Too many mooncakes? Have some hawthorn to help.
Since ancient times, people have regarded mooncakes as a symbol of good fortune and family reunion. During every Mid-Autumn Festival, with the bright moon high in the sky, families gather to enjoy mooncakes and admire the moon, chatting and sharing the joy of family life. However, with the development of society, as people's diets have become richer, mooncakes have ironically become synonymous with junk food. So, is there a way to enjoy the pleasure of eating mooncakes and the festive atmosphere without compromising health? Here, we recommend a fruit for you: eating some of this fruit with your mooncakes can help you stay healthy! This fruit is hawthorn.
Hawthorn, also known as "shanlihong" or "rouge fruit," is not only round and ruby-red, making it visually appealing, but it is also highly nutritious and medicinal. In 100 grams of fresh hawthorn pulp, the vitamin C content is as high as 89 mg, ranking third among fruits, second only to red dates and kiwi. Its carotene content is also considerable. More notably, its calcium content reaches 85 mg, placing it among the top fruits and vegetables, making it ideal for the calcium needs of children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Additionally, it contains iron, niacin, as well as other nutrients like protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Hawthorn has been used as a fruit for a long time. The most famous is probably Beijing's tanghulu (candied hawthorn on a stick)—strings of bright red shanlihong, sweet and sour, have captivated countless people.
Hawthorn is not only sweet and sour and delicious, but it also promotes the secretion of digestive fluids, stimulates appetite, and aids digestion. It also possesses various medicinal properties. The most important function of hawthorn is to invigorate the stomach and resolve food stagnation. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the famous "Jiao San Xian" (charcoal trio) is a common herbal combination for aiding digestion, and hawthorn is one of the "immortals" in it. The herbs for resolving food stagnation and strengthening the spleen each have their own characteristics; some are for digesting grain-based foods, while others are for greasy, meaty foods. Hawthorn is a top-grade herb specifically for resolving meat stagnation. Furthermore, modern research has shown that hawthorn also has effects such as weight loss, lowering cholesterol in the blood, and reducing blood pressure.
Mooncakes are high in fat and calories and are not easily digested. If you eat some hawthorn with your mooncakes, you can not only prevent indigestion but also, to some extent, mitigate health issues such as weight gain, increased blood lipids, and elevated blood pressure caused by the high-fat, high-calorie content of mooncakes.