Legume vegetables mainly include lentils, sword beans, peas, cowpeas, etc. Most people only know that they contain a high amount of high-quality protein and unsaturated fatty acids (good fats), and that their mineral and vitamin content is also higher than other vegetables, but they do not know that they also have important medicinal value.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the common characteristic of legume vegetables is that they are neutral in nature and have the effect of resolving dampness and tonifying the spleen, making them especially suitable for people with weak spleen and stomach. However, depending on the type, their therapeutic effects also differ.
Lentils are mostly consumed in summer and autumn. They can have a certain therapeutic effect on symptoms caused by a weak spleen and stomach, such as loss of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, and leukorrhea in women. Diabetics, due to a weak spleen and stomach, often feel dry mouth and throat, and it is best to eat more lentils normally. Women can stir-fry lentils into a powder, take 6-12 grams each time with glutinous rice wine or warm water, which can relieve the symptoms of excessive leukorrhea.
Sword beans are sweet in taste and warm in nature, and have the effects of warming the spleen and stomach, promoting the downward flow of qi, benefiting the kidneys, and replenishing vital energy. They are suitable for symptoms such as qi stagnation, hiccups, chest tightness and discomfort, and lower back pain. Young sword beans, when boiled or made into pickles, are not only delicious but also have a warming and tonic effect; old sword beans are most effective in treating hiccups.
Cowpeas, which are what we call long beans. In addition to strengthening the spleen and harmonizing the stomach, its most important function is to tonify the kidneys. Li Shizhen once praised it for being able to "regulate the middle burner, replenish qi, tonify the kidneys and strengthen the stomach, harmonize the five organs, regulate the nutrient and defensive qi, and generate essence." The so-called "nutrient and defensive qi" refers to the two qi's in Traditional Chinese Medicine. When they are balanced, it can fully guarantee a person's sleep quality. In addition, eating more cowpeas can also treat discomforts such as vomiting and hiccups. When children have food accumulation and qi distension, chewing an appropriate amount of raw cowpeas and swallowing them can provide some relief.
Peas are sweet in taste and neutral in nature. Regular consumption can tonify the middle burner and replenish qi, and promote urination. They are suitable for symptoms such as poor appetite and abdominal bloating caused by a weak spleen and stomach. For lactating women, eating them also helps to increase milk production.