Ginger is pungent in taste and warm in nature. In the morning, the energy in the stomach needs to rise and flourish. Drinking a bowl of ginger soup can strengthen the spleen and warm the stomach, encouraging the rise of yang energy. At night, the body's yang energy retracts and yin energy flourishes. Eating ginger at this time goes against physiological rhythms, hence the saying, "Eating ginger at night is like eating arsenic." When consuming pungent and warm ginger, one must not only follow the physiological laws of qi and blood circulation within the day but also the body's seasonal changes throughout the year. Within a day, do not eat ginger at night. Within a year, do not eat ginger in the fall. Autumn is a season of dryness, which harms the lungs. Eating ginger, with its pungent and warm nature that disperses energy, would further deplete the lung's qi, akin to "aiding a tyrant." Thus, the ancients said, "Autumn ginger shortens one's lifespan." In contrast, radish is cool in nature, clearing heat, reducing fire, promoting the descent of qi, and aiding digestion. After a day of work, having some radish before going to bed can moisten the throat, aid digestion, clear the heat of emptiness and dryness, and is more conducive to rest.
The usage instructions for radish and ginger show that daily foods each have their own properties.
Like medicine, food has both a nature and a taste. Broadly speaking, the tastes of food are sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, and salty. Taste and nature are different; the former can usually be known by tasting.
Pungent taste refers to spiciness and other stimulating flavors. Foods like chili, scallion, ginger, leek, garlic, coriander, onion, and pepper are all pungent. Most intensely pungent foods are also hot. Of course, there are exceptions, such as mint, which is both pungent and cool (often used in cooling drinks). Pungent taste can expel wind pathogens, raise yang, and strengthen the stomach. For colds with wind-cold, stomach cold causing pain, or poor appetite, eating more pungent foods is very beneficial. A decoction of pepper, ginger, and brown sugar is a good remedy for dispelling cold. Residents in Sichuan, Guizhou, and Hunan are avid lovers of spicy food, which is associated with the local climate of being cold, damp, foggy, and dewy. Because chili is drying, it can dispel cold and expel dampness. It is precisely because pungent flavors can be penetrating and are often hot that they have side effects. For example, excessive consumption can easily lead to "heatiness" (such as canker sores in the mouth), bleeding (such as nosebleeds), and even clouded consciousness and blurred vision. Those with sores, hemorrhoids, frequent eye diseases, heavy drinkers, or those with heat-related illnesses should not eat too many spicy things. Patients with gastric ulcers, high blood pressure, and diabetes should especially avoid them.
Sweet taste is sweetness. Staple foods such as rice, wheat, millet, and corn are all considered sweet. Bland-tasting foods are also classified as sweet. Sweetness can tonify and harmonize, but it also has its drawbacks. Overeating sweet things can easily lead to fullness in the epigastrium, acid reflux, and cavities.
Sour taste is most commonly found in vinegar. Sour taste has an astringent effect. To treat dysentery and diarrhea, frying sour pomegranate skin with brown sugar and taking it is effective. When using vinegar for seasoning, the purpose is not for astringency but to gather fluids and stimulate the appetite. The function of generating fluids to quench thirst utilizes the property of sour taste to generate fluids. Generating fluids to quench thirst and moisten the throat allows these fluids to nourish the stomach yin. Of course, where there is a benefit, there is a drawback. Eating too much sour food can easily damage the teeth. One should rinse the mouth after eating acidic foods to protect the teeth.
Salty taste The ancients knew that blood is salty, and thus associated saltiness with the blood vessels. Going without salt for a long time leaves one feeling weak. Eating too much salt, however, can easily lead to stagnation of the blood vessels. This is consistent with modern medical understanding that patients with high blood pressure should not eat too much salt. Among foods, besides table salt, most marine animals and plants are not salty, even though they come from the salty sea. Therefore, one need not avoid seafood just because of the need to limit salt.
Sweet taste is sweetness. Staple foods such as rice, wheat, millet, and corn are all considered sweet. Bland-tasting foods are also classified as sweet. Sweetness can tonify and harmonize, but it also has its drawbacks. Overeating sweet things can easily lead to fullness in the epigastrium, acid reflux, and cavities.
Sour taste is most commonly found in vinegar. Sour taste has an astringent effect. To treat dysentery and diarrhea, frying sour pomegranate skin with brown sugar and taking it is effective. When using vinegar for seasoning, the purpose is not for astringency but to gather fluids and stimulate the appetite. The function of generating fluids to quench thirst utilizes the property of sour taste to generate fluids. Generating fluids to quench thirst and moisten the throat allows these fluids to nourish the stomach yin. Of course, where there is a benefit, there is a drawback. Eating too much sour food can easily damage the teeth. One should rinse the mouth after eating acidic foods to protect the teeth.
Salty taste The ancients knew that blood is salty, and thus associated saltiness with the blood vessels. Going without salt for a long time leaves one feeling weak. Eating too much salt, however, can easily lead to stagnation of the blood vessels. This is consistent with modern medical understanding that patients with high blood pressure should not eat too much salt. Among foods, besides table salt, most marine animals and plants are not salty, even though they come from the salty sea. Therefore, one need not avoid seafood just because of the need to limit salt.