Introduction: On hazy days, deteriorating air entering the respiratory system can easily cause lung infections. How to protect the lungs has become a common concern for many people. Here, the editor recommends 10 health foods that are simple to eat, effective, and lung-protecting, helping you get through the smoggy days safely.
1. Black Fungus
Food Introduction:
① Black fungus is rich in cellulose and a special plant gum, which can promote gastrointestinal motility, promote the excretion of fatty foods in the intestines, reduce the absorption of food fat, thus playing a weight loss role; this gum has the effect of moistening the lungs and cleaning the gastrointestinal tract, and can adsorb and expel impurities and waste residues in the digestive tract.
② Black fungus is rich in iron, making it an excellent food choice for people with iron-deficiency anemia. Its iron content is 20 times that of celery and 7 times higher than that of pork liver. It also contains protein, fat, carbohydrates, crude fiber, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, carotene, niacin, and other vitamins and inorganic salts, phospholipids, plant sterols, etc.
③ Black fungus also contains a nucleic acid-like substance that can lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood, which is very beneficial for patients with coronary heart disease and arteriosclerosis. The polysaccharides in black fungus have anti-cancer effects and can be used as a dietary therapy for cancer patients.
Lung-Cleansing Principle: It can concentrate and adsorb pollutants such as dust, impurities, and garbage that enter the human body through breathing, and expel them from the body, thereby achieving the purpose of cleansing the intestines and nourishing the lung qi; plant collagen can also help digest fibrous substances, dissolving and oxidizing foreign objects such as accidentally ingested indigestible hair, husks, wood chips, sand, and metal shavings.
Because black fungus has so many benefits for our bodies, we should not neglect its nutrition. Regardless of work needs, we should often put it on our dining table.
West Celery and Lily Black Fungus
2. Radish
Food Introduction: A food for detoxifying the lungs.
Radish also has antibacterial, appetite-stimulating, and anti-platelet aggregation effects. The large amount of dietary fiber and rich digestive enzymes such as amylase in radish can effectively promote food digestion and absorption.
Lung-Cleansing Principle: In the eyes of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the relationship between the large intestine and the lungs is the closest. The degree of toxin excretion by the lungs depends on whether the large intestine is unobstructed. Radish can help the large intestine excrete old stool, and it can be eaten raw or made into a cold salad.
Braised Radish
3. White Radish
Food Introduction: White radish belongs to the cruciferous vegetable family and is one of the most common root and stem vegetables in daily life. It has been cultivated for thousands of years and is widely used in both diet and Traditional Chinese Medicine dietary therapy. It can be eaten raw or cooked, with a slightly spicy taste. It contains glucose, sucrose, fructose, vitamin C, glucoraphenin, etc.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, white radish is white and corresponds to the metal element, which relates to the lungs in the five zang organs. Its nature is sweet and flat, its taste is pungent, and it affects the lung and spleen meridians. It has the effects of promoting qi, aiding digestion, relieving diseases, moistening the lungs, detoxifying, promoting fluid production, inducing diuresis, and relieving constipation. It is mainly used for treating lung flaccidity, lung heat, constipation, hematemesis, bloating, food stagnation, indigestion, excessive phlegm, and difficult urination or defecation.
There are many ways to eat white radish. It can be used in cold dishes, soups, or juiced with lotus root or snow pear. It can also be simmered with Houttuynia cordata rock sugar to make a sweet soup, which is good for digestion and stomach nourishment, and can also moisten the lungs and relieve cough. If symptoms of a dry or sore throat appear, it can be mashed and mixed with ginger juice to effectively relieve pharyngitis, tonsillitis, and hoarseness.
From the perspective of Western nutrition, white radish is rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C can prevent skin aging, stop the formation of dark spots, and keep the skin fair and tender. In addition, vitamins A and C have antioxidant effects and can effectively inhibit cancer, as well as prevent aging and arteriosclerosis. As a cruciferous vegetable, the anti-cancer function of white radish has also been clinically confirmed. The lignin in white radish can enhance the vitality of macrophages, which phagocytose cancer cells. Furthermore, the various enzymes contained in radish can decompose carcinogenic nitrosamines, having an anti-cancer effect.
White radish is often chosen in Traditional Chinese Medicine dietary therapy. Eating it raw is effective, and juicing it is even better. Its spicy components can inhibit the abnormal division of cells, thereby preventing cancer. Radish cleans the lungs; eating radish in this season is comparable to ginseng. People with low immunity can eat more of it, and it is very effective for resolving phlegm and stopping coughs.
Lung-Cleansing Principle: The mustard oil, amylase, and crude fiber in white radish have the effects of promoting digestion, enhancing appetite, and relieving cough and resolving phlegm. Traditional Chinese Medicine theory holds that its nature is cool and it enters the lung and stomach meridians.
Braised White Radish with Abalone Sauce
4. Lily
Food Introduction: Enhances the lung's ability to resist toxins. In addition to containing nutrients such as starch, protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins B1, B2, and C, lily also contains some special nutritional components, such as colchicine and other alkaloids. These components have a combined effect on the human body, not only providing good nutrition but also having a certain preventive and therapeutic effect on various seasonal diseases caused by the dryness of autumn climate. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, fresh lily has the effects of nourishing the heart to calm the mind, moistening the lungs, and relieving cough, and is very beneficial for people who are weak after illness.
Lung-Cleansing Principle: The lungs dislike dryness, and in a dry state, it is easy to accumulate toxins. Mushrooms and lily have excellent effects on nourishing and moistening the lungs, helping the lungs fight against toxins. When eating, do not cook for too long, otherwise the juice in the lily will decrease, and the anti-toxin effect will be greatly reduced.
Mung Bean, Lily, and Lotus Seed Soup
5. Chinese Yam
Food Introduction: A perennial herb with a cylindrical root tuber containing a large amount of starch and protein, as well as vitamins, fat, choline, and other components, as well as indispensable inorganic salts and trace elements for the human body such as iodine, calcium, iron, and phosphorus.
Chinese yam is neither dry nor greasy, tonifying the spleen while also tonifying the lungs, so it is good for treating chronic cough due to lung deficiency. "The Pharmacological Interpretation of Medicines" says: "Chinese yam, it is a mild tonic without being harsh, slightly fragrant without being dry, it has a gentle effect of regulating the lungs, treating chronic cough due to lung deficiency, how safe is that?" "The Medical Records of Sincere Reference to Chinese and Western Medicine" uses Chinese yam with plantain seeds to treat consumptive cough due to deficiency; if it is a wheezing due to deficiency of both lung and kidney, then Chinese yam tonifies both lung and kidney, which is naturally the right treatment, often used with Schisandra berry and dogwood fruit.
To achieve a lung-cleansing effect, you can make a Chinese yam and coix seed porridge: Mix 50 grams of coix seed, which strengthens the spleen and removes dampness, with 50 grams of Chinese yam, which tonifies the lungs and nourishes essence, and cook it into a porridge daily. It has the function of tonifying the lungs, but it also balances the coldness of coix seed and the stickiness of Chinese yam.
Lung-Cleansing Principle: It contains a mixed substance of polysaccharide and protein called mucin, which has a special health-care effect on the human body, tonifying the spleen and nourishing the stomach, and tonifying the lungs and benefiting the kidneys.
Chicken Broth and Goji Berry Chinese Yam Porridge