Struggling with Phlegm-Dampness Constitution? 10 Fruits to Help Solve the Problem.

Introduction: Phlegm-dampness constitution is a relatively common type of constitution. People with this constitution are prone to obesity, drowsiness, and listlessness. Eating fruits that strengthen the spleen and drain dampness, as well as resolve stasis and eliminate phlegm, can help regulate this constitution. So, what fruits should people with a phlegm-dampness constitution eat? Below, we recommend 10 fruits for you. Let's take a look.

1. Strawberry

Strawberry has juicy flesh, a sweet and sour taste, and a delicious flavor. It is nutritious and known as the "queen of fruits." Strawberries are not only tasty but also have certain medicinal value. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, they are believed to clear summer heat, reduce fever, moisten the lungs and transform phlegm, promote urination and stop diarrhea, and aid digestion. In recent years, it has also been discovered that they have certain effects in preventing atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and cerebral hemorrhage.

Moreover, the vitamins and pectin in strawberries have significant effects on treating hemorrhoids, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. The "strawberry amine" extracted from it is also effective in treating blood diseases such as leukemia and aplastic anemia. Not only that, strawberries also contain anti-cancer components that can inhibit the growth of malignant tumors.

Strawberry Mochi

2. Apple

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, apples are considered sweet and cool in nature. They have the effect of strengthening the spleen, whetting the appetite, aiding digestion, moistening the lungs, transforming phlegm, and stopping coughs. The apple peel also has an anti-diarrheal effect. Those with a dry cough due to lung dryness can stew it with rock sugar for consumption. Apples are also great for beauty, as they can help with weight loss and make the skin smooth and supple. Apples are a low-calorie food, with only 60 kilocalories per 100 grams. The nutritional components in apples are highly soluble and easily absorbed by the body, hence they are called "living water," which helps dissolve sulfur and keep the skin smooth and soft. Apples also contain elements like copper, iodine, manganese, zinc, and potassium. A deficiency of these elements in the body can lead to dry, chapped, and itchy skin.

Furthermore, apples are rich in potassium, which can combine with excess sodium in the body and help excrete it. When you consume too much sodium, eating some apples helps balance electrolytes in the body. Elements like phosphorus and iron in apples are easily absorbed by the intestinal wall and have the effects of nourishing the brain and blood, calming the mind, and promoting sleep. Clinical practice has shown that after patients with mental depression smell the fragrance of apples, their mood improves significantly, they feel relaxed and happy, and their sense of depression disappears.

Apple Rose

3. Snow Pear

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, snow pears are sweet and slightly sour, and cool in nature. They enter the lung and stomach meridians and have the effects of promoting saliva production, moistening dryness, clearing heat, transforming phlegm, and resolving alcohol intoxication. They are used for dry cough, thirst, and constipation caused by injury to yin by febrile diseases, or by yin deficiency, as well as for vexation, thirst, cough, and yellow phlegm caused by internal heat. Studies have shown that people who eat more pears have a much lower chance of catching a cold than those who do not or eat few pears, so some scientists and doctors call pears "all-round healthy fruits" or "general practitioners."

There are many ways to eat snow pears. Besides being eaten raw, they can be used to make wine, pear syrup, preserved pears, and for medicinal purposes. For example, pear fruit can treat a hot cough; sliced and applied, it can treat burns; pounded and taken internally, it can moisten the lungs, cool the heart, and relieve sores and alcohol toxicity. Pear blossoms can remove blackheads and acne; pear leaves, when decocted and taken orally, can treat wind-cold and infantile hernia; and the bark can relieve distension, cough, and wheezing.

Osmanthus and Tremella Snow Pear Soup

4. Papaya

Papaya is both delicious and has therapeutic effects, especially with beauty benefits for women. The proteolytic enzymes in papaya can compensate for the secretions of the pancreas and intestines, supplement the deficiency of gastric juice, and help break down proteins and starches. Papaya contains carotene and rich vitamin C, which have strong antioxidant abilities, helping the body repair tissues, eliminate toxins, enhance immunity, and resist viral infections, including the flu. The active ingredients in papaya fruit can enhance the function of phagocytic cells.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, papaya is considered sweet and neutral in nature, with the effects of tonifying the middle jiao, replenishing qi, moistening the lungs to stop coughs, and promoting lactation. It is most suitable for nursing mothers and those with a cough due to lung deficiency. Medicinal papaya fresh fruit contains more tannins and organic acids, with a relatively low sugar content, making its taste astringent and not suitable for eating raw. However, its fruit is nutritious and rich in vitamins. The acid components in papaya include malic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, etc. These organic acids have a pure sour taste. After proper dilution and with the addition of a sweetener like sucrose or honey, they can be made into products with unique flavors.

Papaya Milk Jelly

5. Persimmon

Persimmon fruit is sweet, astringent, cold, and non-toxic. The calyx is astringent, neutral in nature, and enters the lung, spleen, stomach, and large intestine meridians. It has the functions of clearing heat and drying dampness, moistening the lungs and transforming phlegm, softening hard masses, quenching thirst and promoting saliva, strengthening the spleen, treating dysentery, and stopping bleeding. It can alleviate symptoms such as dry stools, hemorrhoid pain or bleeding, dry cough, sore throat, and high blood pressure. Therefore, persimmons are a natural health food for patients with chronic bronchitis, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, and internal and external hemorrhoids. If persimmon leaves are decocted for drinking or brewed as tea, they can also promote metabolism, lower blood pressure, increase coronary blood flow, and relieve cough and transform phlegm. They can also tonify deficiency, stop coughs, benefit the intestines, clear heat, and stop bleeding, and can also satisfy hunger.

However, it should be noted that persimmons contain a large amount of sugar. Eating too many persimmons can have adverse effects on our teeth and mouth, and may also affect our appetite. Also, the tannic acid in persimmons affects the absorption of trace elements like calcium and magnesium in the body, which can easily lead to malnutrition.

Crystal Persimmon Cake