🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Yesterday saw young people wearing short sleeves, today saw tender down and elders wearing cotton coats. Spring’s face truly changes like a child’s—three changes in one day. How can those with weak constitutions avoid catching colds?
People often say “harmony between man and nature.” While the sky constantly shifts, human physiological functions struggle to keep pace. Yet medical experts unanimously agree: to maintain health, one must adopt proper diet, moderate exercise, quit smoking, limit alcohol, and maintain psychological balance. This article focuses on rational diet and smart eating to prevent disease.
More "Reduction," Less "Oxidation" – Activate the Brain
How to ensure brain health? How to improve cognitive efficiency? Japanese nutritionist Dr. Sakamoto Akiko recommends: eat more reducing foods, fewer oxidizing foods.
Oxidizing foods refer to those rich in peroxidized lipid compounds—examples include fried foods, instant noodles, hamburgers, high-calorie oily foods, fatty meats, and fruit juices. These foods undergo oxidation reactions in the body, damaging normal molecular structure of blood vessel walls, narrowing vessels, impairing blood flow, and producing adverse stimuli to brain function, leading to mental sluggishness.
Reducing foods contain carotenoids, superoxide dismutase, etc., which prevent oxidation in blood vessel walls or reverse existing oxidation, ensuring unobstructed blood vessels and adequate cerebral perfusion, keeping the brain fresh and active.
More Poultry, Less Red Meat – Protect the Heart
People generally love meat for its rich nutrition and good taste but fear it due to high fat content, linked to hyperlipidemia, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other conditions. How to solve this dilemma? One key is to eat more poultry and less red meat.
Compared to pork, beef, and mutton, poultry also contains animal fat, but the fat structure differs. Red meat has more saturated fatty acids and higher cholesterol, while goose, duck, and chicken have less fat (only 1/4–1/3 of red meat) and fat composition closer to olive oil—dominated by unsaturated fatty acids—thus offering heart protection.
More Raw, Less Cooked Meats – Reduce Carcinogens
When given a choice between raw and cooked poultry, which would you prefer? Cooked meat products are convenient and tasty, so you might lean toward them. But doing so risks ingesting nitrites. During processing, nitrites are added to preserve food and extend shelf life. Once inside the body, nitrites decompose into highly carcinogenic nitrosamines, seriously threatening health.
A survey of 120 cooked food samples revealed that 107 contained this harmful substance, with a detection rate of 87%, including 7 samples exceeding safety limits. Experts warn that excessive nitrite intake can cause acute poisoning and induce cancer; even low doses over time pose long-term health risks.
More Whole Grains, Less Refined – Protect Blood Vessels
Currently, the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and cerebral infarction is rising rapidly, becoming the number one killer among Chinese people. Besides traditional risk factors like high blood lipids, hypertension, and high blood sugar ("three highs"), another major culprit is hyperhomocysteinemia.
Experts worldwide have found that elevated levels of homocysteine in blood can lead to arterial hardening, ultimately resulting in myocardial infarction, stroke, and dementia. One reason for increased homocysteine is excessive consumption of highly refined processed foods.
Homocysteine originates from proteins and has certain toxicity, but can be converted into non-toxic cystathionine and excreted in urine. Three common vitamins play crucial roles in this process: vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folic acid. Unfortunately, refined foods lose much of their B-complex vitamins due to over-processing. For example, bran contains the highest known natural B-vitamin levels in any food. Thus, people who regularly eat polished white rice lack B-vitamin protection, greatly increasing vascular damage risk.
More Vegetables, Less Meat – Improve Bone Health
Compared to meat, vegetables are more beneficial for bone health. U.S. researchers recently warned that excessive meat or cheese intake, especially in middle-aged and elderly women, increases the risk of bone loss and fractures. Conversely, using vegetables as the primary protein source effectively improves bone quality.
Studies show women absorbing high proportions of protein from meat and dairy lose three times more bone mass than those obtaining protein from vegetables. The reason lies in the excess acid components in animal foods. With aging, kidney function declines, reducing the ability to excrete acid substances, leading to acid accumulation in the body. Bones must then neutralize acidity, resulting in significant calcium and bone loss over time. Vegetables, however, contain abundant alkaline components that neutralize acids, thus protecting bones and improving bone quality.
More Green, Less White – Promote Longevity and Health
Nutritionists analyzing various vegetables found a pattern: nutritional value correlates with color depth. The darker the vegetable, the higher the content of vitamins and carotenoids. Ranking by this rule: green vegetables > red-yellow vegetables > white vegetables.
Green vegetables are rich in calcium, folate, and vitamin C. Additionally, they contain abundant chlorophyll, which has anti-cancer and disease-prevention properties.