There are black and white wood ear mushrooms, and the white wood ear is tremella. Speaking separately, whether it's white or black wood ear mushrooms, both have excellent health benefits. So, what are the effects and benefits of combining black and white wood ear mushrooms?
The effects and benefits of black wood ear mushrooms
Black wood ear mushroom is a nutritious edible fungus. It grows on rotten wood and its shape resembles a human ear, hence its name. Black wood ear mushrooms are extremely nutritious. According to historical records, it was a delicacy exclusively enjoyed by emperors in ancient times. Nutritionists praise black wood ear mushrooms as the "meat among vegetables" and the "king of vegetables" because they contain the highest amount of iron among all vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods.
Black wood ear mushrooms also have various medicinal values and are a precious medicinal herb. The famous Ming Dynasty pharmacologist Li Shizhen recorded in his "Compendium of Materia Medica" that wood ear mushrooms are sweet and neutral in nature, primarily treating qi deficiency and loss of appetite, with effects of tonifying qi and benefiting the intellect, moistening the lungs and nourishing the brain, invigorating blood and stopping bleeding. Modern medical research has also made new discoveries about the effects of black wood ear mushrooms: if a person consumes 5-10 grams of black wood ear mushrooms daily, its anti-platelet aggregation effect is equivalent to taking a low dose of aspirin daily. Therefore, people call black wood ear mushrooms "food aspirin."
At the same time, black wood ear mushrooms are rich in cellulose and a special plant collagen. These two substances can promote gastrointestinal motility, promote the excretion of fatty foods from the intestines, reduce the absorption of fat from food, and thus prevent obesity. Additionally, because these two substances can promote gastrointestinal motility and prevent constipation, they help the timely removal and excretion of toxic substances from the stool, thereby playing a role in preventing rectal cancer and other digestive system cancers. Therefore, especially for the elderly who have a habit of constipation, consistently eating black wood ear mushrooms, often in the form of wood ear mushroom porridge, has excellent effects for preventing various age-related diseases, anti-cancer, delaying aging, and more.
The effects and benefits of white wood ear mushrooms
White wood ear mushrooms are also known as tremella, and the highest quality variety is called snow ear. It is hailed as the "crown of fungi," being both a valuable and nutritious health food and a remedy that supports the body's natural defenses. Royal families in past dynasties regarded tremella as a "product for prolonging life" and a "panacea for immortality." So, what are the effects and benefits of white wood ear mushrooms?
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, tremella is sweet and light in nature, with a neutral thermal nature, and it acts on the lung and stomach meridians. It has the effects of nourishing yin and moistening the lungs, and nourishing the stomach to promote the production of body fluids. It is suitable for dry coughs, little phlegm, phlegm with blood streaks, dry mouth, a sore throat, neurasthenia of the yin-deficiency type, and insomnia with many dreams. Moreover, tremella is both a food and a medicine. Its medicinal nature is mild, and it is safe to consume. It can clear lung heat and nourish stomach yin; it can strengthen the spleen and whet the appetite, moisturizing without being greasy, and has a great effect on supporting the body's foundation and providing excellent nourishment and moisturization.
Modern medical research has confirmed that tremella is rich in protein, carbohydrates, fat, crude fiber, various inorganic salts, and vitamins. Among its 18 amino acids, 7 are essential for the human body. The pharmacologically active components of tremella are tremella polysaccharides, which mainly consist of acidic polysaccharides, neutral heteropolysaccharides, and acidic oligosaccharides. Tremella polysaccharides have significant antioxidant effects and can enhance human cellular and humoral immunity. It can also counteract the decrease in immune function caused by radiotherapy and chemotherapy in cancer patients and inhibit the growth of tumor cells. Tremella also has effects such as dilating the coronary arteries, reducing coronary resistance, improving the microcirculation of the coronary arteries, increasing the nutritional blood flow of the myocardium, lowering blood lipids, reducing blood viscosity, and decreasing thrombus formation.
The magic of combining black and white wood ear mushrooms
From the perspective of health preservation, both black and white wood ear mushrooms have the effect of preventing the formation of lipofuscin and are considered foods that promote longevity and fight aging. At the same time, both types of mushrooms contain polysaccharides, which have immune-enhancing and antiviral effects. However, due to the different content of their nutritional components, their effects on the human body after consumption still differ.
White wood ear mushrooms are rich in vitamin D, which can prevent calcium loss and is very beneficial for growth and development. The phospholipids they contain have a brain-nourishing and calming effect, making them suitable for middle-aged and elderly people. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that white wood ear mushrooms have effects such as moistening the lungs and promoting fluid production, nourishing qi and blood, and nourishing the kidneys and essence, making them suitable for people with weaker respiratory systems.
The iron content in black wood ear mushrooms is the highest among all vegetarian foods. Regular consumption can nourish the blood and maintain a youthful complexion, and can also prevent iron-deficiency anemia. Furthermore, the gelatin in black wood ear mushrooms has extremely strong adsorption capacity, which can reduce the damage to the lungs from dust. Black wood ear mushrooms also contain a nucleic acid-like substance that can lower cholesterol levels in the blood, which is very beneficial for patients with coronary heart disease and arteriosclerosis.
In summary, if black and white wood ear mushrooms are eaten together, their nutrients can complement each other. A cold salad of both ears is a very simple way to do this.
Dish Name: Cold Salad of Black and White Wood Ear Mushrooms
Cuisine Category and Benefits: Lung Nourishing Recipes, Qi and Blood Tonifying Recipes, Brain-Boosting Recipes
Characteristics of the Salad: The texture is delicate, tender, and delicious, with a light and refreshing taste.
Ingredients for the Salad:
Main Ingredients: 100g dried tremella, 100g dried black wood ear mushrooms
Seasonings: 2g salt, 1g MSG, 5g sugar, 1g white pepper, 5g sesame oil
How to make the Cold Salad of Black and White Wood Ear Mushrooms: Here's how to make it delicious.
1. Wash the soaked tremella and black wood ear mushrooms, blanch them in boiling water for a moment, then immediately transfer them to cold water. Once cooled, remove them, drain the water, and plate them.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the salt, MSG, sugar, white pepper, and sesame oil with cold water. Pour this mixture evenly over the tremella and black wood ear mushrooms.
Dietary Taboos for Wood Ear Mushrooms:
Wood ear mushrooms should not be eaten with river snails. From a food medicinal properties perspective, the cold nature of river snails combined with the slippery nature of wood ear mushrooms is not conducive to digestion.
For those with hemorrhoids, wood ear mushrooms should not be eaten with pheasants. Pheasants have a slight toxicity, and consuming them together can easily trigger hemorrhoid bleeding.
Wood ear mushrooms should not be eaten with wild ducks. Wild ducks are sweet and cool in nature, and eating them together can easily cause indigestion.