Introduction: I've never liked winter, especially this year when Beijing's heavy snow arrived before the start of winter, seemingly validating the prediction that this winter would be the coldest in 30 years. "The cold wind shortens the day," "the north wind sweeps the ground, breaking the white grass." The cold of winter is gradually setting in, and the dryness that comes with it is always close behind, especially upon waking when the throat is uncomfortably dry. What should be done? How can diet help?
Hydration should be "sufficient in quantity and excellent in quality." Honey water is a good choice.
One of the symptoms of dehydration is dryness, not just a dry mouth and a sore throat, but even dry skin and eyes. For an average adult male, at least 1700ml of water should be consumed daily, and for females, at least 1500ml. Of course, this recommendation is based on mild climatic conditions and relatively light physical activity. In dry, hot, or other harsh environments, water intake should be increased accordingly.
This water shouldn't be all consumed at once. It's best to drink a large glass of warm water first thing in the morning, and to sip water proactively throughout the rest of the day. Also, the biggest mistake in drinking water is waiting until you're thirsty to drink. It's better to drink proactively and in a timely manner. Thirst is a signal that the body is already dehydrated. By the time you feel thirsty, it's like closing the barn door after the sheep have escaped—it's not too late, but the effects of dehydration on the body have already occurred.
While drinking plain water may meet the quantity requirement, it may not be the most effective way to relieve a dry mouth and throat, because the water is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and then metabolized and excreted by the kidneys, leaving little time to moisten the throat. It's a good idea to add a little honey to the water to make a lightly sweetened honey drink, which is more effective at relieving the dryness of the oral and throat mucous membranes. This is because honey is rich in fructose, and fructose is the most hygroscopic of all sugars, capable of absorbing moisture even from the air. This can slow down the absorption of water, preventing it from being quickly excreted, allowing more time for the water to moisten the oral cavity, throat, and digestive tract mucous membranes, and more time for the water to remain in the body. When the body is well-hydrated, you won't have a dry mouth and throat.
Of course, besides honey, some fruits are also rich in fructose, such as pears, grapes, apples, loquats, bananas, persimmons, etc. Additionally, some vegetables like pumpkin are also quite high in fructose. Eating more of these fruits and vegetables in the fall is another trick to relieve dryness.
Honey and Cashew Crisps
Plant gums show unique effects, both tremella and oats are rich in them.
Many foods swell in volume and become sticky in texture after being cooked. These foods mostly contain plant gums. For example, grains like soap nuts and oats expand several times in volume after cooking, thanks to a special soluble plant gum they contain. This gum acts as soluble dietary fiber. During the process of making congee, this fiber acts like a sponge, continuously absorbing water and expanding, which gives the congee, soup, or thick soup its thick consistency. These sticky soups can keep water in contact with the mucous membranes for a long time, making the throat and digestive tract feel well-moisturized. At the same time, because they cannot be digested by the human body, they can carry water all the way to the large intestine, adding moisture to the stool and making it softer, thus preventing dryness.
In addition to soap nuts and oats, which are "brothers" in the grain world rich in plant gums, many other plant-based foods contain them too. For instance, the fungal polysaccharides found in mushrooms like wood ear and tremella are a type of soluble plant gum. The traditional practice of drinking tremella soup to nourish the body is highly recommended. There's also alginic acid found in seaweeds like kelp and wakame, which is also a plant gum. Then there's pectin in fruits, another type of plant gum, especially rich in hawthorns, which is also why hawthorns can be made into hawthorn cakes.
Soap Nut, Tremella, and Lotus Seed Soup
Get enough Vitamin A, see dark green and orange-yellow vegetables every day.
Vitamin A helps maintain the integrity of the respiratory mucosal epithelial cells, enhances the ciliary movement, and boosts disease prevention capabilities. A deficiency in Vitamin A not only leads to a decrease in mucus and sebum secreted by the mucous membranes, causing dryness, but it also affects ciliary movement, thereby weakening the immune system, leading to bacterial infections, and potentially causing throat discomfort.
Vitamin A is a bit of a "character" among vitamins. Although it exists in both animal and plant foods, in animal foods, it is mainly concentrated in a few foods that are not commonly consumed on a daily basis, such as liver and egg yolks (especially goose yolks). For example, just two or three slices of liver can basically meet the daily requirement for Vitamin A. However, in other animal foods, the content is far from this potent. This is one of the reasons why Vitamin A deficiency is relatively common.
Vitamin A's presence in plant foods also has distinct characteristics; it is mainly abundant in dark green and orange-yellow foods, such as carrots, goji berries, and dark green leafy vegetables (broccoli, spinach, kale, mustard greens). However, what plants provide is not direct Vitamin A, but beta-carotene. Six beta-carotene molecules can be converted into one Vitamin A molecule in the liver. This conversion is safe, and you won't suffer from overdosing, so it is recommended to eat dark green and deep yellow vegetables daily.
Spinach and Goji Berry Pork Liver Soup