The fast-paced life leads people to choose dining out more often. However, consuming unhygienic food can easily lead to intestinal diseases. To avoid falling ill, incorporating one or two antibacterial vegetables into each meal can provide excellent disease prevention and antibacterial benefits while you enjoy your food.
The Penicillin from the Soil – Garlic
Garlic is one of the top 10 healthy foods recommended by Time Magazine. It can eliminate extremely harmful free radicals in the body, thereby protecting the structure and function of cell membranes. Allicin in garlic has a strong bactericidal effect and can inhibit and kill various cocci, bacilli, fungi, and viruses. Therefore, in recent years, many scholars believe that regular consumption of garlic can promote longevity.
Experts suggest that consuming 3-4 cloves of garlic daily is relatively scientific. However, due to its strong irritant, eating garlic on an empty stomach may cause gastrointestinal discomfort. Since some active components in allicin are destroyed by heat, raw garlic is better than cooked garlic.
>>Braised Eel with GarlicA Remedy for Cardiovascular Patients – Onion
Onion is currently the only known plant that contains prostaglandins and also contains components that can activate fibrinolytic activity. These substances are potent vasodilators that can reduce resistance in peripheral blood vessels and the coronary arteries of the heart, counteract the effects of pressor substances like catecholamines in the body, and promote the excretion of sodium, thereby lowering blood pressure.
Allicin and various sulfur compounds in onions can kill many bacteria and fungi in a short time. Onion also has the effect of lowering blood lipids. Therefore, American experts recommend that patients with high blood cholesterol eat half a raw onion (about 50 grams) daily to achieve a good lipid-lowering effect.
Onion also contains a natural anticancer substance, quercetin. People who regularly eat onions have a 25% lower incidence of stomach cancer compared to those who eat little or no onions.
>>Cumin Shredded Onion"The Finest Green Dish" – Chives
Chives have antibacterial properties and can prevent dysentery. Regular consumption can reduce the harm caused by harmful substances in feces. The volatile essential oils, mixtures of sulfur-containing compounds, and abundant fiber are very beneficial for lowering blood lipids and preventing coronary heart disease, anemia, and arteriosclerosis. Chives contain more coarse fiber, which can promote gastrointestinal motility and effectively prevent habitual constipation and colon cancer. These fibers can also wrap some waste that accidentally enters the digestive tract and excrete it with feces, earning it the name "intestinal cleansing grass."
Early spring is the best time to eat chives, followed by late autumn, and summer is the worst. Therefore, chives are an excellent vegetable to eat in spring. Additionally, readers are reminded that leftover cooked chives should not be eaten.
>>Chive Flowers Stir-fried with EggsA Valuable Wild Vegetable – Dandelion
Also known as婆婆丁 (pópódīng), its main functions are to clear heat and detoxify, reduce swelling, and promote urination. It has broad-spectrum antibacterial effects and can stimulate the body's immune function, achieving the effects of promoting bile secretion and protecting the liver. As a wild vegetable, it has richer vitamins and minerals than ordinary vegetables and can improve indigestion and constipation. Additionally, dandelion leaves can improve eczema, soothe dermatitis, and relieve joint discomfort with their blood-purifying effects, while its root has anti-inflammatory properties.
It has a fresh and unique taste. It can be eaten raw, blanched and served as a cold salad, or sliced and cooked with rice or stir-fried. It is best harvested in spring before or when the flowers first bloom, which can help prevent seasonal epidemic diseases.
>>Different People Should Eat Different Wild VegetablesThe King of Vitamin U – Cabbage
Cabbage is quite nutritious, containing relatively rich vitamin C, fiber, and various minerals. In addition, cabbage contains vitamin U, which is an anti-ulcer factor and has the effect of decomposing nitrosamines. Fresh cabbage contains phytoncides, which have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects and can be helpful for sore throats, stomachaches, and toothaches.
>>Six Ways to Eat CabbageA Regular Guest at the Dining Table – Cucumber
The malic acid in cucumbers can inhibit the conversion of carbohydrates into fat. The soluble fiber in cucumbers helps promote the excretion of putrefactive substances in the human intestine and lower cholesterol. In addition, the cosmetic effects of cucumbers are widely known; they can whiten and refine the skin and delay the appearance of wrinkles. Applying cucumber juice or slices to the face are good methods for beauty and skin rejuvenation.
>>Cucumber with Crisscross CutsThe King of All Vegetables – Chinese Cabbage
"All meats are delicious, but among all vegetables, only Chinese cabbage is fresh." Chinese cabbage contains comprehensive and rich nutrients. Scientists at the New York Hormone Research Institute found that the reason breast cancer incidence rates among Chinese and Japanese women are much lower than those of Western women is because they often eat Chinese cabbage. Some trace elements in Chinese cabbage can help break down estrogen linked to breast cancer. Especially rich in comprehensive vitamins and large amounts of water, Chinese cabbage can not only enhance the delicious flavor of meat when eaten together but also reduce the production of carcinogenic nitrosamines.
>>DIY Secret Spicy Chinese Cabbage with Illustrated StepsThe First Choice for Green Food – Mushrooms
Fungi such as black fungus, silver fungus, and mushrooms are rich in iron and selenium. Regular consumption can lower blood pressure, reduce low-density lipoprotein, and promote an increase in high-density lipoprotein. They can also improve the body's immune function, eliminate toxins in the body, increase the content of immunoglobulins, stimulate bone marrow hematopoietic function, and have laxative, blood-purifying, and detoxifying effects.
When consuming antibacterial vegetables, it is best to eat them raw or stir-fried over high heat for a short time. Green onions and garlic can be used as seasonings and added to cold dishes or just before the dish is removed from the heat to better exert their antibacterial effects. It should be noted that vegetables are not medicine and may be contaminated with some bacteria during cultivation, harvesting, and transportation, so they must be thoroughly washed before consumption. One should not be careless just because they have antibacterial and sterilizing effects.
>>Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms