Friends who often get health check-ups in winter may find that their indicators, such as blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar, are often higher than usual. This is actually related to the climate and dietary preferences of winter. The cold weather in winter causes blood vessels to constrict, leading to elevated blood pressure. People's diets in winter tend to be high in calories and fat, and rich, greasy food is one of the main reasons for high blood lipids.
Office workers' winter health: Eat more of the "Three Winters"—Winter Sugarcane
After entering winter, many office workers often feel dizzy, drowsy, and have a reduced reaction ability. At this time, eating fruits that promote saliva production, quench thirst, and moisten the throat can help relieve these discomforts.
Experts suggest that office workers might consider eating some sugarcane in winter, as it not only nourishes the blood and moistens dryness but also has a refreshing effect. Traditional Chinese Medicine classifies sugarcane as a "tonic medicine" because it has special effects of clearing heat, promoting saliva production, lowering qi, moistening dryness, and nourishing the lungs and stomach. "The Materia Medica for Dietotherapy" records that sugarcane "mainly supplements qi, and also lowers qi." "Dietary Residence for Daily Life" records that sugarcane can "benefit the throat, strengthen muscles and bones, calm wind and nourish blood, and greatly supplement the spleen's yin." Secretary-General Wang Chengsheng introduced that iron is one of the main raw materials for blood production, so supplementing blood requires first supplementing iron. Sugarcane also contains a large amount of essential trace elements for the human body, such as iron, calcium, phosphorus, manganese, and zinc, among which the iron content is particularly high, earning it the reputation of a "blood-enriching fruit."
Water Chestnut and Sugarcane Drink
Office workers' winter health: Eat more of the "Three Winters"—Winter Jujube
It is currently the peak season for winter jujubes. To increase profits, some unscrupulous vendors purchase green jujubes, simply blanch them in hot water at 70-80 degrees Celsius, and after drying, the green jujubes will gradually turn red. In addition, the blanched red jujubes are soaked in a pool with added saccharin and sodium saccharin, which makes the jujubes sweeter, crispier, and heavier. Normally, winter jujubes have a patchy red color on the sun-facing side, eventually turning completely red with a dark red color. The uncolored underside has a milky white color, and the skin is glossy.
Office workers' winter health: Eat more of the "Three Winters"—Winter Melon
Friends who experience the above situations might consider eating some winter melon in winter. Winter melon is high in dietary fiber, containing about 0.9g per 100g. Foods high in dietary fiber are effective for improving blood sugar levels; a person's blood sugar index is negatively correlated with the dietary fiber content in food. Additionally, dietary fiber can lower cholesterol in the body, reduce blood lipids, and prevent atherosclerosis. Both potassium and sodium affect blood pressure. Reducing sodium salt and moderately supplementing potassium is a good way to control hypertension. Winter melon is high in potassium and low in sodium, making it an excellent dietary therapy for patients with hypertension.
Winter Melon, Shitake Mushroom, and Kelp Soup is a great health-preserving soup after the "Major Snow" solar term. The main ingredients are 40g dried shrimp, 400g winter melon, 200g fresh kelp, and 20g fresh shiitake mushroom. The auxiliary ingredient is 5g Astragalus root. In addition, a small amount of green onion, ginger, soy sauce, cooking wine, and salt are needed. The specific method is: wash the kelp and cut it into pieces. Wash the dried shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, and Astragalus root separately. Peel and dice the winter melon. Place the kelp, dried shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, and Astragalus root (with their soaking water) in a pot, add an appropriate amount of water, add green onions and ginger, and cook for about 30 minutes. Then add the winter melon and cook until done. Season with soy sauce, cooking wine, and salt.
Winter Melon and Pork Rib Soup
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