Stop eating only vegetarian food; three types of meat are also great for a light, nourishing cleanse.

Introduction: It is now summer, and most people's choices for food and drink align with eating only vegetables, fruits, and melons. However, pursuing an absolutely light diet is not suitable. If one only eats vegetables, the intake of protein and fat in the body will be insufficient, which will inevitably weaken the body's resistance, failing to achieve the purpose of nourishment. It will also lead to a rapid decline in physical constitution, weight loss, emaciation, fatigue, and a reduced ability to withstand high temperatures and diseases, lowering work and study efficiency. Some people may even develop "summer heat fatigue." Furthermore, a purely vegetarian diet is also detrimental to the health of the elderly. An excessively light summer diet can lower physical fitness, making diseases more likely to take advantage of the "vegetarian" state.

1. Duck

The duck is sweet, salty, neutral, and slightly cold in nature, entering the stomach and kidney meridians. Duck meat has the effects of tonifying deficiency, clearing heat, eliminating dampness and detoxifying, nourishing yin and the stomach, and promoting urination to reduce swelling. It is suitable for treating conditions such as consumptive disease, damp-heat due to spleen deficiency, etc. Modern nutrition believes that duck meat contains nutrients such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and niacin. People with internal damp-heat and excessive deficiency-fire are suitable for eating duck meat. It is especially beneficial for patients with low-grade fever and weakness, poor appetite, dry throat and mouth, constipation and scanty urination, edema due to spleen deficiency, spontaneous sweating, night sweats, spermatorrhea, premature ejaculation, and irregular menstruation, leukorrhea, etc., in women.

Five Fruit Duck

2. Fish

Fish is not only delicious but also extremely nutritious. Its protein content is as high as about 20%, twice that of ordinary pork, and it is a high-quality protein with a high absorption rate by the human body. Fish also contains rich vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D, and a certain amount of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, and iron. The vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus in fish are very beneficial for bone growth and can effectively prevent osteoporosis. Although the fat content in fish is low, its special fatty acids are indispensable for human health, having multiple effects such as lowering blood sugar, protecting the heart, and preventing cancer.

3. American Ginseng

American ginseng is cooling and tonifying, able to support healthy qi, reduce fire, promote the production of body fluids, and relieve restlessness and fatigue. In the scorching summer heat, excessive sweating depletes the body's healthy qi and yin fluids, damaging yin and generating deficiency-fire, leading to symptoms such as fatigue and lethargy, vexation and agitation, red tongue, and dark urine. You can take 1-2 grams of American ginseng, steep it in boiling water, and drink it as a tea substitute.

Although it is medically believed that different types of fish have different natures and flavors, with careful selection, they are still excellent dishes for summer health preservation. Additionally, foods such as lean meat and seafood can be stewed with dangshen (Codonopsis root), astragalus root, angelica, dried tangerine peel, and licorice. As long as the selection is appropriate, they are also beneficial for a light and nourishing diet.