"Eat to nourish" is a dietary tradition passed down through folklore, where the elderly advocate drinking bone broth for fractures, eating animal hearts for heart problems, and consuming kidneys for kidney ailments. However, this saying is not entirely accurate.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, "eat to nourish" is the food therapy principle of "using shape to supplement shape," which involves using the five organs of animals to treat diseases in corresponding human organs. Experts believe that the saying "eat to nourish" should be viewed dialectically. Some of it aligns with nutritional principles and still holds some merit from a modern scientific perspective, while others lack scientific basis. Therefore, "eat to nourish" should not be interpreted mechanically, and certainly not abused, as it can be detrimental to human health.
"Bone broth for calcium supplementation" is far from sufficient
Folklore suggests that "draining meat bone broth can supplement calcium." Experts point out that while this saying is not entirely wrong, relying solely on bone broth for calcium is far from sufficient because the calcium content in bone broth is not high. Even if we drink large amounts of bone broth daily, its calcium content is far from meeting the body's needs. Therefore, patients with osteoporosis should not believe in the idea of supplementing calcium with bone broth. However, if the cartilage in the bone broth can be chewed, eating it does help with calcium supplementation.
"Eating brain to nourish the brain" is not entirely correct
Whether "eating brain to nourish the brain" is effective depends on what kind of brain is being eaten. Pork brain is a high-cholesterol food that may be somewhat beneficial for brain development. However, for people with high blood lipids, arteriosclerosis, and other conditions, consuming too much high-cholesterol food can worsen their condition and even trigger cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases like stroke.
Experts believe that eating fish heads and fish meat is more suitable for brain nourishment because they are rich in proteins, amino acids, vitamins, and a large amount of trace elements, as well as phosphatides, lecithin, and cholesterol, which the human brain needs. This is especially effective for children under 3 whose nerve cells are still developing.
"Eating kidneys to tonify the kidneys" depends on the individual
"Kidneys" refer to what we commonly call the kidneys. From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, the "kidney" not only refers to the kidneys themselves but more broadly to the reproductive and urinary systems. In a narrow sense, "tonifying the kidney" may more specifically refer to improving sexual function. The strength of reproductive function is often related to sex hormone synthesis and the body's nutritional status. For people with a normal constitution, eating more lamb kidneys might improve the body's nutritional status, thereby improving reproductive function. However, for patients with kidney insufficiency, eating more lamb kidneys could worsen their condition, so "kidneys" must be consumed with caution.