There is a saying among the people: "Pears and jujubes in August, hawthorns in September, and laughing chestnuts in October." It is once again the season for chestnuts to be on the market.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, chestnuts are considered sweet and warm in nature, and are believed to nourish the stomach and spleen, strengthen the kidneys and muscles, invigorate blood and stop bleeding, and relieve coughs and resolve phlegm. They are particularly suitable for those suffering from soreness and weakness of the lower back and knees, difficulty in moving the waist and feet, frequent urination, and those with a deficiency and coldness of the spleen and kidneys. Modern research suggests that chestnuts are a type of dry fruit with a high carbohydrate content, providing significant energy and helping the body to resist cold, making them more suitable for consumption in autumn and winter. The unsaturated fatty acids, various vitamins, and minerals in chestnuts have good preventive and therapeutic effects on diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis, and osteoporosis. Therefore, regular consumption of chestnuts by the elderly can help achieve a longer and healthier life. Additionally, chestnuts are rich in riboflavin, so friends who often suffer from canker sores can eat them frequently.
In addition to being cooked, chestnuts can also be eaten raw, and raw chestnuts have a better effect on strengthening the kidneys. As early as the Tang Dynasty, the medical scientist Sun Simiao called chestnuts the "fruit of the kidneys," pointing out that eating them raw could treat difficulty in moving the waist and feet, emphasizing this method of "eating raw." If middle-aged and elderly people develop the habit of eating dried raw chestnuts daily, they can effectively prevent and treat kidney deficiency, as well as soreness and pain in the waist and legs.
Although chestnuts are nourishing, eating too many raw ones can be difficult to digest, and eating too many cooked ones can easily obstruct the digestive system. Generally, a daily intake of 5-10 chestnuts is considered appropriate. This is especially true for children, whose digestive capabilities are relatively weaker, so they should not eat too many. Due to their high sugar content, diabetics should also be cautious about consuming chestnuts.