Four Often-Overlooked Healthy Vegetables
The primary function of food is to nourish Qi and blood. When a person's Qi and blood are abundant, they naturally become younger. Regularly consuming anti-aging foods can help prolong life, prevent illness, strengthen the body, and maintain a youthful state. Not all health foods are very expensive; there may be overlooked health helpers right in your kitchen.
1. Regularly Eating Cabbage to Prevent Illness and Prolong Life
Cabbage is also known as heading cabbage, yellow bud cabbage, Huangya cabbage, and Jiaocai. In ancient times, it was called "Song," a plant of the cruciferous family. It is said that cabbage was nameless until the Han Dynasty, when it was named "Song" because it could withstand frost and snow, similar to the pine tree.
Cabbage originated in China and is a major winter vegetable in northern regions. It has high nutritional value, especially rich in vitamin C and the trace element selenium. It can counteract the damaging effects of "free radicals" on cells, thus slowing down the human aging process.
Cabbage is sweet and neutral in nature. It has the effects of promoting bowel movements, relieving chest distress, detoxifying and sobering up, aiding digestion, reducing qi, harmonizing the middle energizer, and promoting urination. It is applicable for treating colds, fever and thirst, bronchitis, cough, indigestion, constipation, difficulty urinating, chilblains, ulcer bleeding, alcohol poisoning, sores, and other ailments.
Cabbage can be stir-fried, braised, or pan-roasted, and can also be used as a filling for dumplings or in salads. It can also be made into sauerkraut, pickled vegetables, soy-preserved vegetables, and pickles.
2. Eating More Spinach Will Make You Younger
Spinach is also known as Bojie, Bojiecai, Bosisai, Chigencai, and Yingwucai. It is a plant of the goosefoot family. Spinach originated in Southwest Asia and was introduced to China during the Tang Dynasty, with a cultivation history of over 1,000 years.
The homeland of spinach is Persia. Over 2,000 years ago, Persians cultivated it as a vegetable, so it still has the alias "Persian grass." In the 21st year of the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, the king of Nepal sent spinach as a gift to Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an) via a special envoy. From then on, spinach settled in China.
Spinach is sweet and cool in nature. It benefits the five organs, detoxifies alcohol, moistens the intestines to relieve constipation, nourishes blood to stop bleeding, clears heat and relieves restlessness, promotes fluid production to quench thirst, and nourishes the liver to improve eyesight. Additionally, spinach is rich in vitamin E. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that can stop the oxidation process in the body and contribute to longevity. Therefore, eating more spinach has an immeasurable effect on delaying aging. A recent experiment by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that eating about 30 grams of fresh spinach daily has a better anti-aging effect than drinking three glasses of red wine.
3. The Truly Worthy Longevity Vegetable—Portulaca
Portulaca is also known as Changmingcai (long-life vegetable), Wuxingcao (five-element grass), Anlecai (peaceful vegetable), Suancailai (sour rice vegetable), and Shoucailai (longevity vegetable). It is the whole herb of the plant Portulaca oleracea. Portulaca is a wild vegetable recorded in ancient texts that has contributed to humanity, and it is commonly called "longevity vegetable" or "long-life vegetable" by the people.
Why is it called Portulaca? There is a beautiful legend behind it: Once, there was a wealthy merchant family with three sons. The eldest and second sons were married, and the youngest son was also given a child bride. The child bride was only eleven or twelve years old, thin and weak, yet all the hard and tiring work of the house fell on her. She had to eat leftovers and wear worn-out clothes, and if she made the slightest mistake, she would be beaten and scolded by her mother-in-law.
One year, dysentery broke out in the village, and many people died in half a month. Unfortunately, the child bride also contracted it and had diarrhea and ran to the outhouse all day long. When her mother-in-law found out, she was very scared of being infected and wanted to drive her out of the house. But then she thought that driving her out would be a bad reputation, so she decided to move her to a shed in the vegetable garden instead.
After moving to the shed, no one brought her food. She was so hungry that she couldn't stand it, but she didn't dare to steal vegetables from the garden. She had no choice but to pick some wild weeds from the edge of the field and cook them in a pot in the shed. She did this for three days, but unexpectedly, her dysentery stopped and she regained her strength. Two days later, she was completely cured.
This news quickly spread throughout the village, and the villagers began to dig up and eat this wild vegetable, and it proved to be effective. But no one knew what it was called. Since it looked like a horse's teeth, they called it "Portulaca" (Ma Chi Xian, meaning "horse tooth vegetable"). From then on, people knew that Portulaca was a good medicine for treating diarrhea.
Portulaca is cold in nature and sweet and sour in taste. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling the blood to stop dysentery, and stopping bleeding. It is applicable for heat toxin sores, eczema, dermatitis, erysipelas, snake and insect bites, relieving itching and reducing swelling, excessive bleeding, and other conditions. It is a key medicine for preventing and treating dysentery, and good results can usually be achieved by decocting it alone. Modern medicine tells us that Portulaca contains strong antioxidants that can maintain the normal physiological function of the skin, delay skin aging, eliminate pigment spots, prevent facial acne, and make the skin moist, delicate, and smooth. It is suitable for people with dry skin.
4. Lotus Root Leads in Anti-Aging
Lotus root, also known as Lianou, is the underground stem of the perennial aquatic plant Nelumbo nucifera of the water lily family. Lotus root originated in India and was later introduced to China. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the cultivation of lotus root was already quite common, and it has a cultivation history of more than 3,000 years.
Lotus root is slightly sweet and crisp, very refreshing, and can be eaten raw or cooked. It is not only highly nutritious but also has considerable medicinal value. It is an excellent food and nourishing treasure for the elderly, young, women, and the weak or sick. As early as the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty, lotus root was designated as a tribute for the imperial kitchen.
Raw lotus root is cold in nature. It has the effects of clearing heat and moistening the lungs, cooling the blood to resolve blood stasis, clearing vexation and heat, and stopping vomiting and thirst. It is applicable for vexation and thirst, alcohol intoxication, hemoptysis, and hematemesis; cooked lotus root changes its nature from cool to warm, and can strengthen the spleen and whet the appetite, stop diarrhea, and secure essence. Elderly people who often eat lotus root can regulate the middle energizer and whet the appetite, nourish blood and replenish marrow, and calm the mind and strengthen the brain. Regular consumption can make the body feel light and resistant to cold, prevent hunger, and prolong life.