The reputation of bitter food has always been more polarized, and those who like it feel that it can clear the heart and reduce fire, and there are many benefits; Nasty people return to bitterness just by hearing the name, and they can't avoid it. In the summer, when it is easy to get angry and irritable, eating bitterness can not only relieve anxiety, but also have a variety of benefits, let's take a look.
1. Why do you eat bitter foods in summer?
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that summer qi and heart qi are connected, so the heart qi should be maintained in summer. According to the relationship between the five internal organs and the five flavors, bitter things can help the heart qi and control the lung qi, so there is a saying that "summer food is bitter, and it is better to make supplements".
In the summer, eating some bitter food can nourish the heart, reduce the heart's fire, and be appetizing. For children who don't like bitter tastes, you can start with slightly bitter foods and try them gradually.
2. What bitter foods to eat in summer?
1. Lettuce bitter grade: ★
Lettuce is known as "a thousand golden vegetables", which has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, diuretic and so on. It has a slightly bitter taste with a hint of sweetness, and with the addition of spices, it hardly tastes bitter. Lettuce is crisp and delicious, stir-fried or cold, perfect for hot summer days.
2. Celery bitterness grade: ★
The bitter taste of celery is also not obvious, but due to the special smell, it is unacceptable to some people. However, celery has a very high nutritional value, rich in a lot of protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, etc., as well as the effects of calming the liver and clearing heat, dispelling wind and dampness, etc., and arranging a meal from time to time in summer has many benefits.
3. Bitter chrysanthemum/bitter herb bitter grade: ★★
Bitter chrysanthemum is a common dispelling dish in summer, and it is also a common guest in salads, mixed with sweet and sour salad dressing, and the bitterness is very light. Bitter chrysanthemum has high medicinal value, and traditional Chinese medicine believes that bitter chrysanthemum has antibacterial, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and eye-brightening effects.
4. Bitter gourd bitter grade: ★★★★
Bitter gourd has the effect of clearing heat, brightening the eyes, detoxification, etc., if you have symptoms such as heat stroke, fever, toothache, sores and swelling in summer, it is a good choice to eat bitter gourd. However, the bitter taste of bitter gourd is very obvious, not only children, but also many adults are difficult to accept.
In fact, most of the bitter taste of bitter gourd comes from the flesh and the white inner membrane inside, when processing, scrape these off with a spoon, and then grasp and marinate with salt, the bitterness will be greatly reduced. If your child is still sensitive to bitterness, you can add eggs to scramble together, or make bitter gourd soup, which can also reduce the bitterness.
5. Lotus seed heart bitter grade: ★★★★
Lotus seeds are a seasonal ingredient in summer, and they are also a must-eat treasure ingredient in many people's hearts. If you want to eat lotus seeds, you can't avoid the lotus seed heart, but don't throw it away because it tastes bitter, the lotus seed heart is a medicinal material that blindly clears the heart and fire, and Chinese medicine believes that it enters the heart and kidney meridians, and has the effect of clearing the heart and calming the nerves. If you have problems such as upset and insomnia in summer, you may wish to make tea with some lotus seed hearts.
3. Precautions
Gao Gu Chang Care Nursery reminds that although the above bitter ingredients are good, they should not be eaten too much. Because bitter foods are cold and easy to hurt the spleen and stomach if eaten too much, one bitter vegetable is enough for one meal. In addition, bitter ingredients should not be eaten excessively, too bitter will easily cause nausea, vomiting, etc., people with weak constitution, stomach problems and spleen deficiency or constipation knots are recommended to eat with caution. (Qiu Xiaoshan)