Known as the "longevity fruit," peanuts are sweet and neutral in nature, with effects that moisten the lungs, harmonize the stomach, stop bleeding, and promote lactation. It is beneficial for the elderly with malnutrition-related edema or chronic bronchitis with persistent cough to consume them in moderation.
However, the elderly should avoid eating fried peanuts. Although fried peanuts are complete in color, aroma, and flavor, are high in energy, and are relatively sanitary after being cooked in boiling oil, their drawback is that their nutritional value is low after high-temperature cooking, being only about 1/3 of that of unheated peanuts. Furthermore, the oil in peanuts after high-temperature heating is not easily digested and absorbed by the spleen and stomach. When consumed with other foods, it can also hinder the absorption of those other foods. Moreover, the spleen and stomach of the elderly are inherently weak, making it even easier for fried peanuts to affect their digestive function. Therefore, the elderly should avoid eating fried peanuts, otherwise, it will seriously impair the function of the spleen and stomach and worsen their condition.
Fried Peanuts
In ancient times, peanuts were often consumed by grinding them raw into a powder to mix with soup or by decocting them. It was taboo to eat them fried or stir-fried. The "Gangmu Shiyi" (Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica) records a case of a woman with a severe cough and excessive phlegm whom doctors could not cure. Someone advised her to eat peanuts, and she consumed 6-9 grams of raw peanuts daily. Gradually, she felt her phlegm and cough lessen. In less than half a year, she had eaten 10 kilograms of peanuts, and both her cough and phlegmatic wheezing were gone. The ancient physician Tong Lu'an, whenever there was a cough in his family, would simply take the peanuts, remove the shells and skins, take the raw kernels, grind them into a powder, and have them taken with water, and the cough and phlegm would subside on their own. He believed that roasted peanuts, when eaten, could actually cause phlegm to be produced, let alone fried peanuts.
fried peanuts