Introduction: Today's busy urban life has led many people to develop stomach problems. Paying close attention to daily diet is crucial for stomach health. So, what foods can actually nourish the stomach?
1. Spinach: Sweet in flavor and cool in nature, it can moisten dryness, nourish the liver, benefit the stomach and intestines, and relieve constipation. In "Dietary Materia Medica," it is described as "benefiting the five organs, unblocking the stomach and intestines, and neutralizing alcohol toxicity." Spinach can promote secretion from the stomach and pancreas, increase appetite, and aid digestion; its rich fiber also helps intestinal motility and promotes bowel movements.
2. Milk: Milk has the effects of tonifying the lungs and stomach, generating body fluids, and moistening the large intestine. Research has found that milk is very effective in treating peptic ulcers and habitual constipation. Although milk has excellent stomach-nourishing properties, experts remind: patients with diarrhea, spleen deficiency syndrome, or dampness syndrome should not consume milk excessively in daily life.
Porridge with Purple Sweet Potato, Milk, and Almonds
3. Cabbage: It has the functions of strengthening the spleen and nourishing the stomach, relieving pain and spasms, detoxifying and reducing swelling, and clearing heat and promoting urination. It can be used for symptoms caused by internal heat, such as chest tightness, thirst, sore throat, difficulty urinating, poor hearing and vision, poor sleep, inflexible joints, and dull abdominal pain. Its components, such as vitamin C, have analgesic and ulcer-healing effects. Cabbage stewed with coix seed, dried tangerine peel, and honey can be used to treat epigastric distension and pain, upper abdominal fullness, and gastric and duodenal ulcers; stewed with red beans, winter melon, and rock sugar, it can reduce swelling and promote urination. It is worth noting that those with loose stools and weak spleen and stomach should not eat too much.
4. Longan: "Among fruits, lychee is the finest for taste, but longan is superior for nourishment." Unlike lychee, which is considered hot and damp in nature, longan can be used as medicine and has multiple effects such as strengthening yang, replenishing qi, warming the stomach, and tonifying the spleen.
Bird's Nest Stew with Longan and Red Dates
5. Carrot: Sweet and neutral in flavor, it "descends qi, tonifies the middle burner, benefits the diaphragm and spleen, moistens the stomach and intestines, and pacifies the five organs, with the effect of improving appetite." Its rich beta-carotene can be converted into vitamin A, which can brighten the eyes, calm the spirit, enhance immunity, and prevent respiratory diseases. Beta-carotene is fat-soluble, so it is most suitable to stew with meat, and the taste is also better.
6. Pumpkin: In "Compendium of Materia Medica," it is recorded: "Pumpkin is warm in nature, sweet in flavor, and enters the spleen and stomach meridians." It can tonify the middle burner and replenish qi, reduce inflammation and kill bacteria, and relieve pain. Its rich pectin can "adsorb" bacteria and toxic substances, including heavy metals like lead, acting as a detoxifying agent. At the same time, pectin can protect the stomach from irritation and reduce ulcers.
Pumpkin Balls