Eat radish in winter and ginger in summer! But do you really know how to eat it?

As the saying goes, "Eat radish in winter and ginger in summer, and you won't need a doctor to prescribe medicine." Eating ginger in summer is a way to maintain health. If used properly, ginger can also treat winter diseases in summer. Let's take a look at whether you are eating ginger in summer correctly.

Why should we eat ginger in summer?

In the classic Chinese medicine book "Treatise on Febrile Diseases", there is such a statement: "In May, the Yang Qi is on the surface, and the stomach is empty and cold. Because the Yang Qi is weak inside, it cannot overcome the cold, so you want to put on more clothes." In summer, the Yang Qi is strong outside, and the Yang Qi of the human body also disperses to the skin surface, and the Yin Qi is hidden inside. If the diet and daily life are not appropriate, it is easy to cause the phenomenon of insufficient Yang Qi in the body and slightly cold internal organs. Therefore, you should eat more warm food at this time. Eating ginger in summer can help Yang generate heat, expel cold and dampness, so that the body has sufficient Yang Qi and full vitality.

How to Eat Ginger Scientifically

Ginger is indispensable in our kitchens, and Chinese medicine uses ginger as a medicine. There are two types of ginger: raw (fresh) ginger and dried ginger. How can we choose to maximize its health-preserving effect? ​​Raw (fresh) ginger is pungent and warming, good at sweating, warming the middle and stopping vomiting, warming the lungs and stopping coughing, and is suitable for people with weak constitutions who are prone to colds or external wind and cold.

Dried ginger is pungent and hot, and has the effects of warming the middle and dispelling cold, restoring yang and unblocking meridians, and warming the lungs and transforming fluid. It is mainly used for patients with spleen and stomach deficiency who will have abdominal pain and diarrhea after eating cold food, or patients with yang deficiency who usually have cold limbs and cold hands and feet in summer. Ginger peel is pungent and cool in nature, and has the effect of diuresis and swelling. Therefore, whether to peel ginger when eating it depends on your own situation.

For people who usually have weak spleen and stomach or are suffering from cold, it is recommended to eat ginger without skin; while for people who have edema or body heat symptoms such as constipation and bad breath, they can eat the ginger skin alone when eating ginger.

Remember the taboos of eating ginger

01

Do not eat rotten ginger. When rotten ginger, it will produce the toxic substance safrole, which can induce liver cell degeneration and necrosis, and increase the risk of cancer.

02

People with febrile diseases, severe internal heat, and those with yin deficiency and hyperactivity of fire should eat less ginger. Since ginger is pungent and warm in nature, people with febrile diseases such as wind-heat cold, lung heat and dry cough, stomach heat and vomiting, bad breath, hemorrhoid bleeding, or those with heat in the internal organs should not eat ginger. People with yin deficiency and hyperactivity of fire often show symptoms such as flushed face, hot palms and soles, sweaty palms, dry mouth, dry eyes, dry nose, dry skin, irritability, and poor sleep. Ginger is pungent and warm in nature. People with yin deficiency will aggravate the symptoms of yin deficiency, so they should not eat too much ginger.

03

Don't eat too much ginger. Ginger is good, but it is not advisable to eat too much. Especially now in summer, when the weather is hot, people are prone to dry mouth, thirst, sore throat, sweating, etc., and it is not advisable to eat too much hot ginger. In addition, ginger contains a lot of gingerol, which is very irritating. Excessive consumption can easily irritate the gastrointestinal tract.