Simple Fare is Better Than Medicine
As the saying goes, "Simple fare is the best for health." Do you know what "simple fare" means? Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "rough tea" refers to coarser, older tea leaves, which contain substances like tea polyphenols and tannins that are beneficial to the body. "Light meal" has two meanings: one, it is not salty; two, it is not greasy. It includes not only grains and vegetables but also lean meats like chicken, duck, fish, and beef. "Simple fare" means that daily diet should be primarily plant-based, focusing on mixing grains and beans, and rice and noodles, supplemented by various animal foods including meat, and drinking coarse tea regularly.
The best supplement is nutritious food. Dietary supplementation is superior to medicinal supplementation, which is what people often mean when they say "simple fare is the best for health." Because many vegetables and grains can themselves be considered medicine, consuming whole grains, roots, stems, leaves, and vegetables can have a health-preserving and nourishing effect.
Understanding "Rough Tea"
"Rough tea" refers to coarser, older tea leaves, in contrast to new tea. Although rough tea is bitter and astringent, it contains substances like tea polyphenols and tannins that are beneficial to the body. Tea polyphenol is a natural antioxidant that can inhibit the damage caused by free radicals in the human body and has an anti-aging effect.
It can also block the damage of carcinogens such as nitrosamines to the body. Tannins, on the other hand, can lower blood lipids, prevent vascular sclerosis, keep blood vessels unobstructed, and maintain the normal function of the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems. In addition, tea polyphenols can alleviate and reduce the symptoms of diabetes, and have effects such as lowering blood lipids and blood pressure.
Therefore, from a nutritional perspective, expensive new tea is not necessarily better than cheap coarse tea and old tea, and coarse tea is more suitable for the elderly.
Understanding "Light Meal"
"Light meal" does not mean what people might think of as coarse grains or vegetarianism. It has two meanings: first, it is not salty; a diet that is too salty can easily lead to osteoporosis and high blood pressure, and a long-term diet that is too salty can also lead to stroke and heart disease. Second, it is not greasy; it includes not only grains and vegetables but also lean meats like chicken, duck, fish, and beef.
In other words, the correct way to practice "simple fare" is to have a diet primarily based on plant foods like vegetables, pay attention to mixing grains with beans and rice with noodles, appropriately supplement with various animal foods including meat, and drink coarse tea regularly. Thus, for the health sayings passed down among the people, one should not practice them based on a superficial understanding but should consider their scientific meaning.