5 major “spicy” foods! Spices help you lose weight and protect your heart and liver

[Key News Guide]: Do you prefer salty or spicy food? What seasoning do you like to add to your food as a soul to stimulate your appetite? How much do you know about the effects of commonly consumed spices, including onions, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, and basil, on human health?

According to a questionnaire called "Food Taste Survey" conducted by "China Daily", 23% of people like to eat barbecued food. In terms of taste preference, although nearly 60% of people choose "light", more than 30% prefer salty and spicy food. In addition, more than 30% of people like to add onions, ginger and garlic as seasoning when eating. It can be seen that onions, ginger and garlic have become indispensable ingredients in our diet.

The survey also found that half of the people said the purpose of adding seasonings was to "enhance the flavor," followed by "appetizing." As for the favorite dipping sauce when eating hot pot, it is "shacha sauce", and the favorite accompaniment when eating vegetables is "Japanese-style sauce", followed by fruit yogurt sauce. Interestingly, when adding seasonings to food, the biggest concern was "weight", followed by cardiovascular disease. It can be seen that most people love but fear seasonings, worrying about the health risks they may suffer.

Below, experts will teach you how to make good use of the effective ingredients of spices during meals, and pay attention to pairing them with other foods to enjoy the "spicy" food power of spices! Not only will you feel more energetic and enjoy more delicious food the more you eat, you will also gain health in one fell swoop!

Spices have many benefits! TCM Characteristics

Onion, ginger and garlic are common condiments in people's cooking. Whether it is chopped green onion eggs, stir-fried vegetables with garlic, or fish soup with shredded ginger, spices are indispensable for flavoring. In addition, chili and basil are absolutely indispensable ingredients when people eat hot pot or fried seafood! However, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, these spices not only add variety to dishes, but are also good foods with many health benefits. Depending on their different characteristics, onion, ginger, garlic, chili and basil, these five spices have their own characteristics and magical uses, and they are beneficial to health if used correctly.

1. Onion

[Traditional Chinese Medicine]: Onions are warm in nature and enter the lung and stomach meridians. They can promote sweating, dispel wind and cold, and strengthen intestinal health.

Treat colds, dispel wind and cold, cook with onions to promote sweating

The weather in autumn is cooler and the temperature is changeable. Chinese medicine practitioner Chen Meifei pointed out that the warm nature of onions can drive away colds and headaches. If you catch a cold in cold weather, you can cook fish soup with chopped green onions, or cook porridge with green onions and shredded pork and eat it while warm, both of which have a good effect in dispelling cold.

Chinese medicine practitioner Zhou Zonghan said that onions are rich in malic acid, phosphate sugar, etc., which can stimulate blood circulation and promote sweating. If it is a mild cold, or it is in the early stages of a cold, you can boil the scallion roots in water and drink the warm water. It can dispel wind and induce sweating, and has a relieving effect on nasal congestion and headaches caused by wind and cold.

Promote intestinal health, prevent constipation and enhance immunity

In addition, onions are rich in dietary fiber, which can promote intestinal peristalsis, make excrement softer, and prevent constipation. When the intestines are healthy, the body's immunity will naturally improve.

2. Ginger

[Traditional Chinese Medicine]: Ginger is warm in nature and enters the lung, spleen, and stomach meridians. It has the effects of dispelling cold, generating fever, warming the body, stopping vomiting, and stopping coughing.

Young ginger warms the body and old ginger removes cold and fishy smell

Chinese medicine practitioner Chen Meifei pointed out that some women with weak constitutions are prone to vomiting during their menstrual period, which is caused by a cold stomach. Drinking brown sugar ginger soup can relieve the symptoms. In addition, people who are prone to tracheal allergies and colds in autumn and winter can use warm shredded young ginger to cook, or use ginger slices to make soup to help improve the condition.

Old ginger is hot in nature and is suitable for women who have just given birth and have weak constitutions. They can eat dishes such as fried kidneys with old ginger and stir-fried old ginger with sesame oil. In addition, ginger can also be cooked with cold seafood such as clams, shrimps, and crabs to remove the fishy smell and coldness.

