Men Should Not Go Without Ginger, Women Should Not Go Without Sugar
It is commonly said: "A man should not go a hundred days without ginger," and "A woman should not go a hundred days without sugar."
Professor Zhao Lin of the PLA General Hospital explains according to Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, ginger is a yang-nourishing herb. Ginger contains volatile compounds like gingerol and shogaol, which have functions of activating blood circulation, dispelling cold, removing dampness, inducing sweating, and particularly benefitting bile secretion, aiding digestion, relieving nausea, eliminating odors, and reducing edema. Combined with honey, it supports liver recovery. "Keep a little ginger at home, and minor illnesses won't panic"; "Eat ginger regularly in summer, live long and stay healthy"; "Eat radish in winter, eat ginger in summer—no need for doctors’ prescriptions"; "Eat ginger year-round, banish all diseases"; "Eat three slices of ginger in the morning, worth more than ginseng tonic." Many folk sayings reflect ginger’s health benefits.
Women should not go a hundred days without sugar (referring to brown sugar). According to Traditional Chinese nutritional science, brown sugar, being warm in nature, works through "warming to supplement, warming to circulate, warming to disperse" to exert blood-nourishing effects. A nutritional study shows that brown sugar contains abundant trace elements, some of which strongly stimulate hematopoietic function in the body.