In our impression, it seems only pregnant women love to eat sour foods, but in fact, eating some sour foods in moderation is beneficial to health. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) believes that sour foods can nourish the liver, and the liver likes sourness. For example, sour jujube seeds and white peony root, which are used to nourish the liver, are both sour. What are the benefits of sour taste to the human body?
The benefits of sour foods to the human body
Sour foods can nourish yin and moisten the lungs. As the lungs are frequently exposed to air, they need to stay moist. Dry lungs can easily cause chronic cough, and one symptom of this condition is a small amount of thick, sticky phlegm. Patients with this type of chronic cough can achieve good results by using sour medicinal materials like Schisandra chinensis. Schisandra tea and honey are very effective for patients with dry cough, and the effect will be more significant if taken during the dry autumn and winter seasons.
The astringent function of sour taste is beneficial to the heart and muscles. The astringent function of sour taste is very helpful for people with weak and relaxed muscles. Sour taste can also sphincters, so elderly people with frequent urination or people who often have diarrhea can use sour foods to regulate their bodies. A representative medicinal material for treating such diseases is dark plum, which is processed from green plums. However, because sour taste can harden muscle knots, people with muscle hard lumps, stiff muscles, or frequent cramps due to poor blood circulation should not eat too many sour foods.
Sour taste helps to strengthen liver function. Sour flavor enters the liver, and after entering the liver, it can strengthen liver function to a certain extent. For people with liver fatigue and liver deficiency symptoms, sour taste is a good medicine. Liver deficiency is generally manifested as body fatigue, eye fatigue, pale complexion, and relaxed muscles. At this time, moderate intake of sour foods can improve the situation. Sour-flavored cornus tea with liver-protecting effects is a good choice.
Next, let's take a look at what common sour foods are.
5 common sour foods
Yogurt: Contains a large amount of lactic acid and active lactic acid bacteria, which is beneficial to human digestion and absorption, can effectively regulate the balance of internal flora, promote gastrointestinal motility, relieve constipation, and thus beautify the skin.
Hawthorn: Hawthorn contains citric acid, malic acid, ascorbic acid, enzymes, and proteins, carbohydrates, and has the effect of lowering blood pressure and promoting gastrointestinal digestion. TCM believes that hawthorn has a good effect of strengthening the stomach, moistening the lungs, and aiding digestion. You can use boiling water to brew hawthorn and drink it as tea until the tea becomes light.
Vinegar: It has a gentle stimulating effect on the skin, can promote skin blood circulation, and reduce dullness. Moreover, vinegar has the effects of promoting digestion and inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria. It is recommended to drink a spoonful of vinegar every day. If you don't like the taste of vinegar, fruit vinegar is also a good choice.
Apple: Rich in pectin, it helps intestinal peristalsis and speeds up the detoxification process. The large amount of malic acid it contains helps break down fat in the body and also helps with beauty.
Lemon: Lemon is a beauty fruit rich in citric acid and vitamin C, which can prevent and eliminate skin pigmentation, making the skin fair and tender.
Eating some sour foods in moderation can nourish the liver and lungs. However, you cannot eat too many sour foods, so as not to make your teeth sore, and also to prevent sour foods from damaging the stomach. Be a good baby who is not picky about food. 5 common sour foods, do you eat them?