During autumn and winter, the dry weather often causes dryness and discomfort in the nose and throat. One should eat more fruits that promote fluid production, quench thirst, moisten the throat, and relieve dryness to feel refreshed and comfortable.
The top choices are pears and sugarcane. Pears can promote fluid production, quench thirst, relieve coughs and reduce phlegm, clear heat and reduce fire, nourish the blood and generate muscle tissue, and moisten the lungs to relieve dryness. They are most suitable for patients with fever and internal heat during winter; they are particularly beneficial for lung-heat coughs, pediatric wind-heat, dry throat and sore throat, and constipation. Pears also have the effects of lowering blood pressure, clearing heat and calming the nerves, protecting the liver, and aiding digestion.
However, pears are cold in nature. Children with a weak spleen and stomach or poor digestion should not eat too many.
Sugarcane nourishes and clears heat, and is rich in nutritional components. It has certain therapeutic effects for hypoglycemia, dry stools, difficult urination, nausea and vomiting, deficient-heat cough, and high fever with irritability and thirst. For those who are fatigued from overwork or feel dizzy from hunger, eating some sugarcane can refresh the spirit. But sugarcane is also cold in nature, so people with a weak spleen and stomach or stomach and abdominal pain should eat it in moderation.[China Cuisine]
Other good choices include apples, oranges, bananas, and hawthorn. Apples can promote fluid production, quench thirst, strengthen the spleen, and stop diarrhea; oranges can regulate qi, stimulate the appetite, aid digestion, and resolve phlegm; bananas can clear heat, moisten the intestines, lower blood pressure, and prevent hemorrhoids; hawthorn can dilate blood vessels, lower blood lipids, and strengthen and regulate heart muscle function.