5 Autumn Foods for Nourishment and Wellness

Autumn dryness is upon us, so it's time to focus on health preservation! Autumn is a perfect season for nourishment. So, what should you eat? Here are the best autumn health-boosting ingredients for you. Hurry and make a delicious meal!

1. Chinese Yam

Chinese Yam is not only known as the "food of the immortals" but also has the effects of a "medicinal food." It contains substances like amylase and polyphenol oxidase, which are beneficial for the digestive absorption of the spleen and stomach. It is also rich in mucoprotein, vitamins, and trace elements, which can effectively prevent the deposition of blood lipids on blood vessel walls, prevent cardiovascular diseases, and has the effect of prolonging life. Best ways to eat: steaming, in soups, or stir-fried are all good options. Steaming results in less nutrient loss. Good pairing: Goji berries. If not eating Chinese Yam alone, you can cook it with goji berries to make a Chinese Yam and Goji Congee to better enhance its nourishing effects.

Chinese Yam and Rose Cake

2. Lotus Root

During the autumn season, fresh lotus root is in its prime. The weather is dry at this time, and eating lotus root can help nourish yin, clear heat, moisten dryness, quench thirst, and calm the mind. Besides containing a large amount of carbohydrates, fresh lotus root is also rich in protein, various vitamins and minerals, and dietary fiber, which is very beneficial for treating constipation and promoting the excretion of harmful substances. There are many ways to cook lotus root. Paired with white fungus, it can nourish the lung yin; paired with black fungus, it can nourish the kidney yin.

3. Quail Eggs

Quail eggs are a great nourishing food, rich in nutrients like protein, phosphatides, lecithin, lysine, cystine, Vitamin A, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B1, iron, phosphorus, and calcium. They can replenish qi and benefit blood, and strengthen muscles and bones. Long-term consumption can have a regulatory and nourishing effect on patients with anemia, malnutrition, neurasthenia, irregular menstruation, hypertension, bronchitis, and vascular sclerosis. For women with anemia or irregular menstruation, its regulatory, beauty-enhancing, and skin-nourishing effects are particularly significant.

Steamed Quail Egg and Meat Pattie

4. Sika Deer Meat

Sika deer meat is mild in nature and has the effects of tonifying the spleen and qi, and warming the kidneys to strengthen yin. Regular consumption of deer meat can beautify the complexion and prolong life, making it a rare and delicious nourishing food. However, eating deer meat in the summer can cause "internal heat," so autumn and winter are the best times to enjoy it.

5. Peanuts

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, peanuts are considered neutral in nature and sweet in flavor, and they enter the spleen and lung meridians. They can awaken the spleen and harmonize the stomach, moisten the lungs and transform phlegm, nourish and regulate qi, and clear the throat to stop coughs. They are mainly used to treat malnutrition, poor appetite and weakness, dry cough with little phlegm, hemoptysis, skin purpura, insufficient lactation in postpartum women, and constipation. Fresh peanuts are best boiled in their shells. Boiled peanuts are not only easy to digest and absorb, but they also make full use of the health benefits of the peanut shell and its inner red skin. The red peanut skin can inhibit the dissolution of fibrin and promote the regeneration of platelets, which can treat thrombocytopenia and prevent bleeding disorders. The peanut shell can lower blood pressure and regulate cholesterol. When paired with red dates, it can tonify the spleen, benefit blood, and stop bleeding. It has a certain therapeutic effect on spleen deficiency and blood deficiency, anemia, and is especially beneficial for women.

Chicken Feet and Peanut Soup