger Juice Steamed Pumpkin
1 pumpkin (about 500 grams), 50 grams of rock sugar, 50 grams of honey, and an appropriate amount of ginger juice. Wash the pumpkin, cut off the top, remove the pulp and seeds, and put in the ginger juice, rock sugar, and honey. Cover the top and secure it with bamboo skewers. Steam for 2 hours. Eat half of it daily, divided into two servings, to nourish the lungs and kidneys, and relieve coughing and wheezing. It can assist in treating asthma due to deficiency of both the lungs and kidneys.
Pumpkin Peel and Beef Soup
200 grams of old pumpkin peel, 100-200 grams of beef. Boil them together until tender. Eat the meat and drink the soup twice daily. It can be consumed regularly. It tonifies the spleen and stomach, replenishes qi and blood, and relieves coughing and wheezing.
Malt and Ginger Juice Pumpkin Paste
1 pumpkin, 300 grams of malt, 15 ml of ginger juice. Remove the seeds, wash, and cube the pumpkin. Boil with malt in water until tender. Strain the juice through a cheesecloth, then simmer it down to half its volume. Add the ginger juice and simmer over low heat until it forms a paste. Take 50 grams each night. It warms the middle jiao, stops coughing, and relieves wheezing. It has a certain auxiliary therapeutic effect for cold-type asthma.