Introduction: How to eat spicy food without getting 'heaty'? Actually, eating whole grains as your staple food can help alleviate this, because they are rich in dietary fiber, which can prevent constipation caused by intestinal dryness and heat.
I. Choose Whole Grains as Your Staple
How to eat spicy food without getting 'heaty'? Actually, eating whole grains as your staple food can help alleviate this, because they are rich in dietary fiber, which can prevent constipation caused by intestinal dryness and heat. Corn or sweet potatoes are good choices. In addition, Job's tears can also reduce dryness, and when cooked with lilies in a congee, the effect is even more significant.
II. Drink More Soups
TCM practitioners remind us that people who often eat spicy food may experience a sore throat or chapped lips. It is best to replenish more water. You can drink a bowl of vegetable or tomato and egg soup to help produce saliva and moisten dryness. When eating spicy food, drinking a glass of yogurt or milk can not only relieve the spiciness but also has a 'heat-clearing' effect.
III. Cook Chili with Cooling Foods
If you really want to eat chili, it's best to cook it with foods that nourish yin, reduce dryness, and clear heat. These include duck, fish and shrimp, bitter melon, loofah, cucumber, lily, and green leafy vegetables. These can clear heat, produce saliva, nourish yin, reduce dryness, and purge fire and toxins, making them especially suitable for people with stomach heat. Soaking the chili in vinegar for a while before cooking, or adding vinegar when cooking spicy dishes, can also help prevent 'heatiness'. You can also cook some cooling mung bean congee or lotus leaf congee to reduce internal heat.
IV. Choose Sweet Foods to Relieve Spiciness
While spicy food is addictive, eating too much can be overwhelming. Experts say that eating more sweet and sour foods can help relieve the spiciness. Sweetness can mask and interfere with the spicy taste, while sourness can neutralize the alkaline capsaicin. If it's too spicy, dipping in some vinegar, drinking a cold sweet beverage, or having a cool piece of fruit can be very helpful.
V. Eat More Sour Fruits After Meals
For those who love spicy food, it's advisable to eat more sour fruits after a meal. Sour fruits contain tannins, fiber, and other substances that can stimulate digestive fluid secretion, accelerate intestinal peristalsis, and help people who eat spicy food to nourish yin and moisten dryness. Eating apples, pears, pomegranates, or bananas, or having some hawthorn, grapes, or grapefruit, can all help reduce 'heatiness'.
VI. Choose Pickled Chilies
In terms of flavor, spiciness can be divided into numb-and-spicy, sour-and-spicy, and mustard-spicy. Numb-and-spicy contains the pungent heat of Sichuan peppercorns, which更容易上火 (easier to cause 'heatiness'), so it should be eaten in moderation. Pickled chilies have less capsaicin. The vinegar in sour-and-spicy dishes has a detoxifying effect, reducing the chance of getting 'heaty', so it can be eaten in moderation.