Core Tip: "Food and medicine share the same origin" is a concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which states that many foods are both food and medicine, capable of preventing and treating diseases just like medicine. Spring is the season for jicama, chives, spinach, and bamboo shoots to be in season. These vegetables are also examples of "food and medicine sharing the same origin"—they are both delicious and health-promoting, helping to prevent diseases. You might want to add more of these healthy vegetables to your spring dinner table.
Today, people focus on health preservation. According to TCM, one should follow the principle of "food and medicine sharing the same origin." This concept means that many foods are both food and medicine, capable of preventing and treating diseases just like medicine. "Food and medicine share the same origin" suggests that Chinese medicine and food originated simultaneously. The "Huainanzi: Xiuwu Xun" states: "Shennong tasted the flavors of a hundred herbs and the sweetness and bitterness of water springs, so that the people would know what to avoid and what to approach. At that time, he encountered seventy poisons in a single day." This shows that in the age of Shennong, medicine and food were not distinguished; the non-toxic were to be approached, and the toxic were to be avoided.
Jicama: It has a sweet and bland taste with a slightly cold nature. It can cool the blood to stop bleeding, clear the liver to improve vision, clear heat and promote urination. It is mainly used for conditions such as uterine bleeding in women, hematochezia, urinary tract infections, and hypertension.
Health Tip: For patients with hypertension or arteriosclerosis, using 60 grams of fresh jicama daily, adding an appropriate amount of water, and boiling it. After it comes to a boil, add three eggs. Eating the eggs and drinking the soup can help alleviate symptoms of dizziness and headache.
Chives: Half a kilogram of chives contains 5-10 grams of protein, 5-30 grams of sugar, 20 milligrams of Vitamin A, 89 milligrams of Vitamin C, 263 milligrams of calcium, 212 milligrams of phosphorus, as well as volatile oils, among other things. Additionally, chives contain antibacterial substances and have the effects of flavoring and sterilization.
Health Tip: As the saying goes, "Chives eaten in spring are fragrant, but eaten in summer they are foul." In spring, the weather is unpredictable, and it is important to nourish the body's Yang energy. Chives have a warm nature, making them most suitable for this purpose.
Spinach: The carotene content in spinach can rival that of carrots. If a person eats 50 grams of spinach daily, their Vitamin A requirement can be met; its Vitamin C content is more than double that of tomatoes. TCM believes that spinach has the functions of nourishing blood, stopping bleeding, and moistening dryness. It is effective for certain conditions such as hematochezia, scurvy, thirst with polyuria, constipation, hypertension, intestinal tuberculosis, and hemorrhoids.
Health Tip: Although spinach is excellent as both a vegetable and a medicine, it should not be consumed in excess because it contains oxalic acid. When oxalic acid enters the body, it combines with calcium from other foods to form insoluble calcium oxalate, which hinders the normal absorption of calcium by the body.
Spring Bamboo Shoots: Bamboo shoots are hailed as "the first treasure among vegetables." Spring shoots have a light, fresh, and tender taste, and there is a folk saying that "a banquet is not complete without bamboo shoots." Spring shoots can "benefit the nine orifices, invigorate the blood vessels, resolve phlegm, and relieve food stagnation." Modern medicine has confirmed that eating bamboo shoots has effects such as nourishing Yin, benefiting the blood, resolving phlegm, aiding digestion, promoting bowel movements, and improving vision.
Health Tip: Spring shoots are cold in nature and sweet in taste, and they contain a significant amount of crude fiber. Consuming large quantities can be difficult to digest, easily burdening the gastrointestinal tract. This is especially true for individuals who already suffer from gastrointestinal diseases and should not eat them in large amounts.