Soak ginger in vinegar and add hot water to help you fall asleep and treat insomnia

Chinese medicine practitioner Zhou Zonghan said that young ginger can also enhance blood circulation and protect the heart. People who suffer from insomnia can put warm water at 40 degrees Celsius in a basin, add a spoonful of vinegar soaked in ginger, and soak their feet for 15 minutes before going to bed every night. This can promote blood circulation and help them fall asleep.

3. Garlic

[Traditional Chinese Medicine]: Garlic is warm in nature and enters the spleen, stomach, and lungs. It can warm the spleen and stomach, eliminate fatigue, and increase resistance.

Eating raw garlic is more effective in breaking down fat

Garlic contains allicin, which can be anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. In addition, garlic can also break down fat, especially for obese people who have fat stored in the lower body, and has a good weight loss effect.

Chinese medicine practitioner Zhou Zonghan said that if garlic is fried, most of the allicin will evaporate or decompose due to heat, which will greatly reduce the health benefits of garlic. Therefore, it is recommended to eat garlic raw as much as possible. You can also choose to eat candied garlic or vinegar garlic.

4. Chili

[Traditional Chinese Medicine]: Chili peppers are hot in nature and enter the heart, spleen, and stomach meridians. They can inhibit bacteria, stimulate appetite, and promote blood circulation.

Eat spicy food with cold vegetables

Chinese medicine practitioner Zhou Zonghan pointed out that spicy food has the effect of increasing the heat of the body. Therefore, people with cold constitution, such as those who are prone to cold abdominal pain, diarrhea, morning diarrhea, and cold limbs after eating raw and cold food, are more suitable for eating spicy food. However, in order to balance the heat of peppers, it is recommended to eat them with cold vegetables such as melons to balance them.

5. Basil

[Traditional Chinese Medicine]: Basil is warm in nature and enters the lung, spleen, large intestine, and stomach meridians. It helps improve cold headaches, gastrointestinal bloating, abdominal pain caused by enteritis, and indigestion.

Stir-fried seafood with basil to remove the fishy smell and coldness

Chinese medicine practitioner Chen Meifei said that basil can promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, clear blood circulation, relax muscles and bones, and improve muscle and bone pain. Basil can also remove fishy smells and coldness, and is suitable for cooking with seafood such as clams and shrimps. The special smell of basil can also enrich the taste of food.

Protect your liver and your heart! 5 Benefits of Spices

Don’t underestimate the power of spices! Chinese medicine practitioner Chen Wangquan pointed out that spices are not just a supporting role in enhancing the flavor of dishes on the table. In fact, spices contain capsaicin that can emit a unique smell. It has health benefits such as promoting the secretion of interferon in the human body, enhancing immunity, and preventing the invasion of bacteria and viruses.

In addition to the common ingredient of capsaicin, each spice also has its own unique nutritional value. Moderate intake and supplementation can not only enhance immunity, but also have five major benefits such as enhancing metabolism, preventing cancer, protecting the heart, protecting the liver, and taking care of the stomach. It has a good effect on maintaining health!

Chinese medicine practitioner Chen Wangquan specifically analyzes the beneficial ingredients and effects on the human body of five common spices that are often used in home cooking, including onions, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, and basil.

Benefit 1—Weight Loss/Metabolism/Detoxification

[Onion]: The spicy aroma can excite the nerves, promote blood circulation, and help increase the body's metabolic rate.

【Ginger】: Induces sweat, dispels wind and promotes blood circulation.

[Garlic]: The allicin contained in garlic can improve the body's metabolic efficiency.

[Chili pepper]: The capsaicin in chili pepper can accelerate the synthesis of heat energy and activate the enzymes in the liver that break down fat.

Benefit 2—Anti-inflammatory/anti-cancer

[Ginger]: According to research, ginger can play a good role in inhibiting cancer cells and has potential anti-cancer effects, especially for cervical cancer and colorectal cancer.

[Garlic]: The glucosamine sulfide component in garlic can stimulate the production of macrophages and T cells, help enhance the body's immunity, and is very helpful in fighting free radicals.

[Chili pepper]: Capsaicin can accelerate the death of cancer cells without harming healthy cells.

【Basil】: It has anti-inflammatory ability and can reduce the occurrence of inflammatory responses in the body.

