"Clothes of coarse cloth are warm, and the roots of vegetables are fragrant." In fact, discarded vegetable roots also have high medicinal value for both diet therapy and external application. As long as they are thoroughly cleaned and used reasonably, they can achieve the effects of nutrition and health care, as well as preventing and curing diseases.
Cabbage Root---It is sweet in taste and slightly cold in nature, with the effects of clearing heat, promoting urination, relieving the exterior to dispel cold, nourishing the stomach, and quenching thirst. Wash the cabbage root, slice it, and decoct it with ginger and scallion stalks for oral administration to treat the initial stages of a cold with chills and fever, or stomach heat with yin injury.
Scallion Root---It is warm in nature and pungent in taste, containing Vitamin C and carbohydrates. Pound the scallion root with fermented soybeans and cook it in water, adding brown sugar, or cook it with an appropriate amount of rice to make a porridge to prevent colds and influenza.
Eggplant Root---It is sweet in taste and cold in nature, containing various alkaloids, Vitamins B and C, carotene, and fat. Chop the eggplant root, decoct it into a thick juice, and take it with brown sugar to treat bronchitis.
Celery Root---It is sweet with a slightly bitter taste. Celery contains protein, fat, vitamins, phosphorus, and calcium, and can improve brain function, refresh the mind, moisten the lungs, and relieve cough. Take celery root and jujubes, decoct them into a soup, eat the jujubes and drink the soup to prevent arteriosclerosis.
Chive Root---It is pungent and warm in nature, with the effects of warming the middle jiao to promote qi, dispelling blood to detoxify, reducing swelling, and relieving pain. Pound the chive root and apply it externally to the site of injury to treat falls and bruises.
Water Spinach Root---It is neutral in nature and sweet in taste, containing protein, fat, Vitamins B1, B2, C, etc. It has the effects of clearing heat and cooling the blood, promoting urination, and detoxifying. Decoct 120 grams of water spinach root in water to treat dysentery; pound it for external application to treat swelling and pain from falls; and decoct it as a gargle to treat tooth decay and toothache.
Spinach Root---It is cool in nature and sweet in taste, capable of nourishing blood, stopping bleeding, securing yin, and moistening dryness. It contains iron, protein, Vitamins A, B1, B2, C, and Vitamin K, which is generally lacking in other fruits and vegetables, helping to prevent and treat bleeding tendencies of the skin and internal organs. In addition, eating spinach roots often can enhance physical fitness, improve skin appearance and detoxify, protect vision, and stabilize mood.