Autumn is the Perfect Time to Eat Pomelo
In various autumn fruits, pomelo is one of the largest in size, typically weighing over one kilogram. It ripens around the 15th day of the eighth lunar month each year. With its thick peel and long shelf life, it is often referred to as a "natural canned fruit."
Pomelo has high nutritional value, containing abundant protein, organic acids, vitamins, and essential minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sodium—elements that are hard to match among other fruits. Every 100 grams of pomelo provides 0.7 grams of protein, 0.6 grams of fat, and 57 kcal of energy.
Pomelo not only offers high nutrition but also possesses health benefits including aiding digestion, moistening lungs, replenishing blood, clearing intestines, and promoting bowel movements. It can help wound healing and serve as an effective auxiliary remedy for conditions like scurvy. Additionally, due to the presence of bioactive substances called hesperidin in its peel, pomelo helps reduce blood viscosity and prevent thrombosis formation, thus offering good preventive effects against cerebrovascular diseases such as cerebral thrombosis and stroke. Fresh pomelo flesh contains insulin-like components, making it an ideal food choice for diabetic patients.
Health Tip: Managing "Autumn Tigers" Through Dietary Adjustments
Traditional Chinese medicine also holds that pomelo tastes sweet and sour, with a cold nature, capable of regulating qi, resolving phlegm, moistening lungs, clearing intestines, replenishing blood, and strengthening the spleen. It treats symptoms such as poor appetite, bland taste, and indigestion, helping digestion, eliminating phlegm, relieving thirst, and dispersing stagnation.
Those who frequently suffer from colds, coughs, or sensitive airways may use one fresh pomelo (keeping the peel, removing the core), combined with 1 liang (50 grams) each of raw apricot kernels, Fritillaria bulbs, and unbleached silver ear fungus (or yellow ear fungus), along with several bottles of honey (preferably honey known for moistening lungs and relieving cough). Simmer for one day. Regular consumption strengthens lung function.