Lily is an edible flower that is ornamental and medicinal. What are the benefits of lily? What should be noted when eating it?
Benefits of Lily:
1. Moistening the Lungs and Relieving Cough
Fresh lily contains mucilage, which has the effect of moisturizing dryness and clearing heat. Traditional Chinese medicine often uses it effectively to treat conditions such as lung dryness or lung heat cough. Therefore, lily is very suitable for consumption in autumn.
2. Calming the Mind and Soothing the Spirit
Lily enters the heart meridian and is slightly cool in nature. It can clear the heart, eliminate vexation, calm the mind, and soothe the spirit. It is used for conditions such as lingering heat after febrile diseases, mental confusion, insomnia with many dreams, depression, and a tendency to cry with sadness.
3. Anti-cancer
Lily contains many active alkaloids. In an in vitro tissue culture at a concentration of 1 microgram/ml, it can inhibit cancer cell proliferation and has a significant anti-cancer effect. Modern pharmacological research has confirmed that lily has a strong inhibitory effect on experimental mouse sarcoma-180 and cervical tumor-14. Studies have shown that eating lily helps to enhance physical fitness, inhibit the growth of tumor cells, alleviate reactions to radiotherapy, and its anti-cancer ability can be improved when combined with coix seed.
4. Enhancing Immune Function
The protein, amino acids, and polysaccharides in lily can improve human immunity. Taking lily water extract twice daily for 10 consecutive days can significantly enhance physical vitality, inhibit the delayed-type allergic reaction caused by 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene, and at the same time, significantly increase the number of peripheral blood white blood cells. When lily polysaccharide at 250 micrograms/ml is cultured with lymphocytes, it can significantly promote the synthesis of DNA and RNA, and at the same time, the survival rate of lymphocytes also increases.
5. Sedative and Hypnotic
Lily contains lilioside, which has sedative and hypnotic effects. Experiments have shown that drinking lily soup before sleep every night has a significant effect on improving sleep and can enhance sleep quality.
6. Beauty and Nourishment of the Skin
Lily is pure white and delicate. Fresh lily is rich in mucilage and vitamins, which are beneficial to the metabolism of skin cells. Regular consumption of lily has a certain beautifying effect.
7. Adjunctive Treatment for Gout Attacks
Lily is rich in colchicine, which can be used as an adjunctive treatment for joint pain during gout attacks. Colchicine does not affect the excretion of uric acid, but by inhibiting the activity of white blood cells and phagocytes, it reduces the deposition of urate formed by uric acid, thereby rapidly reducing inflammation and effectively relieving pain. It has an adjunctive therapeutic effect on the acute joint inflammation caused by gout attacks.
8. Anti-fatigue and Anti-stress
Lily contains a variety of nutrients, such as minerals and vitamins, which can promote the body's nutritional metabolism, enhance the body's anti-fatigue and anoxia tolerance, and at the same time, remove harmful substances from the body and delay aging.
9. Protecting Gastric Mucosa
Lily contains pectin and phospholipid substances, which can protect the gastric mucosa and treat stomach diseases after consumption.
Dietary Taboos:
Lily should be avoided by those with wind-cold cough, deficiency-cold bleeding, or poor spleen and stomach function.
Furthermore, experiments on rats and dogs have found that long-term or high-dose consumption can lead to damage to the lungs and kidneys, and affect white blood cells, wild lily whole-plant platelets. Even edible lily has a certain toxicity, so it is recommended to consult a doctor before use.
Direct contact with the raw bulb may cause skin itching, and swallowing the raw bulb may cause symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.
When eating lily, pay attention to whether your constitution is suitable for it, and whether consuming it will conflict with your constitution, such as in the case of wind-cold cough or deficiency-cold bleeding.