As soon as winter arrives, the editor starts to miss the steaming hot mutton hot pot. Eating mutton is a traditional dietary and health practice in China during the winter. On the Winter Solstice, people follow local customs to prepare mutton in various ways, such as in congee or hot pot. However, mutton is not a very gentle food, and there are many things to be mindful of when consuming it.
Four Major Benefits of Eating Mutton in Winter
1. Nourishing the Kidney
According to the "Compendium of Materia Medica," mutton has the effect of tonifying the middle qi and benefiting the kidney qi... It has also always been one of the most important ingredients for winter nourishment in folk traditions.
2. Dispelling Cold and Warming the Stomach
Mutton is warm in nature, it replenishes qi, nourishes yin, warms the middle, and tonifies deficiency. Modern Chinese medicine believes that eating mutton in a timely manner can increase digestive enzymes, protect the stomach wall, aid digestion, and also have the effects of removing dampness, avoiding cold, and warming the stomach.
3. Cancer Prevention and Anti-Cancer
Research has shown that mutton contains an anti-cancer substance called CLA. This fatty acid, known as CLA, can inhibit the growth of cancer cells and has significant effects in treating skin cancer, colon cancer, and breast cancer.
4. Not Fattening
Mutton is high in protein and rich in vitamins. However, its melting point is 47°C, while the human body temperature is 37°C. When eaten, the body absorbs the nutrients but not the fat, so it is not fattening.
Five Major Precautions for Serving Mutton in Winter
1. Mutton is heaty, and eating too much can lead to "internal heat" (shang huo). It should be paired with some cooling and neutral vegetables, which can have a cooling, detoxifying, and "heat-clearing" effect. Cooling vegetables generally include winter melon, loofah, spinach, cabbage, enoki mushrooms, mushrooms, water bamboo shoots, and bamboo shoots. When eating mutton, it is best to pair it with tofu, which not only supplements various trace elements, but the gypsum in it can also clear heat, purge fire, relieve vexation, and quench thirst. When mutton and radish are cooked together, the cooling nature of the radish can be fully utilized to eliminate stagnation and resolve phlegm-heat.
2. Many foods that are considered "incompatible" with mutton should also be noted, such as overly cooling foods like Pinellia tuber, Acorus calamus, and buckwheat, as well as foods like pumpkin, cheese, and red beans that can have adverse reactions with mutton. Additionally, it is not advisable to drink tea immediately after eating mutton. Mutton is rich in protein, and tea contains a significant amount of tannic acid. Drinking tea right after eating mutton can create a substance called tannic acid protein, which can easily cause constipation.
3. Although mutton is a great nourishing food, many people should avoid it. People who already have "internal heat" should try to avoid eating mutton. Those with damp-heat or yin-deficient constitutions should best avoid or eat very little mutton. Furthermore, excessive consumption of mutton by hepatitis patients can加重 the burden on the liver and lead to an exacerbation of the disease. Some other blood disease patients with a tendency towards heat, bleeding, or infection should also consume it with caution.
4. Avoid drinking tea immediately after eating. Because mutton is rich in protein, and tea contains a significant amount of tannic acid, drinking tea right after eating mutton can create a substance called tannic acid protein, which can easily cause constipation.
5. Hepatitis patients should avoid eating mutton. Mutton is sweet and warm in nature, and excessive consumption can promote the development of certain lesions and worsen the condition. Furthermore, after a large intake of protein and fat, the liver, being diseased, cannot effectively complete metabolic functions such as oxidation, decomposition, and absorption, which加重 the burden on the liver and can lead to an exacerbation of the disease.