Cough, phlegm, wheezing, and inflammation are all common characteristics of lower respiratory tract infections. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that the production of phlegm is mainly related to the lungs and spleen. When pathogenic wind or cold invades the lungs, it causes the body fluids within them to condense and transform into phlegm. If dampness invades the body, or if there is excessive thinking, overwork, or improper diet, it can damage the spleen, causing it to lose its function of transportation and transformation, leading to the internal stagnation and condensation of water into phlegm. In our daily lives, many common fruits and vegetables can nourish the lungs, strengthen the spleen, and eliminate phlegm. Below, the editor recommends a few for you.
Tangerine Peel
When cooking congee, add a few small, clean pieces of tangerine peel before the water boils. After the congee is cooked, it will not only be fragrant and delicious but also particularly appetizing. It has a good therapeutic effect for those with bloating or a cough with excessive phlegm.
Collect fresh tangerine peels, wash them clean, and soak them in water for 2 days. Then, cut them into fine shreds and marinate them with sugar for 20 days to become a very appetizing side dish for drinking—preserved tangerine peel. It is not only sweet, fragrant, and refreshing but also helps to sober up.
Use 6 grams each of tangerine peel, ginger, and perilla leaves. Decoct them in water, add an appropriate amount of brown sugar, and drink the mixture twice daily. The effect is also very good.
Citrus
Citrus fruits are rich in citric acid, vitamins, and essential elements for the human body such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sodium. They have the effect of promoting the production of body fluids to stop coughs and are used for symptoms of dryness and heat in the stomach and intestines; they have the function of harmonizing the stomach and promoting urination, used for abdominal discomfort and difficult urination; and they have the effect of moistening the lungs and transforming phlegm, suitable for coughs due to lung heat. The nature of oranges is mild, so even patients can consume them in moderation.
When eating citrus, be sure not to pull off the white vascular network (pith) on the outside of the orange segments. TCM believes that orange pulp has the function of unblocking the collaterals, transforming phlegm, and regulating qi and promoting blood circulation. It is not only an excellent therapeutic food for patients with chronic diseases such as chronic bronchitis and coronary heart disease, but it also has an auxiliary therapeutic effect on chest discomfort caused by prolonged coughing.
White Radish
White radish can clear heat and transform phlegm, promote the production of body fluids to stop coughs, and benefit the stomach to aid digestion. Eating it raw can treat symptoms such as thirst from heat diseases, coughs with lung heat, and thick phlegm. If it is juiced and consumed together with sugarcane, pear, or lotus root, the effect is even better.
It is commonly said that white radish has a cold nature, so people with a cold constitution or poor respiratory health should not eat it often. In fact, white radish has a very good effect for stopping coughs from a cold with lung heat; furthermore, white radish contains a bactericidal substance. For colds with heat pathogens and a sore throat, you can cut the white radish into small pieces, add honey, and after an hour, the radish will release juice. Drinking this juice can help with coughs.
Pear
Pears have the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, moistening the lungs and promoting the production of body fluids, and stopping coughs and transforming phlegm. Eating them raw, juicing them, stewing them, or making a paste with them has a good therapeutic effect on coughs due to lung heat, measles, coughs in the elderly, and bronchitis. If juiced and consumed together with water chestnuts, honey, or sugarcane, the effect is even better.