After the cold winter snow, the sweet aroma of chestnuts wafts in the cold wind, and people can't resist this temptation, and they throw into the warm bags of sugar-fried chestnuts one after another. The moment I peeled off the sugar skin, chewing the soft and glutinous sweet taste, it seemed to be a little luck in winter, which made people warm. What few people know is that these seemingly ordinary chestnuts are rich in nutritional value, which can not only give us warm comfort in winter, but also bring us a healthy life.
Health benefits of chestnuts
First of all, let's have an in-depth understanding of what nutrients chestnuts have. Chestnut, also known as chestnut and sweet chestnut, is a nut that is compatible with all ages.
Judging from the "Chinese Food Composition Table" (Standard Edition 6th Edition), the energy provided by the edible part of chestnuts per 100 grams is about 182~214 kcal.
In contrast, much less energy than cashews, almonds, peanuts, melon seeds, and pine nuts of the same weight. This is because chestnuts derive their energy mainly from carbohydrates and have relatively little fat and protein.
Among the many nuts, the level of zinc, the mineral contained in chestnuts, is prominent and significant. Zinc is one of the essential trace elements in the body, and although its total amount is less than the size of a soybean, it is essential for human health.
Its function can be compared to a traffic policeman, directing the normal operation of our body's various functions, and as a component of a variety of enzymes, zinc deficiency will affect the normal development of the human body, immune regulation, cognitive and behavioral health development. It can be seen from this that chestnuts are a good food source of zinc supplementation.
There are many varieties of chestnuts on the mainland, and they are widely distributed. Different varieties of chestnuts from different origins have their own characteristics in terms of shape and nutritional value.
Northern chestnuts such as Qianxi chestnut, a specialty of Hebei, have become the preferred raw materials for making sugar-fried chestnuts because of their small fruits, rich aroma, low starch content and sufficient sugar.
Other southern chestnuts such as Jian'ou cone chestnut and Yunnan oil chestnut in Fujian have round, moderate size and sufficient water content. These chestnuts have hard, starchy flesh and less sugar content, and are generally vegetable chestnuts that are suitable for use as a side dish when boiling soup or stir-frying.
Some people say, "Eating in China, nutrition is in the ingredients". Needless to say, if you want to live a long and healthy life, eating a varied diet is the key. In your daily diet, you can try adding a few chestnuts, red dates, or longan to the two-rice porridge, which not only enriches the flavor, but also adds nutrients.
If you are good at cooking, adding a small handful of chestnuts to the home-cooked stew of chicken, braised mutton, stewed beef, and braised pork ribs is also a good way to help Titian.
However, even if it is delicious and nutritious, you must pay attention to the amount of chestnuts you eat. Although chestnuts are rich in minerals and other nutrients, they are also high in carbohydrates and energy, so proper intake is the key to ensuring good health.
Whether you choose to eat raw or fried chestnuts with sugar, or cook porridge or stew, you should pay attention to the amount of food you eat. As far as raw consumption is concerned, it is recommended to eat a small amount. As for the sugar-fried chestnuts, it is usually recommended to eat 5 to 7 of them.
These 4 types of people eat less
However, while enjoying the food, we also need to be wary of those seemingly innocuous "sweet traps". For the following four types of people, eating less chestnuts is more healthy.
1. Patients with digestive diseases such as gastric ulcers, gastric hyperacidity, gastritis, etc., because of the high fiber content in chestnuts, may cause gastrointestinal discomfort after eating;
2. Diabetic patients should pay attention to controlling the amount of food to maintain blood sugar stability;
3. For people with nut allergies, chestnuts may become the main cause of triggering allergic reactions;
4. Finally, given that chestnuts contain high potassium inside, those who have impaired kidney function need to be careful when consuming too many chestnuts.
Overall, sugar-fried chestnuts are undoubtedly a warm color in winter, they are sweet and delicious, nutritious, and contain profound folk wisdom. While tasting these delicacies, we should pay more attention to the health value they bring, eat scientifically, and consume them reasonably, so that life will be better because of chestnuts. Only in this way can we enjoy the deliciousness and warmth in the cold winter, so that every chestnut can truly become a small blessing in our lives.