In winter, the air quality in many places has deteriorated. Recently, Dr. Clove has also heard various rumors about fighting smog. One of them is that you can eat more white food to [nourish your lungs].
The ancients did not have the concept of smog. What they said about [nourishing the lung] is completely different from what we say about [preventing smog, resisting smog].
In fact, today we are more concerned about how to protect our lungs and minimize the damage of pollutants to our bodies when air pollution is serious.
Do you rely on food to fight smog? Think too much
A balanced diet is helpful to improve the immunity of the human body and can make the body better resist the harm caused by smog. However, it is too difficult to say that food can be used to resist smog.
Not only white food, almost all food does not have anti-smog and anti-smog effects.
PM 2.5 can enter the lung through respiration and deposit in the lung. In severe cases, it will affect the gas exchange in the lung, leading to various respiratory symptoms and even lung cancer.
Food enters our gastrointestinal tract through eating, is digested and decomposed, and then is absorbed and utilized by the human body.
One walks in the respiratory system and the other walks in the digestive system. Food can neither avoid dust inhalation nor remove PM 2.5 that has been inhaled into the body.
If PM 2.5 is aside, does white food have the effects of relieving asthma, relieving cough and eliminating phlegm? Let’s try to talk about it from the perspective of nutrition.
How effective are these white foods?
People often say that white foods that can nourish the lung generally include pears, tremella, coix seed and lily.
1. Pears
At present, there is no evidence that pears contain effective ingredients for moistening lung, relieving cough and eliminating phlegm.
However, the biggest function of pears is to replenish water. Pear meat contains a lot of water, especially when boiling pear soup, in addition to pears, a large amount of soup will be taken in, which can properly relieve the feeling of dry throat.
2. Tremella
Tremella polysaccharide is the main active ingredient of Tremella, but it has not been found to have antitussive, antiasthmatic, expectorant and other effects.
Tremella is characterized by various eating methods, low calorie and strong satiety, which is suitable for snacks when losing weight. Tremella can be mixed with cold dishes, fried hot dishes, and made into various desserts and sweet soups.
3. Coix seed (Coix seed)
At present, coix seed has not been found to have preventive and therapeutic effects on respiratory diseases.
It is good to eat coix seed as a common food. It can be used to cook porridge and soup, such as adding some coix seed to eight treasures porridge, or boiling sweet soup with candied dates, tremella, crystal sugar, etc.
4. Lily
Some studies have found that lily has certain calming and anti-fatigue effects, but it is only eaten occasionally and there is no need to expect what’s magical effects.
Like coix seed, it is good to use it as a suitable ingredient in soup.
[Lung Nourishing] The Key Is Not Eating
Judging from the above examples, there seems to be no direct relationship between white food and [nourishing lung] in what.
In fact, whether the lung itself needs additional nutrition is also a question worth thinking about.
Malnutrition may increase the risk of diseases such as pneumonia. Some diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, may lead to increased energy consumption due to the disease and are prone to relatively insufficient nutrition when eating normally.
However, if you are healthy and can ensure a balanced diet and sufficient nutrition, you don’t need to struggle with whether to supplement nutrition specially for your lungs.
From the perspective of lung health, the more important means should be:
- Quit smoking, avoid second-hand smoke, avoid large amounts of lampblack during cooking, and wear protective masks when air pollution is serious.
Don’t neglect these white foods
The following white foods, although not [nourishing the lung], are very important in the dietary structure.
1. Rice, flour, etc
When it comes to white food, rice and flour are easy to be ignored, but they are actually important foods at the grassroots level of our dietary pagoda.
Staple foods such as rice and flour provide us with a large amount of carbohydrates and are also important sources of B vitamins, minerals, protein and dietary fiber.
When eating rice and flour, it will be more helpful to prevent chronic diseases if you pay attention to the variety and thickness of food.
2. White vegetables such as lotus root and white cauliflower
White vegetables such as lotus root, cabbage flower and white mushroom are located on the second floor of the dietary pagoda.
These vegetables can provide us with a variety of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, phytochemicals and other nutrients.
Among them, vegetables with more carbohydrates, such as lotus root, can also replace some staple foods, which is more beneficial to health.
3. Fresh Milk and Tofu
Milk and dairy products, soybean and soybean products are located on the fourth floor of the Dietary Pagoda.
Dairy products are rich in nutrients, which can not only provide us with high-quality protein, but also the best source of calcium.
The protein in tofu can complement the protein in grain to improve the quality of the overall protein. Gypsum and brine added in the production process of south tofu and north tofu also greatly increased the calcium content in tofu.
Soybean isoflavone, phytosterol and other components in soybean are also beneficial to health.
There is no basis for what to divide the function of food simply by its color. Each food has its own nutritional characteristics. The key is to ensure balanced nutrition so as to keep the body in a healthier state.
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Photo Source: Station Cool Hailuo Creative