Saturday was a day off, and it happened to be International Women's Day. At noon, I accepted a friend's warm invitation to be their guest. Since it was spring, the meal featured a seasonal dish, "scallion pancakes with tender chives." There was more chive than egg, and the egg batter was just enough to coat the chives into a pancake. The yellow and green colors were a delightful sight, and I took a real liking to it. Plus, spring chives have a special fragrance, so I ate quite a bit of it. Afterwards, unable to refuse my friend's enthusiastic persuasion, I broke my rule and had a few sips of very low-alcohol red wine.
After the meal, the conversation and laughter were as usual, and I felt fine. Who would have thought that by evening, I felt dizzy, my chest was tight, and my heart was racing. I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. My mind was filled with doubts: What did I eat wrong? Why did I feel so awful! I spent the whole night desperately trying to find the cause of my illness... Then, the phrase "chives and wine are incompatible" suddenly popped into my head. That's it! It all clicked in my mind.
I was so busy enjoying the food that I forgot the common knowledge about dietary taboos and the principles of food compatibility. Although I didn't drink much, alcohol is sweet and its nature is hot. When 1 gram of ethanol is metabolized in the body, it can produce 29,749 joules (7 kilocalories), second only to the energy produced by fat. The nature of alcohol is pungent and hot, and it's stimulating; it can dilate blood vessels and increase blood flow. Chives also have a pungent and warm nature, and they are known to invigorate yang and promote blood circulation. Eating chives and drinking alcohol is like adding fuel to the fire. Since my blood pressure is usually high, adding fuel to the fire naturally made my body feel terrible. I was secretly glad that I had only had a few sips then; if I had drunk freely, I can't imagine how much worse my body would have felt.
What a lesson. In daily life, whether at home or out, one must always be cautious and careful about what one eats. There can be no slackness, otherwise, the one who suffers is oneself.