Introduction: You keep every detail of your life spotless, but have you cleansed your blood? Blood is the foundation of life. It not only contains many life-sustaining substances like oxygen, glucose, cholesterol, and fat, but also bears the crucial task of delivering nutrients to the 60 trillion cells throughout the body. When blood is not clean, it becomes thick and viscous, leading to poor circulation. This, in turn, causes a decline in the function of various organs. Once the blood is in an unhealthy state, it can accelerate the aging process in women, making one's appearance not match their actual age. Come on, let's give your blood a big cleanup. Here are the top ten blood-cleansing foods recommended to help your entire body stay clear and achieve an ageless state.
1. Green Tea: The Best Regulator for Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar
Green tea can lower the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the human body. In addition, green tea contains a special ingredient called catechin, which prevents blood oxidation, helps prevent the rise of blood pressure and blood sugar, and promotes smoother blood circulation.
Related Value and Efficacy of Green Tea:
Anti-aging: Helps to delay aging. Tea polyphenols have strong antioxidant properties and physiological activity, acting as scavengers of free radicals in the human body. Research has shown that 1 mg of tea polyphenols can eliminate harmful excess free radicals in the human body as effectively as 9 micrograms of superoxide dismutase (SOD), which is much higher than other similar substances. Tea polyphenols can block lipid peroxidation and clear active enzymes. According to the experimental results of Taku Okuda in Japan, the anti-aging effect of tea polyphenols is 18 times stronger than that of vitamin E.
Disease Suppression: Helps suppress cardiovascular diseases. Tea polyphenols play an important role in human fat metabolism. High levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the human body can lead to fat deposition on the inner walls of blood vessels and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques after the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells. Tea polyphenols, especially catechins ECG and EGC in tea polyphenols and their oxidation products such as theaflavins, can help inhibit this plaque-like proliferation, reduce fibrinogen which increases blood clot viscosity, and make blood clotting clearer, thereby inhibiting atherosclerosis.
Antiviral and Antibacterial: Tea polyphenols have a strong astringent effect and significant inhibitory and killing effects on pathogens and viruses, with obvious effects on anti-inflammatory and anti-diarrheal treatments. Many medical institutions in China use tea preparations to treat acute and chronic dysentery, amebic dysentery, and influenza, with a cure rate of about 90%.
Beauty and Skincare: Tea polyphenols are water-soluble substances. Washing your face with them can remove facial oil, tighten pores, and have effects such as disinfection, sterilization, anti-aging, and reducing damage to the skin from ultraviolet radiation in sunlight.
● How to Eat: A survey shows that to truly absorb the nutrients needed by the blood from green tea, one needs to drink more than 10 cups a day. However, this is a difficult task for women who don't like to drink tea, making it impossible to perfectly absorb the green tea components. In fact, you can also "eat tea." The simplest method is to "use tea in cooking." Grind green tea leaves into a fine powder and knead it onto the surface of flour-based foods, such as bread.
Green Tea Bread Rolls
2. Black Beans: A Catalyst for Blood Circulation
Black beans are a magical food that can help improve blood circulation and metabolism, actively transport nutrients throughout the body, and give women a rosy complexion while balancing their endocrine system. This is all thanks to the anthocyanins contained in black beans, a type of polyphenol substance that has excellent health benefits for the blood and is extremely easily absorbed by the human body, with effects that should not be underestimated.
For people with poor blood constitution, eating some black beans is like injecting a vibrant, clear spring into the body, helping to wash away the slight impurities and dirt in the blood and making the stagnant blood lively again.
Black beans, also known as black soybeans or dark soybeans, belong to the soybean family. Their nutritional value is similar to that of soybeans, and they can nourish the kidney yin, invigorate blood, promote urination, expel wind, clear heat and detoxify, and supplement deficiency while blackening hair. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "Regular consumption of black beans can prevent all diseases." The "Supplementary Records of Materia Medica" believes that black beans can "treat wind arthralgia, and long-term consumption improves complexion." In traditional Chinese culture, the color black represents the color of water in the five elements and also represents the color of the kidneys. But this "black" is not the black seen by the human eye. Since ancient times, people have used black and white to distinguish yin and yang. White represents light and warmth, symbolizing the sun, while black, in contrast to white, implies places not reached by the sun's rays and is cool and shady.
According to the traditional Chinese principle of "using shape to supplement shape" and "using color to supplement color," black beans, in terms of both shape and color, are similar to human kidneys, and are therefore regarded as the "valley of the kidney," with a good kidney-tonifying effect. However, if understood from another perspective, aren't black beans also a "living spring"? In traditional Chinese medicine, their effect of nourishing kidney yin is to inject fresh spring water into the body; they can also expel excess heat and dampness from the body by increasing urination and bowel movements, which is an "internal flushing" of the body.
In short, this means it has a detoxifying function. Modern medicine is gradually discovering the effects of black beans in lowering blood lipids and blood sugar, softening blood vessels, moistening the intestines to promote bowel movements, detoxifying and beautifying the skin, delaying aging, and even aiding in weight loss. Many people who have consumed black beans for a period of time have also found that their bowel movements become significantly smoother and their skin becomes clearer and more radiant. Black beans are also beneficial for patients with lung diseases. The famous physician of the Republic of China, Chen Cunren, mentioned in one of his books: Soy milk made from black beans, which is slightly grayish-white, is a nutritious food for patients with lung diseases. After spitting blood, drinking a soup made with black beans and lotus root nodes is also beneficial.