Benefit 3—Heart protection

[Onion]: The green onion leaf part is rich in nutrients and essential fatty acids, which are helpful in lowering the cholesterol level in the blood and helping to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

[Ginger]: The gingerol ingredients contained in ginger can inhibit platelet aggregation, reduce the risk of blood vessel blockage, and help prevent cardiovascular disease.

[Garlic]: The allicin in garlic can lower serum cholesterol and triglycerides, prevent cardiovascular diseases and arteriosclerosis, and is a good food for protecting the heart.

[Chili pepper]: Capsaicin can stimulate the heart to beat faster and accelerate blood circulation. It has the effects of activating blood circulation and warming the body, promoting peripheral blood circulation, relieving joint pain, and inhibiting fat accumulation.

Benefit 4—Liver protection

[Garlic]: According to a study conducted by the Institute of Health Nutrition at Peking University in 2010, chop the garlic, heat it in a microwave, then pour in 100 grams of cooking oil at 180 degrees Celsius and mix it to make garlic oil. The results showed that just adding a small amount of garlic can release antioxidant substances that are beneficial to the human body, help reduce total cholesterol by 30%, triglyceride concentration by 40%, and have a liver-protecting effect.

Benefit 5 - Take care of your stomach

[Onion]: It can promote digestion, increase appetite, stop vomiting, and improve stomach bloating and chest hiccups.

[Ginger]: Ginger has the effect of warming the stomach, improving symptoms of stomach cold, vomiting, nausea and anorexia; and the ginger ketone contained in ginger can promote the secretion of gastric juice. It not only effectively promotes digestion and increases appetite, but also can prevent the occurrence of gastric and duodenal ulcers. Moderate consumption can help relieve motion sickness and seasickness.

[Chili pepper]: The capsaicin contained in chili pepper can stimulate the salivary glands in the mouth, increase saliva secretion, help stimulate the appetite and increase appetite; it also has the effect of aiding digestion.

【Basil】: It can promote the secretion of digestive enzymes in the human body, thereby increasing appetite.

Don’t make the mistake of eating spices for health! Traditional Chinese Medicine Public Food Taboos

However, Chinese medicine practitioner Chen Wangquan also reminds us that everything should be done in moderation. Although moderate consumption of spices has many benefits to the human body, we should still be aware of the taboos on consumption so that we can eat nutritiously, healthily and without burden.

(Photo provided by Assistant Professor Lin Boyou)

【Onion consumption taboos】

Since onions have a pungent and dispersing effect, they can easily stimulate the human body to sweat. Sweat is considered an important body fluid from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine. If a person with an already weak body sweats excessively, the weakness and discomfort may be aggravated. Therefore, it is recommended that people with weak bodies should not consume excessive amounts of onions.

In addition, because the scallion has a strong pungent and dispersing effect, it can easily stimulate the body to sweat; therefore, people with body odor problems should

If you consume it in excess and at the same time take in too much protein food, it may aggravate the smell of body odor, so be careful!

(Photo provided by Assistant Professor Lin Boyou)

[Taboo for eating ginger]

Although eating raw ginger, aged ginger and other foods in moderation can indeed help induce sweating, dispel wind and promote blood circulation; however, since ginger is hot in nature, excessive consumption can easily cause people to get angry. Therefore, people with dry mouth problems should still avoid excessive consumption to avoid causing physical burden.

In addition, once the ginger is found to be rotten, it should be discarded entirely. Do not just cut off the rotten part and keep the good part. Because when ginger rots, it will produce the carcinogen "safrole", which may cause harm to human health if eaten, so be careful!

(Photo provided by Assistant Professor Lin Boyou)

[Taboo for eating garlic]

Since raw garlic is hot and irritating in nature, Chinese medicine practitioner Chen Wangquan emphasizes that people with hot tempers and sore mouth, teeth, throat and tongue should not consume it excessively to avoid aggravating their symptoms. And you should avoid eating raw garlic on an empty stomach as much as possible to prevent excessive stimulation, which may cause stomach pain, burning sensation in the upper abdomen, and even acute gastritis, induce chronic gastritis, and ulcer attacks.

