When sweating like rain and having a dry mouth, it is indeed very comfortable to eat a bite of cold watermelon, but after the "mouth addiction", some people start to "run to the toilet", some people "don't want to eat for several days", and some people "get on fire and have mouth ulcers"...... What is the reason for this? Let's take a look.
What are the effects of watermelon?
In TCM theory, food is divided into five flavors: cold, cool, flat, warm, and hot according to its attributes. Watermelon is also known as cold melon, and as the name suggests, it has cold properties. Watermelon is sweet, light and cold, enters the heart, stomach, lungs and kidney meridians, and has the effect of clearing heat and relieving heat, removing annoyance and quenching thirst, and facilitating urination.
"Benjing Fengyuan" cloud: "Watermelon can attract the heat of the pericardium, discharge from the small intestine and bladder, and can relieve the sun, yang and fever and thirst." Therefore, watermelon is known as "natural white tiger soup". "White Tiger Soup" is a famous heat-clearing agent of the medical saint Zhang Zhongjing, which has the effect of clearing qi and dividing heat, clearing heat and generating Jin, and is mainly used to treat qi and heat, and the face is red and hot, polydipsis and thirst to drink, sweat and bad heat, and the pulse is strong and powerful.
According to modern medical analysis, watermelon contains a variety of amino acids, water, sugar, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and other substances. In the hot summer, proper consumption of watermelon can effectively relieve symptoms such as thirst and dry throat, and quench thirst; At the same time, it is rich in potassium, which can promote the excretion of sodium salt, thereby lowering blood pressure. In addition, watermelon is rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, which can remove free radicals in the body and slow down the aging process; The diuretic component can promote the excretion of urine, and has a certain relieving effect on symptoms such as poor urination and edema.
Watermelon has so many benefits, is it not the more the merrier?
As Li Shizhen put forward in the "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Watermelons and melons are all raw and cold, and the world thinks that they are enlightened, and the nectar is sprinkled on the heart, taking the pleasure of the moment, and I don't know the harm of hurting the spleen and helping dampness." Therefore, when taking watermelon in summer, you should pay attention to the following points:
01
Those who are cold and wet should not use it
Including those who usually have symptoms of spleen and stomach deficiency and coldness or physical cold, such as abdominal suffocation and pain, stickiness in the mouth, reluctance to eat, loose stool, fatigue and drowsiness, chills, cold hands and feet, etc. After consumption, it may cause aggravation of the symptoms, and even abdominal pain, diarrhea and other symptoms.
02
5. Those who are upset and hot eat less
People with five heart irritability (consciously hot hands and feet, hot heart, hot chest), hot flashes, night sweats and other symptoms of yin deficiency and fire should also eat less watermelon. Because watermelon has a diuretic effect, excessive urine excretion can easily cause fluid loss, resulting in aggravation of the above symptoms, and even "fire" symptoms such as mouth ulcers.
03
Do not eat with cold drinks
People with weak spleens and stomachs are also advised not to eat them chilled. It is also not recommended to eat it with cold foods such as peaches, shrimp, dragon fruit, and mangosteen to avoid aggravating gastrointestinal upset.
04
Diabetics need to eat watermelon in moderation
Watermelon contains about 5% sugar, and it is mainly glucose, sucrose and some fructose, which means that eating watermelon will cause blood sugar to rise. Normal people can maintain blood sugar and urine glucose at normal levels because they secrete insulin in time. Healthy people generally recommend not to consume more than 500 grams per day. Diabetics are different, eating too much watermelon in a short period of time will not only increase blood sugar, but also cause acidosis and even life-threatening due to metabolic disorders in more severe cases. The amount of carbohydrates (sugars) that diabetics eat every day needs to be strictly controlled, so if you eat watermelon multiple times a day, you should reduce the amount of meals and flour products (carbohydrates) accordingly to avoid aggravating the condition. If you eat 25-50 grams of watermelon at a time, it will have little effect on diabetics, so diabetics should pay attention to the appropriate amount when eating watermelon.
05
Avoid consuming on an empty stomach
Try to avoid eating watermelon in large quantities on an empty stomach. In order not to cause irritation to the gastrointestinal tract, it is best to consume it after or between meals.
06
Pay attention to storage and hygiene
Make sure the watermelon you buy is fresh and undamaged, eat it as soon as possible after cutting it, and avoid continuing to eat it overnight. In summer, when the temperature is high, watermelon is easy to spoil and multiply germs if it is opened for too long, and eating it will lead to intestinal infections. Therefore, when eating watermelon, you should pay attention to choosing ripe fresh watermelon, and it is recommended not to store watermelon for more than 48 hours under refrigerated conditions after cutting.
07
Eat less iced watermelon
Although eating iced watermelon on a hot day has a good effect on relieving the heat, it is very irritating to the stomach and can easily cause damage to the spleen and stomach, so you should pay attention to the temperature and quantity of food. It is best to put the watermelon in the lowest level of the refrigerator, where the temperature is about 8-10°C, this temperature is also the best, and the amount of food should not exceed 500 grams at a time, and eat slowly. For people with tooth decay (tooth decay) and tooth allergies that feel sore and sore after exposure to cold, as well as people with poor gastrointestinal function, they should not eat iced watermelon.
Don't miss the "Watermelon Cuiyi"!
In addition, in addition to the edible melon pulp, watermelon skin is also a good vegetable, and it also has certain medicinal value.
After removing the outermost dark green part of the melon skin, it is called "watermelon cuiyi", and its decoction water is used instead of tea, which can be used to treat summer heat and thirst, edema, mouth and tongue sores, dry throat and dry mouth. Just as Wang Mengying, a master of warm disease in the Qing Dynasty, created a famous recipe - there is a taste of watermelon and cuiyi in the soup of clearing heat and nourishing qi, and the whole recipe has the effect of clearing heat and invigorating qi, nourishing yin and nourishing Jin.
The melon peel is properly matched, not only to clear the heat and benefit the qi, but also to live the "mouth addiction" well
Share two summer delicacies:
1. Mix watermelon rind with minced garlic
(1) Slice the watermelon rind and put it on a plate, add the chopped garlic and dried chilies.
(2) Heat the oil and pour the hot oil on the minced garlic and chili peppers, and the fragrance overflows.
(3) Add a little salt, sugar, vinegar, light soy sauce, chicken essence, sesame oil, and mix well.
2. Stir-fry shredded pork in watermelon rind
(1) Peel off the skin of the fresh watermelon, cut it into shreds, add a small amount of salt and mix well, marinate for a while, and then squeeze off the brine. Cut the pork leg into thin strips, put it in a bowl, add cooking wine, salt, egg white, wet starch and mix and starch.
(2) Wash the pot and put it on medium heat, add refined oil and burn it until it is 60% hot, put in the shredded meat and scatter it, and drain the oil when the shredded meat turns white.
(3) Leave the remaining oil in the original pot and boil the clear soup, salt, monosodium glutamate, cooking wine, put in the shredded watermelon and shredded meat, turn over the pot a few times, thicken with wet starch and boil, pour sesame oil out of the pot.
In short, the weather is hot, and although the watermelon is good, you must "eat the melon" sensibly and avoid hurting your mouth. ■
[Source: Yunnan Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine]