The summer weather is hot, our appetite decreases, and we often say we should eat a light diet, but avoid falling into these pitfalls. What foods have a "qingbu" (nourishing and cooling) effect in the summer?
Many people have a one-sided understanding of the "qingbu" principle for summer diets, even believing that "qingbu" is equivalent to only eating vegetables, fruits, and melons, pursuing an absolutely "clear" and "vegetarian" diet.
In fact, "qingbu" still emphasizes nourishment; it's just that while the diet nourishes, it should also have the function of clearing heat and dispelling summer heat to combat the scorching climate. This is particularly important for the elderly. As people age, the taste buds on the tongue decrease, olfactory cells renew slowly, and the hot weather causes a series of physiological changes in the body, which can further reduce appetite. If the diet is too plain and light, how can one have the appetite to eat? Furthermore, eating only vegetables will lead to insufficient intake of protein and fat, which will inevitably weaken the body's resistance and thus fail to achieve the goal of nourishment.
So, which meats and supplements also have a "qingbu" effect in the summer?
1. Fish: Fish is not only delicious but also extremely nutritious. Its protein content is as high as about 20%, twice that of ordinary pork, and it is a high-quality protein with a high absorption rate by the human body. Fish also contains abundant vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin D, as well as a certain amount of minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and iron. The vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus in fish are very beneficial for bone growth and can effectively prevent osteoporosis. Although fish has a low fat content, its special fatty acids are indispensable for human health, with multiple benefits such as lowering blood sugar, protecting the heart, and preventing cancer. Although Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that different types of fish have different properties and flavors, as long as you pay attention to your selection, they are still excellent dishes for summer health preservation.
2. Duck: It has a sweet and salty flavor, is neutral and slightly cold, and acts on the stomach and kidney meridians. Duck meat has the effects of tonifying deficiency and clearing heat, removing dampness and detoxifying, nourishing yin and protecting the stomach, and promoting urination to reduce edema. It is suitable for treating conditions like deficiency fatigue, spleen deficiency with damp-heat, etc. Modern nutrition believes that duck meat contains nutrients such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and niacin. People with internal damp-heat and excessive deficiency-fire are suitable for eating duck meat, especially those with low-grade fever, weakness, loss of appetite, dry throat and mouth, constipation, scanty urination, edema due to spleen deficiency, spontaneous sweating, night sweats, spermatorrhea, premature ejaculation, and women with irregular menstruation or red and white vaginal discharge.
3. American Ginseng: It is cooling yet nourishing, able to support healthy energy, reduce fire, generate body fluids, and eliminate vexation and fatigue. In the hot summer, heat and excessive sweating can deplete the body's healthy energy and yin fluids, damaging yin and generating deficiency-fire, leading to symptoms like fatigue, irritability, a red tongue, and dark urine. You can take 1-2 grams of American ginseng, steep it in boiling water, and drink it as a tea substitute.
4. Loach: It is an excellent food that is high in protein and low in fat. According to analysis, every 100 grams of edible meat contains 9.6 grams of protein, 8.7 grams of fat, 28 milligrams of calcium, 2 milligrams of phosphorus, 0.9 milligrams of iron, and large amounts of vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, and other substances, so some people call it "ginseng in water." Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that loach has the function of tonifying the middle and replenishing qi, quenching thirst, and sobering up from alcohol. It can be used to treat symptoms such as excessive thirst, dry mouth during hot diseases, impotence, as well as infectious hepatitis, hemorrhoids, scabies, and ringworm. In addition, the mucus secreted from the loach's skin is also a medicine called "loach slime," which can be used to treat urinary retention, heat strangury, and carbuncles. Additionally, lean meat, seafood, and other foods can be stewed with herbs like Codonopsis root, Astragalus root, Angelica sinensis, dried tangerine peel, and licorice, and the soup can be consumed. As long as the ingredients are chosen properly, they are also beneficial for "qingbu".