Eating more pears in autumn and winter is good for health preservation and Chinese medicine treatment

In traditional Chinese medicine, autumn is classified as "dry air" based on the concept of climate classification. Therefore, when autumn comes, people often feel dry and itchy skin, dry mouth, nose, throat and other respiratory tracts, dry cough without phlegm, and even dry stools and short and dark urine. All of these are because dryness can easily damage the body fluids in the lungs and stomach, resulting in various "autumn dryness" syndromes.

Pears have the effects of moistening the lungs, clearing the stomach, cooling the heart, clearing heat, extinguishing wind and transforming fire, nourishing yin for cough, moistening dryness, dispersing stagnation and clearing the intestines, eliminating paralysis and carbuncle, and relieving thirst. Therefore, it is known as "the natural nectar drink".

Pear is a frequently consumed fruit that is sweet, slightly sour, and cold in nature. It enters the lungs and stomach meridians, promotes the production of body fluids and quenches thirst, moistens dryness and resolves phlegm. It is mainly used to treat damage to body fluids caused by febrile diseases, dry cough caused by lung heat, and indigestion and constipation. It is truly the most suitable fruit for health preservation and dietary therapy in autumn and winter. There are many varieties of pears, among which the most famous are the Tianjin Duck Pear, Shandong Laiyang Pear and White Snow Pear, which are rich in juice, have fine and smooth flesh and can be regarded as the best pears.

The 20th Century Pear produced in Japan is a transplant from the northern pear of the mainland. It is white in color and round and large in shape, but it is still not the mainland pear. Due to climatic factors and continuous variety improvement, the quality of Taiwan pears is the best, but it is still slightly inferior to Japanese pears. Although pears vary in variety and quality, their medicinal properties remain the same, with few differences but many similarities. [Compendium of Materia Medica] records about pears as follows: raw pears clear heat from the six internal organs, while ripe pears nourish the yin of the five internal organs. "Because different ways of taking will produce different medicinal effects, the following examples are given for your reference.

1. Eating pears raw can relieve symptoms of yin deficiency and deficiency heat such as dry, itchy and painful throat, hoarseness, dry cough, constipation, short urination, ulcers, paralysis, back furuncles, thirst, hot flashes, etc. caused by upper respiratory tract infection.

2. Squeeze pear juice, or add Penghai, winter melon seeds, cicada slough, and a little rock sugar, boil and drink it. It has the effect of moisturizing the larynx and replenishing body fluids for people who are in dry weather, have a body with excessive fire and lack of fluid, are prone to laryngitis, dry throat, and hoarse voice.

3. Add rock sugar or honey to raw pears and boil them into a paste to make "Autumn Pear Paste", which can treat lung heat and cough.

4. Cook pear slices with 50 cents of almonds, 20 cents each of Platycodon grandiflorum and Fritillaria cirrhosa, and 10 cents of Phellodendron chinense together; it can cure sticky phlegm caused by colds and flu.

5. Use a pear, peel off the top and make it into a cap shape, dig out the kernel, put in one qian of Fritillaria cirrhosa, add a little rock sugar or honey, cover the pear cap, heat it in water and stew it until cooked, it can cure chest pain and cough caused by phlegm and fire.

6. Use the same method as above, but put the black beans into the pear, add an appropriate amount of rock sugar (honey is better), and steam it in a steamer or stew it in water. It will become "black bean pear". People with chronic bronchitis and those who have vision loss caused by long-term reading of books and newspapers can eat it regularly, as it has a significant effect on the eyes and vision.

Zhu Zhenheng, one of the four great calligraphers of the Jin and Yuan dynasties, said: Pears are beneficial because they flow downwards. It has the effects of moistening the lungs, clearing the stomach, cooling the heart, clearing heat, extinguishing wind and transforming fire, nourishing yin for cough, moistening dryness, dispersing stagnation and clearing the intestines, eliminating paralysis and carbuncle, and relieving thirst, so it is named "Natural Sweet Dew Drink". It is indispensable water for the human body to cope with the seasonal dryness symptoms caused by autumn and winter. It is rich in glucose, fruit acid, iron, vitamin A and C, etc. It has good nutrition and unique medicinal effects. However, due to its cold nature, it is not suitable to be consumed too much at one time, as it will cause bloating and damage the spleen and stomach. Especially for people with weak spleen and stomach, they should consider the method and amount of consumption.