Chew Dates Slowly and Spit Out the Pits
Dates are rich in nutrients and various trace elements, possessing unique nutritional and medicinal value. Even the pits have uses—holding a pit in the mouth to "generate saliva" for dry mouth relief. After eating the date flesh, keep the pit in your mouth for half a day. Saliva accumulates naturally; when sufficient, swallow it. This does not interfere with speaking or drinking.
Li Shizhen pointed out that dry mouth results from "when a person is ill, heart and kidney fail to interact, kidney water fails to ascend, hence fluid depletion and consumption of true qi." How to make oral fluids "gush forth"? Li Shizhen highly recommended holding date pits in the mouth: "Constantly holding date pits to generate qi and saliva, swallowing is excellent." "This leverages dates to generate saliva and qi, and swallowing helps reach the Huang Gong (a symbolic reference to the lower abdomen)." Using the mouth to hold date pits to "produce saliva."