Why not eat more "antibacterial vegetables" in the summer
Introduction: Summer is a season with a high incidence of intestinal infectious diseases. Proper diet is an important guarantee for maintaining good health. During this season, eating more "antibacterial vegetables" is beneficial to your health.
1. Onion
Onion, also known as bulb onion, has a similar pungent taste to garlic. The phytoncides in onions not only stimulate appetite and aid digestion but also have the effects of expelling phlegm, promoting urination, inducing perspiration, and preventing colds. Onion is also hailed as a multi-functional food for lowering blood lipids, blood pressure, and preventing cancer.
However, if onions are cooked for too long, their nutritional value is greatly reduced, so it is also recommended to eat them raw. Don't eat too much at once; one or two is enough.
2. Garlic
The most prominent antibacterial effect is found in garlic, which is one of the top ten healthy foods recommended by Time magazine. The main antibacterial component in garlic—allicin—can effectively kill pathogenic bacteria. The ideal way to eat garlic is raw. Eating a few cloves of crushed garlic daily can effectively prevent the occurrence of acute dysentery and enteritis. In addition, garlic can remove extremely harmful free radicals in the body, thereby protecting the structure and function of cell membranes, and can also improve brain function. However, due to its strong irritant, consuming garlic on an empty stomach may cause gastrointestinal discomfort. Common household methods include mixing minced garlic raw with cold dishes, or using vinegar and a small amount of sesame oil to season minced garlic when eating dumplings are all good ways to consume it.
3. Chives
Chives have a pungent aroma that can stimulate appetite and also have effects such as dispelling stasis, activating blood circulation, and detoxification. Chives have inhibitory effects on *Pseudomonas aeruginosa*, *Shigella dysenteriae*, *Salmonella typhi*, *Escherichia coli*, and *Staphylococcus aureus*. It is best to cook chives quickly over high heat.
4. Garlic Sprouts
Garlic sprouts have the spicy flavor of garlic but without its irritant properties and are often cooked as a vegetable. The pungent substance in garlic sprouts has a good killing effect on pathogens and parasites. When cooking garlic sprouts, they should not be overcooked to avoid the destruction of the pungent substance and a reduction in its antibacterial effect.
5. Ginger
"Eat radish in winter and ginger in summer, and you won't need a doctor to prescribe medicine," and "Eating three slices of ginger in the morning is better than ginseng soup." Since ancient times, there has been a folk saying that "ginger can cure a hundred diseases." Scientific research has found that ginger can have certain antibiotic effects, especially on *Salmonella*. Ginger also has the effect of killing oral pathogenic bacteria. Gargling with ginger water is effective in treating bad breath and periodontitis. In our daily lives, when we eat century eggs or fish and crab, it is scientific to add some ginger or ginger juice. In addition, ginger also has effects such as strengthening the stomach and relieving pain, refreshing the mind, relieving summer heat, and anti-aging.
6. Others
In addition to ginger and garlic, other vegetables also have certain antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. For example, wild vegetables like purslane can not only adjust the taste but also have disease-prevention and health-care functions.
It should be noted that vegetables are not medicine themselves and may also contain bacteria. Although vegetables like onions and garlic are relatively less contaminated, they must be thoroughly washed before consumption. You should not be careless just because they have antibacterial properties.