Introduction: Many places have the custom of "biting the spring" and "eating the autumn." As deep autumn approaches, what should we be eating?
In this issue, the "Life Times" has invited Professor Yang Li, a professor of health science from Xiyuan Hospital of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and Professor Chen Xiafei, head of the Nutrition Department at Shanghai Huadong Hospital, to introduce the "top foods" on the autumn food list.
For more autumn diet recipes, click on the special feature: Autumn Diet "Stomach" Protection Battle
First Vegetable: Lotus Root
For recipes related to lotus root, click on the special feature: Healthy Autumn Eating: Skillful Lotus Root Dishes
Reasons for making the list: There is an old saying, "The lotus plant is a treasure in itself, but the autumn lotus root is the most nourishing for people."
During the autumn season, fresh lotus roots are in season. The weather is dry at this time, and eating lotus root can nourish yin, clear heat, moisten dryness, quench thirst, and calm the mind. At the same time, lotus root is warm in nature and has the function of constricting blood vessels. Eating more can nourish the lungs and enrich the blood. Lotus root has undoubtedly become the "star vegetable" of the season.
Besides containing a large amount of carbohydrates, fresh lotus root is also rich in protein, various vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in dietary fiber, which is very beneficial for treating constipation and promoting the excretion of harmful substances.
Best way to eat: The seven-hole lotus root has a higher starch content, less moisture, and is glutinous but not crisp, making it suitable for soups. The nine-hole lotus root has a high moisture content, is crisp and tender, and is most suitable for cold salads or stir-frying.
Best pairing: Black fungus and white fungus. Pairing it with white fungus can nourish lung yin, while pairing it with black fungus can nourish kidney yin.
First Nut: Peanut
Reasons for making the list: Autumn is a season of harvest, and among the fruits, the one with the most star quality is the peanut, known as the "longevity fruit." "Eating peanuts often can nourish life." Peanut kernels contain about 26% protein, twice that of wheat, and are easily absorbed and utilized by the human body; they contain 40% fat, of which more than 80% are unsaturated fatty acids. The nutritional value of peanuts is higher than that of grains and can be compared with some animal foods such as eggs, milk, and meat.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, peanuts are considered neutral in nature, sweet in flavor, and enter the spleen and lung meridians. They can invigorate the spleen and harmonize the stomach, moisten the lungs and resolve phlegm, nourish and regulate qi, clear the throat and stop coughing. They are mainly used to treat malnutrition, poor appetite and weak constitution, dry cough with little phlegm, hemoptysis, skin purpura, insufficient lactation in postpartum women, and constipation.
Best way to eat: Fresh peanuts are best boiled in their shells. Boiled peanuts are not only easy to digest and absorb, but also make full use of the medicinal and health benefits of the peanut shell and the inner red skin. The red skin of peanuts can inhibit the dissolution of fibrin, promote the regeneration of platelets, and enhance the contraction function of capillaries. It can treat thrombocytopenia and prevent bleeding diseases. The peanut shell has the effect of lowering blood pressure and regulating cholesterol. Ancient texts believe that peanuts tonify the middle jiao and qi, and eating them salted in water nourishes the lungs.
Best pairing: Red dates. Pairing with red dates can tonify the spleen and benefit the blood, and stop bleeding. It has a certain therapeutic effect on spleen deficiency and blood deficiency, anemia, and is especially beneficial for women.
First Tonic: Chinese Yam
For recipes related to Chinese yam, click on the special feature: Healthy Autumn Eating: Creative Chinese Yam Dishes
Reasons for making the list: Every season has its own way of tonifying the body, but the methods are different: warm tonification in spring, clear tonification in summer, and moist tonification in autumn. The best food for autumn tonification is Chinese yam. It is not only known as the "food of the immortals" but also has the effect of a "medicinal food."
Best way to eat: It can be steamed, made into soup, or stir-fried. Steaming it results in the least loss of nutrients.
Best pairing: Goji berries. If not eating Chinese yam alone, it can be paired with goji berries to make a goji berry and Chinese yam congee to better enhance the nourishing effect.
First Beverage: Yellow Wine
Reasons for making the list: "When chrysanthemums bloom, drink yellow wine." Yellow wine is a national specialty of our country, one of the oldest alcoholic beverages in the world, and a drink that contains a relatively comprehensive range of essential amino acids for the human body. It contains 18 amino acids, which is rare in nutritional wines worldwide. Yellow wine also contains a high amount of functional oligosaccharides, which can improve immunity and disease resistance, something that wine and beer cannot compare to.
