When the Southern Qi dynasty emperor Zhou Yong was living in seclusion in Zhongshan, Prince Wenhui once asked him: "What is the most delicious dish?" ”
Zhou Yong replied: "Early spring leeks, late autumn and late autumn." ”
Early spring is indeed the best time of year to eat leeks, and the taste is the best. The same is the leek, eaten in summer, the taste is not so fresh, so there is a "spring food is fragrant, summer food is smelly" saying.
Night rain cut spring leeks, new cooking room yellow sorghum.
The Lord said that the meeting was difficult and exhausting in one fell swoop.
Ten is not drunk, and the feeling is deliberately long.
Tomorrow across the mountain, the world is in the middle of nowhere.
——Excerpt from Tang DuFu's "Gifting the Eight Virgins"
The leeks around the second month of the lunar calendar are not only tender and delicious, but also warm and cold, nourishing the liver and spleen.
Chinese medicine is known as "spring and summer yang yang".
Spring temperature is cold and warm, so it is necessary to protect the yang; at the same time, because the spring human liver qi is strong, the spleen and stomach digestion and absorption function is easily affected, so the spring is suitable for selecting more warm ingredients to dispel the yin and cold.
It is recorded in the "Compendium of Materia Medica" that leeks can "warm the middle, lower the qi, replenish the deficiency, reconcile the internal organs, make people edible, yiyang, stop the discharge of white pus, abdominal cold pain, and cook it." And leeks, also known as "Yang Grass", are good vegetable medicines for yang, and people with cold hands and feet on weekdays may wish to eat more.
It is recorded in the "Yunnan Materia Medica" that leeks are "slippery and moist in the stomach and intestines, or eat gold, silver, and bronze in the abdomen, and eat them", and that leeks can wrap up some debris in the digestive tract and excrete them from the body, so it has the reputation of "intestinal washing grass". From a nutritional point of view, leeks contain more fiber, 1.5 grams of fiber per 100 grams of leeks, which is higher than green onions and celery, which can prevent habitual constipation and bowel cancer.
The health benefits of leeks
1. Increase appetite
Leeks contain plant aromatic volatile oil, which has the effect of enhancing appetite, and the elderly and children should eat some spring leeks appropriately, which is beneficial to improving health.
2. Thin the liver and nourish the liver
Spring health first nourish the liver, Li Shizhen in the "Compendium of Materia Medica" called leeks "liver vegetables". Leeks contain volatile essential oils and sulfides and other special ingredients, emitting a unique spicy smell, which helps to loosen liver qi, enhance appetite and enhance digestive function.
3. Disperse stasis and activate blood
"Dietary Therapy Materia Medica" records that leeks can "sharpen the chest diaphragm", can cure chest palsy, help protect blood vessels; its spicy smell also helps to disperse stasis and activate blood.
Modern nutrition research has also found that leeks are rich in vitamin C, carotene and other nutrients, these antioxidants can protect the vascular endothelium from the attack of oxygen free radicals, prevent arteriosclerosis, help the human body to reduce blood lipids, prevent coronary heart disease, anemia, arteriosclerosis.
4. Laxative
The Southern Yunnan Materia Medica records that it can "lubricate the stomach and intestines." Leeks also have an alias called "intestinal wash grass", which contains a lot of vitamins and crude fiber, which can improve gastrointestinal peristalsis, help relieve constipation, and prevent bowel cancer.
5. Sterilization and anti-inflammatory
The sulfur compound contained in leeks has a certain bactericidal and anti-inflammatory effect, which can inhibit Pseudomonas aeruginosa, dysentery, typhoid fever, E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus.
6. Eye protection
Lutein is known as the "golden eye", for the protection of the retina is very important, leek is one of the vegetables with the highest lutein content, per 100 grams of raw leek lutein content can reach 18.2 mg, much higher than spinach, broccoli, carrots and other well-known high lutein foods.
Although the leeks are good, distinguish the physique
The "Compendium of Materia Medica" records: "If leeks are eaten more, they are dim-eyed, and they are especially taboo after drinking." Therefore, eating leeks while drinking white wine is not a healthy eating habit.
People with a weak stomach should not eat leeks, such as the "Materia Medica" recorded: "Those who have a weak stomach and have heat should not take it." Some boils patients should avoid leeks, and the "Materia Medica" clearly prompts: "Sores are poisonous and eat, more and more painful and itchy, boils and swelling food, making people turn dramatic." ”
There is a kind of person who is most suitable for eating leeks, that is, people who are yin and fire, and it is recorded in the "Materia Medica Seeking Truth": "Fire is full of yin and yin, and it is the most taboo to use it." For some people who have just recovered, they should also pay attention to not eating leeks, and it is recorded in the Diet Recipe: "Malaria, sores, sha, and acne are all taboo." ”