As the saying goes: "When a hundred grasses sprout, a hundred diseases will arise." In spring, the metabolism in the human body begins to flourish, and a healthy diet becomes particularly important. Otherwise, it is easy to cause gastrointestinal discomfort, liver fire, dampness and heat, etc.

Therefore, the spring diet should be mainly light, avoid eating greasy, cold food, and eat more nutritious fresh vegetables. During this season, all kinds of seasonal vegetables are appearing in supermarkets and markets one after another. Let’s take a look at what spring vegetables you can eat!

Seasonal vegetables, good for the five internal organs

Leeks and chrysanthemums

Increase appetite and nourish the spleen and stomach

"Food in spring is fragrant, food in summer is fragrant. Then it smells bad" - this is the special point of eating leeks. Leeks can be used as an appetizer. It is not only fresh and tender in the mouth, but also contains plant-based aromatic volatile oils, exuding a unique spicy aroma, which can increase appetite and promote digestion. Leeks have the best taste when used as stuffing or stir-fry dishes, such as leek dumplings, leek scrambled eggs, etc.

If you want to choose delicious and fresh leeks, you should look at these three parts: color, leaves, and roots:

1. Color: Do not buy those whose leaves are dark green or dark green. , or even blackened leeks, these leeks may have been added with pesticides by the merchants.

2. Leaves: Take a handful of leeks with your hands and pinch the root of the leek to see if the leaves are straight. If the leaves are too curved, the leek is not fresh.

3. Roots: Leeks with soil on their roots are fresher, while leeks with withered roots have lost moisture, which proves that they have been picked for a period of time.

In addition to leeks, chrysanthemum chrysanthemum is also a good food for the stomach and a delicacy in spring. Chrysanthemum chrysanthemum stems and leaves are eaten together. They are fresh and delicious. They contain volatile oil with a special aroma, which can help digestion and appetite. However, when cooking Chrysanthemum chrysanthemum, stir-fry it quickly over high heat. This is because the aromatic essential oil contained in it is easy to volatilize when heated, which will weaken the stomach-strengthening effect. Although chrysanthemum is good, people with spleen deficiency and diarrhea should not eat too much.

Spinach, lettuce

Relieve fat and lose weight

Spinach is abundant in spring and is one of the spring seasonal vegetables that many people must eat. Spinach is rich in plant fiber, which can promote intestinal peristalsis, refresh and relieve greasiness, so spinach has become the best partner for hot pot. The fat content of spinach is about 8.9%. Spinach with 17 calories can be consumed by walking for 4 minutes. It is not an exaggeration to use it to lose weight. However, eating spinach can easily lead to high uric acid levels, so patients with gout should eat less.

Similarly, many people use lettuce to lose weight. It is light green in color, contains high fiber and water, and is low in calories. It is a vegetable that cannot be missed for weight loss.

Mung bean sprouts

Clears the liver qi

Mung bean sprouts are the sprouts produced after soaking the seeds of the leguminous plant mung bean. Their hypocotyls are usually eaten. . Eating mung bean sprouts in early spring is helpful for dredging liver qi.

In fact, the nutritional value of mung bean sprouts is higher than that of mung beans. This is because when mung beans sprout, vitamin C increases and part of the protein is decomposed into amino acids needed by the body, which is up to 7 times the original content of mung beans.

Mung bean sprouts are cold in nature and can be neutralized by adding shredded ginger when cooking. Long-term smokers are particularly suitable to eat mung bean sprouts, while people with weak constitution, chronic gastroenteritis, and indigestion should not eat more.

Spring wild vegetables are the most fragrant when cooked in soup

In addition to eating seasonal vegetables, spring is also a good time to pick wild vegetables. The wild vegetables at this time are the most plump and fresh.

You may wish to try these three common spring wild vegetables. Their nutritional value is no less than that of seasonal vegetables.

Purslane

Purslane is commonly known as hornwort, hornwort, and five-element grass. This kind of wild vegetable is relatively common and has good therapeutic effects. It is called "longevity vegetable".

Purslane is cooked and used to make soups and salads. It has a smooth taste, clears away heat and relieves greasiness. But remember, purslane is high in oxalic acid, so it needs to be boiled before cooking, and it cannot be eaten in large quantities, otherwise it may cause acute kidney injury.

Shepherd's purse

Tonify deficiency and strengthen the spleen

Shepherd's purse is often used to make dumpling fillings, porridge, and soup. It has the functions of clearing away heat and stopping bleeding, tonifying deficiency and strengthening the spleen. It can be consumed by the general population, and is especially suitable for middle-aged and elderly people with indigestion and weak constitution.

Dandelion

Protects the liver

"Compendium of Materia Medica" mentions that "Dandelion can detoxify food, disperse stagnation of qi, transform heat and poison, eliminate malignant swelling, Tuberculosis. "It is good for the liver and can reduce swelling and diuresis.

Dandelion leaves can be used to make soup. The taste is not much different from vegetable soup. Be careful to add more oil and cook it longer to remove the bitter taste.

Tips for eating vegetables

It is best for the human body to consume 300-500g of vegetables every day, and dark vegetables should account for 1/2. Blanch them in boiling water before eating. Although the vegetables will lose some nutrients, more than 90% of residual pesticides can be removed.

When blanching vegetables, remember to boil the water in the pot before placing the vegetables in the pot to reduce the loss of water-soluble vitamins during the heating process.

Spring is a season suitable for health preservation, and eating more fresh vegetables is the healthiest. Are there any "spring vegetables" that make you excited?

This article is selected from Health China and recommended for publication by the Feicheng City Health Bureau and the Municipal Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The copyright belongs to the original author.