Some people experience symptoms like a dry mouth and throat, a sore throat, swollen gums, ulcers and bleeding on the tip of the tongue and oral mucosa, bloating, and constipation after eating hotpot for 2-3 days. This is mainly due to the numbing, spicy, and scalding nature of hotpot, combined with its ingredients, which are often greasy and sticky foods like chicken, duck, fish, shark fin, and sea cucumber.
So, what should you do if you get "heatiness" from eating hotpot?
1. Add vegetables or tofu to the hotpot. Vegetables such as spinach, celery, and green beans. Tofu and its products like firm tofu and tofu skin. Vegetables are rich in vitamins and chlorophyll, and tofu contains gypsum, which has a cooling nature. Both have effects of clearing heat, purging fire, and relieving vexation, and can prevent "heatiness" from eating hotpot.
2. Add Chinese herbs to simmer in the hotpot. Use 10 grams each of Dendrobium, Scrophularia, and Ophiopogon, wrap them in a gauze bag. Place them in the hotpot to cook for 15-20 minutes, then remove the herb bag. It has the effects of nourishing yin, reducing fire, and promoting fluid production, and can prevent "heatiness" induced by eating hotpot.
3. Add some lotus seeds to the hotpot. Lotus seeds are rich in various nutrients and are a great tonic. Soak the lotus seeds in water for 30 minutes first, remove the skins but not the cores. They can both nourish and supplement nutrition, as well as clear the heart and purge fire, making them an excellent choice for preventing "heatiness" when eating hotpot.
4. Add a little beer to the hotpot. Adding 2 spoonfuls of beer to the hotpot can make the broth mellow and fragrant. Beer is rich in various nutrients, which can not only balance nutrition but is also a clever method to prevent "heatiness" from hotpot.
5. Eat some fruit after enjoying the hotpot. After eating hotpot, wait 20-30 minutes and then eat some cooling fruits like pears, lotus root, apples, or oranges to prevent "heatiness". But avoid eating heating oranges.
Four taboos when eating hotpot:
1. Eat less offal. With the application of pesticides, fertilizers, and additives in food production, animal organs often become "filters" and "storage" for these harmful substances. The liver and lungs, in particular, contain the highest levels of pathogenic microorganisms and drug residues.
2. Eat less scalding food. The temperature of hotpot broth can reach up to 120°C. If you eat it as soon as it's served, it can easily scald the oral cavity, esophagus, and gastric mucosa. People who already have mouth sores may have a recurrence rate several times higher after eating hotpot.
3. Eat undercooked food. Raw foods served at the table often have residual pathogenic microorganisms and parasite eggs. If you eat them after a quick dip, the possibility of harmful microorganisms invading the body is very high.
4. Control the time. Some people eat for several hours, even all night. This causes digestive fluids like gastric juice, bile, and pancreatic juice to be secreted continuously, and the glands cannot get proper rest, leading to gastrointestinal dysfunction and causing abdominal pain and diarrhea.