Introduction: As the saying goes, "Eat radish in winter and ginger in summer, and you won't need a doctor to write prescriptions." White radish is a seasonal vegetable in winter and also a great ingredient for health preservation. People have cleverly paired white radish with other foods to form simple remedies that can treat and alleviate common winter ailments. You might want to give them a try.
Stewed with Rock Sugar to Relieve Cough
Remedy: Take 500g of white radish, mash it to extract the juice, add a small amount of rock sugar, stew it, and drink it warm. Take 60ml twice a day to treat a cough.
Comments: In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the lungs are considered a "delicate organ" and the first to be attacked by external pathogens. They require special care after the start of winter. White radish is cool in nature, sweet and pungent in flavor, and affects the lung and stomach meridians. It is especially suitable for those with lung and stomach heat, excessive phlegm, sticky phlegm that is difficult to expel, bloating, food stagnation, indigestion, and difficulty with urination and bowel movements. To maximize its cough-relieving effect, white radish should be paired with rock sugar. TCM believes rock sugar moistens the lungs, relieves coughs, transforms phlegm, and clears heat. The combination of the two works together to promote the descent of qi, aid digestion, eliminate phlegm, moisten the lungs, harmonize the middle jiao to stop coughs, and promote urination and bowel movements. Therefore, the above remedy is effective for coughs. It should be noted that although white radish is good for moistening the lungs and stopping coughs, its cool nature makes it unsuitable for large consumption by those with a weak spleen and stomach, chronic gastritis, stomach ulcers, or loose stools.
Rock Sugar Radish Juice
Boiled with Green Olives to Soothe the Throat
Remedy: Boil 500g of white radish with 10 green olives and drink it like tea to treat a sore throat.
Comments: As the common saying goes, "In November, radish is better than ginseng." In winter, the climate is dry, especially in the north where indoor heating makes rooms hot and dry. This season, people also love to eat hotpot, which adds to the dryness, often leading to a dry, sore throat. Green olives are known as the "fruit of the lungs and stomach" and can be used both as medicine and in food therapy. Green olives are neutral in nature, sweet and sour in flavor, and affect the lung and stomach meridians. They have effects such as clearing the lungs, soothing the throat, promoting the production of body fluids, and detoxifying. Boiling white radish with green olives and drinking it like tea can relieve a sore throat caused by excessive heat in the lungs and stomach.
In addition to this food remedy, you can also drink tea made from globeflower, chrysanthemum, butterfly pea flower, or Ophiopogon japonicus. These can clear the throat, moisten the lungs, and relieve coughs, alleviating a sore throat and also offering some protection against smog. Normally, it is important to maintain a suitable temperature and humidity at home. Dry, overly cold, or overly hot indoor air can affect the defense mechanism of the pharyngeal mucosa and cause abnormal sensations in the throat. Furthermore, pay attention to oral hygiene by brushing your teeth in the morning, evening, and after meals; correct bad habits like mouth breathing; eat a light, easily digestible diet and reduce spicy and irritating foods like ginger, garlic, and chili; quit smoking and alcohol; and engage in regular exercise to prevent respiratory infections.
Steamed Scallop Radish
Added with Scallion and Ginger to Prevent Colds
Remedy: Slice the white radish thinly, and stew it with rock sugar, scallion roots, and ginger slices in water to make a soup. Drinking this can prevent colds.
Comments: Scallion roots are usually discarded when cooking, but they are actually a very important medicinal herb with effects of dispelling wind and cold, and reducing inflammation and bacteria. Scallion roots and ginger have a pungent dispersing nature that can induce sweating. Slicing the white radish thinly and stewing it with rock sugar, scallion roots, and ginger slices into a soup is very effective for the early stages of a wind-cold cold. However, remember that this is for treating wind-cold colds. It will not only be ineffective for a wind-heat cold but can also worsen the condition. So, what is the difference between a wind-cold cold and a wind-heat cold? A wind-cold cold is caused by an invasion of wind-cold pathogens, leading to a dysfunction of lung qi. Symptoms include aversion to cold, mild fever, no sweat, headache and body aches, nasal congestion with a clear runny nose, coughing with thin white sputum, no thirst or a preference for hot drinks, and a thin white tongue coating. Treatment should focus on using pungent and warm herbs to release the exterior. A wind-heat cold, on the other hand, is caused by wind-heat pathogens affecting the body, leading to a disharmony of lung qi. Symptoms include high fever, a slight aversion to wind, a heavy head, sweating, a sore throat, coughing with sticky or yellow sputum, nasal congestion with a yellow runny nose, thirst with a preference for drinks, and a thin yellow tongue coating. Treatment should focus on using pungent and cool herbs to release the exterior. Therefore, one remedy cannot suit everyone, and treatment should be based on different clinical manifestations.
Honey Radish Drink