The health benefits of yellow wine are deeply rooted. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that yellow wine is warm in nature and has a sweet, bitter taste. It has therapeutic effects such as unblocking meridians, promoting blood circulation, warming the spleen and stomach, moistening the skin, and dispelling dampness.
Best way to drink: Yellow wine should be warmed to warm the stomach and dispel cold. The traditional way to drink yellow wine is to heat it in hot water or over a flame, with an optimal temperature of 35°C-45°C. During the heating process, trace amounts of organic compounds in yellow wine that are not beneficial to human health will volatilize as the temperature rises, reducing harm to the body.
Best pairing: Dark plum. Autumn diet emphasizes "receiving," and pairing with dark plum fits this concept perfectly. It has the effect of nourishing yin and promoting fluid production, moistening the lungs, and protecting the liver.
First Meat: Cuttlefish
Reasons for making the list: Regarding meat, there has always been a saying that "four-legged animals are not as good as two-legged ones, and two-legged ones are not as good as those with no legs." Cuttlefish is delicious and nutritious. Every 100 grams of its meat contains 13 grams of protein and only 0.7 grams of fat. It also contains carbohydrates and essential substances for the human body such as vitamins A, B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, and iron. It is a high-protein, low-fat nourishing food. Eating cuttlefish in autumn is especially nourishing for women.
Cuttlefish has the effects of nourishing blood and kidneys, strengthening the stomach, and regulating qi. Eating it in autumn can nourish yin and promote fluid production.
Best way to eat: It can be braised, stir-fried, quick-fried, stewed, or made into a cold salad or soup. However, to prevent autumn dryness, making it into a soup is more appropriate.
Best pairing: Tofu, which is also a food that nourishes yin and promotes fluid production. Eating them together can also have a complementary protein effect.
First Fruit: Pear
Reasons for making the list: Pears are fresh and juicy, containing 85% water. They are sweet and sour, and rich in vitamins and trace elements such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, and iodine. They are known as "natural mineral water" and have been revered since ancient times as the "king of all fruits."
The autumn air is dry and lacks moisture. If you can eat a certain amount of pears every day, it can relieve autumn dryness and promote fluid production to moisten the lungs.
The degree of cold nature varies among different types of pears. For example, the commonly eaten Tianjin Ya pear, fragrant pear, and tribute pear have similar cold properties, while rough-skewed sand pears and imported beer pears are even colder.
Best way to eat: Different ways of eating pears can produce different effects. Raw pears and cooked pears have different functions. Eating raw pears can significantly relieve symptoms such as dryness, itching, pain, and hoarseness of the throat in patients with upper respiratory tract infections, as well as constipation and dark urine. Cooking or steaming pears, such as rock sugar steamed pears, can have the effect of moistening yin, moistening the lungs, stopping coughs, and resolving phlegm. It has preventive and therapeutic effects for gout, rheumatism, and arthritis, and is more effective for treating lung heat cough and sore throat.
Best pairing: Honey. The famous Chinese pear candy is made by simmering pears with honey, which has a significant therapeutic effect on patients with chronic lung heat cough.
First Congee: Lily Congee
The "Meitian" recommends autumn health congee recipes: Autumn Health - Nutritious and Tonic Congee
Reasons for making the list: Due to the dry climate in autumn, the air lacks moisture, and people often experience dryness of the mouth and nose, unquenchable thirst, dry skin, and even lung dryness and coughing. Lily has the effects of moistening the lungs and stopping coughs, clearing the heart and calming the mind, making it a top-grade food for autumn consumption.
Lily is sweet and slightly bitter in flavor, and neutral in nature. Its nutritional components are rich, containing protein, vitamins, carotene, and some special active ingredients such as starch, polysaccharides, pectin, and various alkaloids. It has a certain therapeutic effect in inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells.
Best way to eat: Cooked into congee. There are many ways to eat lily. It can be eaten as a dish, such as celery stir-fried with lily or lily stir-fried with beef, which are all delicious dishes. It can also be cooked into congee, such as lily and glutinous rice made into lily congee, with a little rock sugar added, which is not only delicious but also calming and helps with sleep. It can also be boiled with lily, lotus seeds, and red dates to make a sweet soup, which can tonify and calm the mind.
Best pairing: Almonds. Almonds have the effects of moistening the lungs and stopping coughs, and clearing the heart and calming the mind. Pairing with lily to make congee is suitable for patients with post-illness weakness and dry cough.