(Photo provided by Assistant Professor Lin Boyou)

【Taboo for eating chili pepper】

Chili peppers are hot and irritating, so they should not be consumed excessively. Excessive intake may induce symptoms such as hemorrhoids, stomach pain, toothache, swollen throat, and red eyes. In addition, because chili peppers are highly irritating, people who have a fever, tissue inflammation, bronchitis, peptic ulcer, acute arthritis, or swollen joints should not eat too much.

(Photo provided by Assistant Professor Lin Boyou)

【Eating taboos of basil】

Although basil is warm and spicy in nature and is a very approachable food ingredient, and has the effect of removing fishy smell and increasing appetite, it should not be consumed in large quantities, especially by the elderly who have problems with weak qi and blood. It is not advisable to consume it excessively in a short period of time to avoid causing qi deficiency and blood dryness.

Tips for choosing and preserving the top 5 spices for the best supporting roles

Onions are mainly grown in the soil. The part buried in the soil is called the white part, and the part growing out of the soil is called the green part. The spicy smell of the white part is more obvious than the green part, and the taste is also tenderer. It is often stir-fried and used as a seasoning for cooking. The green part is more often shredded or cut into chopped green onions to add color to the dish.

(Photo provided by Assistant Professor Lin Boyou)

There are five varieties of onions in Taiwan:

Sanxing Onion: The main producing area is Yilan. Sanxing Onion is the onion with the longest white part and finer fibers. The production season is from February to October.
Xihu onion (also known as pink onion): mainly produced in the Xihu area of Changhua, with a peak production period from November to May.
Green onions: Green onions were introduced from Japan. They are thicker than other onions. They are suitable for hot pot or stewing because they are resistant to cooking and have a sweet taste. The main production areas are Dongshi, Fengyuan and other places in Taichung. The production season is from December to April.
Pearl onions: Pearl onions are mostly found in Chiayi and Tainan. They are smaller in size and have longer and thinner leaves. Onions are often used to make fried shallots.
Northern onion: It has a harder texture and a spicier taste. It is mainly produced in Yunlin and Changhua, and is in season from May to October.

Differentiate between green onions and green garlic

Green onions and green garlic look similar and are often difficult to tell apart. The easiest way to tell them apart is to look at their leaves. The leaves of onions are cylindrical with a round cross-section, while the leaves of green garlic are flat. You can easily tell the difference between green onions and green garlic just by looking at the leaves.

Ginger is divided into: young ginger, pink ginger, and old ginger.

Common types of ginger include South Yang ginger, yellow ginger, big ginger and bamboo ginger. Big ginger is larger in size, while bamboo ginger is longer and thinner. Depending on the harvesting time, it is divided into young ginger, pink ginger and old ginger, each with different suitable uses. As the saying goes, "old ginger is spiciest." Old ginger has the highest content of gingerol and is spicier than young ginger. Therefore, it is usually used to dispel cold and remove fishy smells, and is often paired with old ginger in dishes, and the effect is best when cooked with the skin. As for young and pink ginger, which are not as spicy, they are mostly pickled and used as appetizers.

Common pepper categories:

Sheep horn pepper:

The body is relatively fat, with a noticeable bulge at the head and a slightly curved tail, similar in shape to a sheep's horn. The spiciness of the sheep horn pepper is not very high, and it has a thin skin and thick flesh. It tastes good and has a strong aroma, making it suitable for consumption as a vegetable.

Pepper:

It is very spicy and usually small in size. When it bears fruit, the branches grow upwards, so it is called Chaotian pepper. Chili pepper is not a single variety, but a general term for many similar varieties. Because of its high spiciness and small size, it is mostly used as a seasoning ingredient or made into sauces.

Green chili:

It is a pepper that has not turned red yet. It has a lower spiciness, thick and elastic flesh, and a high water content. Although its color is not as beautiful as red peppers and is not suitable for color matching, it is very suitable for eating. Peeled chili is a delicious processed product made from green chili.

5 Tips for Choosing and Preserving Spices

There are some tips for selecting high-quality five spices, including color, smell, etc., as well as paying attention to the storage method. All three are indispensable. Only by mastering the selection key points and storage methods can you eat healthily and safely. In his best-selling new book, "Eat Fruits and Vegetables According to the Solar Terms," Assistant Professor Lin Bo-yu from the Department of Hotel Management at Ming-Hsin University of Science and Technology teaches everyone tips on selecting and preserving spices.

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