● How to Eat: Soak 120 grams of black beans in 200 ml of water for 12 hours, then cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Separate the beans from the soup. Use the beans to cook rice and the soup as a daily drink. Consuming this continuously for 3 days can enhance blood circulation. When steamed with foods like steamed buns until thoroughly infused, it can achieve good absorption and tastes great, so it's worth a try.
Black Bean and Black Sesame Paste
3. Kiwi: A Tool for Vascular Flexibility
Kiwi is rich in nutritional value and is known as the "king of fruits." Kiwi is rich in vitamins such as vitamin C, potassium, calcium, and carotene. Every 100 grams of kiwi contains 69 mg of vitamin C, which is one of the essential raw materials for synthesizing bone collagen. When there is sufficient bone collagen in the body, it can help us create flexible blood vessels and also has the effect of regulating blood pressure. It also functions to cleanse the intestines, anti-aging, regulate blood circulation, and prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Efficacy of Kiwi:
1. Beauty and skincare: Kiwi is rich in vitamin C, which has antioxidant functions and plays a positive role in eliminating wrinkles and fine lines on the human body. In addition, kiwi is rich in vitamins and dietary fiber but has a low fat content, which has certain effects on weight loss, fitness, and beauty.
2. Detoxification and bowel cleansing: Kiwi also contains very rich dietary fiber, which not only has the effects of lowering cholesterol and promoting heart health, but also helps with digestion, expels toxins, prevents constipation, and effectively clears and prevents the accumulation of harmful metabolites in the body.
3. Relieving scurvy: Kiwi juice can be consumed as a beverage and has a positive therapeutic effect on relieving scurvy. Drinking one cup of kiwi juice a day can significantly improve skin tone and texture within a month. The vitamin C it contains helps lower cholesterol levels in the blood, playing a role in dilating blood vessels and lowering blood pressure.
Although kiwi is highly nutritious, it is considered cold-natured in traditional Chinese medicine and is not suitable for everyone. People with a weak spleen and stomach should consume it with caution, those with diarrhea should not eat it, and it is contraindicated for those with threatened abortion, excessive menstrual flow, and frequent urination. In addition, kiwi should not be eaten with crab or milk.
● How to Eat: Juice the kiwi and add an appropriate amount of honey to consume. It should be noted that when juicing kiwi, it is best to keep the skin, as the kiwi skin also contains blood-cleansing nutrients and can enhance the taste of the juice.
Kiwi and Soybean Milk Smoothie
4. Green Bell Pepper: Prevents Blood Clotting for Unobstructed Qi and Blood Flow
Let's count the nutritional elements in green bell peppers――
① Vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotene can effectively prevent blood clotting.
② Chlorophyll can effectively remove toxins contained in the blood.
③ Green bell peppers are rich in vitamins B and C and carotene, which have the effects of promoting digestion and accelerating fat metabolism.
④ Green bell peppers have a high water content (74%~94%) and low calories, but as they ripen, their water content decreases and their calorie content increases. Vitamins A and C increase with their maturity. Generally, the vitamin C content is 3.5 times that of tomatoes, similar to that of strawberries and lemons, ranking first among vegetables.
Efficacy:
① Relieves fatigue
Green bell peppers play an important role in eliminating fatigue. They also contain vitamin P, which promotes the absorption of vitamin C, and vitamin C will not be lost even when heated.
② Purifies the blood
The green part of green bell peppers comes from chlorophyll. Chlorophyll can prevent the intestines from absorbing excess cholesterol and actively promotes the excretion of cholesterol out of the body, thereby achieving the effect of purifying the blood.
● How to Eat: Unlike other vegetables, green bell peppers must be combined with oil for the vitamin C and carotene to be more easily absorbed by the human body. The best way to eat them is to stir-fry them with beef tendon, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger slices, scallions, and green bell peppers, and season according to your own taste. This way, the nutritional components of the green bell peppers will be preserved intact, making your blood "10 years younger" and you more beautiful.
Stir-fried Green Bell Pepper and Shredded Pork
5. Cabbage: For Skin that's Bouncy, Vessels that are Bouncy Too
Cabbage, also known as headed cabbage, is the stem and leaf of the plant *Brassica oleracea* var. *capitata*. It is also known as green cabbage, Western cabbage, hearting cabbage, turnip, and Korean cabbage. It is a variety of kale and is cultivated all over China. Cabbage holds a high status abroad, just like Chinese cabbage does in China. This is probably the origin of the name "Western cabbage."
Like Chinese cabbage, cabbage is high-yielding and has good storage properties, making it a great vegetable for all seasons. Germans believe that cabbage is the king of vegetables and can cure all diseases. The "folk remedies" used by Westerners to treat diseases with cabbage are as common as using radishes to treat diseases in China. There is also a purple cabbage on the market now called red cabbage, whose nutritional functions are basically the same as those of green cabbage.
Cabbage can be said to be an absolute hero for blood health. In addition to containing vitamin C, potassium, calcium, and dietary fiber, it also has isothiocyanates with strong antioxidant activity, as well as rare vitamins U and K, which protect the vascular mucosa, accelerate blood circulation, and make blood vessels stronger and more elastic.
● How to Eat: Isothiocyanates are lost after heating, so eating it raw is the best method, with 2-3 slices per day being ideal. In addition, you can marinate it with vinegar, salt, and other seasonings for a better taste and even better blood-cleansing effects!
Cabbage, Lemon, and Egg Salad