A bowl of fragrant rice and a coarse cornbread are placed before you, which would you choose? Between a piece of watermelon and a segment of grapefruit, which would you pick for dessert? When you see onions and garlic on the dinner table, would you ignore them? In life, we often love foods that are sweet, refined, and rich, while disliking those that are bitter, coarse, and bland. Yet, it is precisely in these foods with less pleasant textures that unexpected nutritional and health benefits can be found.
Red Coarse Rice and Lily Bulb Porridge
1. Coarse Foods
Some people prefer refined fragrant rice and white flour products and dislike coarse rice and cornbread because they feel "scratchy" on the throat. In reality, what feels "scratchy" is precisely precious dietary fiber. It stimulates intestinal peristalsis, aids bowel movements, alters the types and quantities of gut microbes, and reduces the formation of carcinogens. Dietary fiber is widely found in foods with a coarse texture, including whole grains like rice, wheat, and miscellaneous beans, such as brown rice, oats, and red beans. To prevent constipation and colon cancer, one should ensure a daily intake of 20-30 grams of dietary fiber. It is recommended to replace the traditional white rice porridge with a mixed grain porridge for breakfast, and to switch from refined white rice to whole wheat steamed buns.
2. Astringent Foods
The presence of tannins, phytic acid, and oxalic acid can make food astringent. This is because they bind with and precipitate salivary proteins in the mouth, causing saliva to lose its lubricating properties and the epithelial tissue on the tongue to contract, producing an astringent taste. However, these substances are highly antioxidant and beneficial for preventing diabetes and hyperlipidemia. For example, olives, purple grape skins, apple skins, and walnut skins all have stronger antioxidant effects than their flesh. It is recommended to eat apples and grapes with their skins on, and not to remove the brown skin when eating walnuts.
3. Sour Foods
Compared to sweet oranges, watermelons, and bananas, fewer people love sour fruits like sand pears and hawthorns. In fact, the sourness in these fruits mainly comes from natural organic acids like citric acid and malic acid. These natural acidic substances can promote the absorption of minerals such as iron. If you find sour foods unpalatable, you can make them into fruit jelly by adding a small amount of rock sugar and freezing them. The texture will be significantly improved.
4. Bitter Foods
Natural bitter substances in food also have certain health benefits. For example, naringin in grapefruit and pomelo, polyphenols in tea, polyphenols in red wine, and polyphenols in chocolate are all components that help prevent cancer and heart disease. Quinine in bitter gourd can also enhance human immunity and help control blood sugar. Therefore, fruits must be eaten in variety; you can't just eat sweet ones, but should also eat some bitter and sour ones. Don't throw away the grapefruit peel after eating it; you can cut it into strips and make it into honey grapefruit tea. As for bitter gourd, you can blanch it in hot water, chill it, and then eat it dipped in honey.
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