🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Smart Eating and Drinking to Combat Blood Viscosity
When blood becomes overly viscous, blood flow inevitably slows down, and severe cases may impair blood supply to vital organs, leading to heart disease and stroke. When blood volume decreases or body surface temperature drops, blood viscosity naturally increases. Once adequate hydration is achieved, internal water levels are replenished, and thickened blood is immediately diluted. Therefore, besides medication, scientific drinking and food selection can help dilute blood.
So, what constitutes scientific drinking? First, timing matters. It is best to drink 200 ml of water upon waking, one hour before meals, and before bedtime. Second, choose water with good dilution effect. Salty water promotes cellular dehydration and is unsuitable; cold water stimulates gastrointestinal vascular constriction, hindering water absorption into the bloodstream, so it should be avoided; purified water, being too "pure," has a low osmotic state, causing water to enter cells quickly, which is not ideal for blood dilution. The ideal diluting water is lukewarm boiled water or light tea at 20℃–25℃, whose tension and density closely resemble those of blood and tissue cells.
Besides proper hydration, certain foods also have blood-diluting properties. Black fungus, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, strawberries, pineapple, lemons, etc., can inhibit platelet aggregation and prevent thrombosis; tomatoes, red grapes, oranges, ginger, etc., have anticoagulant effects similar to aspirin; parsley, carrots, konjac, hawthorn, purple laver, seaweed, corn, sesame, etc., have lipid-lowering effects.
Therefore, individuals with excessively viscous blood should follow the above methods for drinking and dietary choices. Daily diet should be light, avoiding high-fat, high-starch, and high-sugar foods (as sugars can be converted into lipids in the liver); instead, eat more fish, fresh vegetables and fruits, legumes, and soy products—foods that help dilute blood.