Seasonal Japanese and Chinese Medicinal Cuisine: Rainy Season and Seasonal Transitions
Let’s specifically introduce foods suitable for the rainy season. If you suffer from weather-related pain, this information may be especially helpful.
Although we refer to the rainy season and seasonal transitions, many of these foods can be consumed year-round. They can also serve as base ingredients for recipes, so feel free to incorporate them flexibly.
Many people experience feelings of heaviness or headaches when it rains or is cloudy. Without proper care, anyone can quickly enter a ‘water toxicity’ state. When the body’s fluid metabolism becomes poor, it can become even more stagnant due to the weather. It’s natural for one’s health to deteriorate when the weather changes.
(It’s worth noting that yin and dampness are not always negative. Yin can represent femininity, thoughtfulness, and gentleness. Additionally, high humidity has benefits for plants and the skin.)
Choose ingredients that promote fluid metabolism to help your body endure the rainy season. Additionally, since this season can impact the spleen, it’s important to care for both the spleen and stomach.
Foods that Improve Fluid Metabolism:
Bean sprouts
Brown rice
Aduki beans
Job’s tears (coix seed)
Buckwheat
Seaweed
Mushrooms
Bamboo shoots
Eggplants
Asparagus
Pumpkin
Potatoes
Konjac
Bananas
Oolong tea
Pu-erh tea
Cassia tea
Soy milk
Foods for the Spleen and Stomach:
Pumpkin
Golden needles (dried lily buds)
Water chestnuts
Komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach)
Sweet potatoes
Potatoes
Taro
Ginger (avoid if you have excessive stomach acid)
Onions (avoid if you have excessive stomach acid)
Winter melon
Corn
Carrots
Yellow bell peppers
Chinese yams
Lion’s mane mushrooms
Mugwort
Peanuts
Strawberries
Plums (avoid if you have excessive stomach acid)
Kumquats
Chestnuts
Apples (avoid if you have excessive stomach acid)
Conger eel
Horse mackerel
Sardines
Eel
Salmon
Mackerel
Pacific saury
Sea bass
Red snapper
Octopus
Loach
Crucian carp
Scallops
Tuna
Beef
Duck meat
Venison
Chicken
Horse meat
Lamb
Millet
Black beans
Milk
Soy milk
Rice
Buckwheat
Soybeans
Eggs
Natto (fermented soybeans)
Glutinous rice
Black tea
Sugar
Japanese pepper
Red pepper (avoid if you have stomach pain)
Cinnamon
Wasabi
Rice oil
Olive oil
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簡単レシピ！
