The water chestnut has white flesh, is sweet, juicy, and crisp. It can be eaten as a fruit or a vegetable, and has been praised since ancient times as the "underground snow pear," while people in the north call it the "ginseng of Jiangnan."
Water chestnuts are rich in protein and carbohydrates, but are not very high in calories. Traditional Chinese medicine considers the water chestnut to be a cold-natured food. It can clear heat and reduce fire, while also providing nutrition. It is very effective for reducing fever in its early stages; about 10 pieces at a time is sufficient. It also has effects such as cooling the blood and detoxifying, promoting urination and bowel movements, resolving dampness and phlegm, and aiding digestion and relieving bloating.
During China's Qing Dynasty, the famous physician of warm diseases, Wu Jutong, created a famous prescription for treating heat damage to body fluids and thirst called "Five-Juice Decoction," which is made by combining the juice of water chestnuts, pears, lotus root, reed rhizome, and Ophiopogon japonicus. These five juices are all sweet, cold, and nourishing to the yin, making them suitable for patients in the early stages of fever or just after a high fever has subsided. However, they should not be consumed during a high fever. In seasons with many respiratory infectious diseases, eating fresh water chestnuts is also beneficial for the prevention and treatment of cerebrospinal meningitis, measles, pertussis, and acute pharyngitis. Water chestnuts not only have a fever-reducing effect but also promote the development of children's teeth and bones. At the same time, water chestnuts can also lower blood pressure and have preventive and therapeutic effects on cancer of the lungs, esophagus, and breast.
However, water chestnuts should not be eaten raw. As they grow in mud, their outer skin and interior may be contaminated with many bacteria and parasites. They must be washed thoroughly and cooked thoroughly before eating, and cooked water chestnuts are sweeter.