If the climate and diet during Tet make you cough, constipated, or cause stomach issues, don’t be quick to get upset or worried. You can find remedies right from the fruit tray at home.
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(Photo: thoangsaigon) |
The traditional fruit tray usually consists of five types of fruits: banana, grapefruit, orange, tangerine, and Buddha’s hand. These fruits are very nutritious and have medicinal properties that promote longevity.
Banana
Bananas are beneficial for treating stomach ulcers. Patients can consume 4 grams of banana powder daily; after some time, a layer of healthy cells will form at the ulcer site.
Bananas are high in potassium. Therefore, patients with hypertension, arteriosclerosis, or coronary artery disease will benefit from regular consumption of bananas. They also help cool the body, promote bowel movements, and relieve constipation, thus helping heart patients avoid dangers from straining during bowel movements, which can lead to hemorrhagic strokes or ruptured coronary arteries.
For light cracked skin, ripe bananas can be mashed and applied; initially, it may hurt but will heal quickly.
To treat constipation: Peel 1-2 bananas, add a moderate amount of rock sugar, steam them, and eat 1-2 times a day continuously for a few days.
To dissolve blood clots, reduce phlegm, nourish the heart, and treat coronary heart disease: Use 250 grams of banana flowers and 1 pig heart. Place the ingredients in a clay pot, add adequate water, and simmer for 2 hours. Drink the broth and eat the heart daily for several days.
To treat hemorrhoids and bloody stools: Use 2 bananas, do not peel, cook them, and eat the entire fruit.
Scientists believe that bananas have a cooling effect, and consuming too much at once may cause diarrhea. It is not advisable to eat many bananas continuously for extended periods, especially for individuals suffering from arthritis, muscle pain, kidney inflammation, exhaustion, and edema.
Grapefruit
Traditional medicine considers grapefruit to have a sweet and sour taste, a cooling property, and medicinal properties that affect the spleen and liver, helping to digest food, reduce inflammation, regulate energy, and dissolve phlegm.
Studies show that grapefruit is effective in treating vascular diseases, especially heart disease and coronary artery disease, reducing platelet aggregation and increasing the stability of substances suspended in the blood. Additionally, grapefruit contains vitamin C, sugars, proteins, lipids, and phosphorus, which have anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsant effects.
Besides the flesh, the peel, flowers, and leaves of grapefruit are utilized in medicine and cosmetics. Grapefruit flowers can be used for hair washing, and leaves can be combined with other herbs for steaming. The peel treats coughs, dry coughs, phlegm blockage, and indigestion.
To treat cough: Use 1 grapefruit, cut into pieces and steam with chicken to eat.
To treat cough in the elderly: Use some grapefruit pulp (remove the outer peel) and a little alum, cook it, and drink 50-100 grams daily.
To relieve liver stagnation, reduce gas, and dissolve phlegm: Take the peel of a fresh grapefruit, burn off the outer layer, scrape it off, soak it in clean water for a day to remove the bitterness, then cut it into pieces and boil it in water. When nearly done, add two chopped green onions, salt, and cooking oil. Use this dish with meals. This remedy is very suitable for those experiencing chest tightness, side pain, and loss of appetite due to anger affecting the liver.
Orange and Tangerine
The leaves, flowers, fruit, and seeds of oranges and tangerines can all be used as medicine. The fruit helps strengthen the spleen, harmonize the stomach, warm the lungs to treat cough, and nourish the body without causing heaviness; it is suitable for patients with weak bodies, difficulty breathing, cold symptoms, bloating in the chest and abdomen, and poor appetite.
Tangerine leaves, flowers, and seeds promote blood circulation, reduce swelling and pain. Tangerine peel, also known as Chen Pi, has medicinal properties such as strengthening the spleen, promoting airflow, harmonizing the stomach, dissolving phlegm, preventing nausea, and warming the body.
To reduce abdominal pain during pregnancy due to gas stagnation: Use 3 grams of Chen Pi, 3 grams of myrrh, and 200 grams of lean pork. First, grind the Chen Pi and myrrh finely. Heat a pot, add a little cooking oil, stir-fry the pork, add adequate water to cook. When the water boils, add the ground Chen Pi, myrrh, and salt; stir well and consume the meat and broth.
To treat vomiting symptoms: Use 3-5 grams of dried tangerine peel, grind it into powder, and add an appropriate amount of rice to a clay pot to cook porridge. Then, add the tangerine peel and boil for a while, waiting for the porridge to finish cooking before turning off the heat. Daily, in the morning and evening, reheat and drink for 5 days.
Additionally, dried Chen Pi aids in lowering gas, harmonizing the stomach, dissolving phlegm, and acting as an alcohol detoxifier. Fresh Chen Pi mixed with sugar or steeped in tea helps promote airflow, reduce swelling, stimulate saliva production, soothe the throat, cool the body, and reduce cough. Soaking Chen Pi in alcohol for a month not only enhances flavor but also helps clear phlegm.
Buddha’s Hand
Buddha’s Hand is a type of herb primarily used for detoxifying the liver, adjusting and promoting stomach function, treating coughs, and dissolving phlegm.
