The cold wind is blowing, winter is approaching, and the chill is getting stronger.
In the blink of an eye, all the layers of forest were dyed and faded into the shadows of sparse trees, making the eyes full of desolation.
The north wind is blowing back and forth, and it's cold and cool. Thousands of families are drying out things for winter storage.
The vegetation is withering, and everything is gradually moving towards "harvesting" and "hiding".
There is an old saying that "man and nature correspond to each other and follow nature." When it comes to maintaining our body, we should also take measures according to the current conditions and pay attention to the maintenance of our kidneys.
Today, let’s talk about a kidney-friendly nut: walnuts.
Tonifying kidney and strengthening essence
In winter, due to the influence of Yang Qi being blocked, the body's metabolism is relatively low.
Just like a factory, when the production capacity is high, the supply can keep up, and no matter how many orders come in, it can be grasped without fear. When production capacity decreases, faced with huge production demand, it is inevitable that the company will be unable to cope with the situation.
When metabolism is low, the body will often feel involuntarily "not able to do what it wants".
At this time, the body's dependence on the "prime force" of life will become apparent. In the process of adapting to environmental changes, the regulation of many body functions requires the help of the "prime force".
And this "motive force" is the kidney.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the kidneys are the foundation of innateness, and a lot of the energy and heat of the human body come from the kidneys.
It is precisely because of this that the kidneys can "step forward" when we need it, helping us regulate our bodies and resist severe cold.
After all, the temperature in winter is cold after all. If you don't do this step of preventing cold well, it is too easy to get sick due to cold evil.
In addition, various viruses and bacteria are now rampant, and you may be "infected" if you are not careful.
Once you get sick due to cold evil, it will easily damage the Yang Qi inside the body and consume the Yang Qi in the kidneys.
This is simply a vicious cycle.
If we pay attention to kidney care from the beginning, it will help prevent colds. At the same time, preventing colds helps nourish the kidneys, thus forming a virtuous cycle.
In winter, you can use some warm and tonic ingredients to nourish your kidneys.
Walnuts are a good helper.
Low back pain and weak feet
From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, walnuts are an important medicine for nourishing the liver and kidneys, strengthening muscles and bones, and are good at relieving back pain, leg pain, and muscle and bone pain.
Because it nourishes the kidneys, it can also strengthen teeth and hair.
From the perspective of modern nutrition, this ability of walnuts is inseparable from its high-quality protein content.
Walnut protein is a high-quality natural protein. The crude protein content of walnut kernels is generally about 15%. It is mainly composed of four types of proteins: gluten, globulin, albumin and prolamin. Their contents account for 70.11% and 70.11% of the total walnut protein respectively. 17.57%, 6.81%, 5.33%.
Walnut protein is rich in nutrients and contains more than ten kinds of amino acids, including 8 kinds of amino acids that the human body cannot synthesize by itself. Among them, glutamic acid and arginine are high in content, and most of them are hydrophobic amino acids and acidic amino acids.
We all know that no matter how good the protein contained in food is, it will be in vain if it cannot be absorbed by the human body.
The protein contained in walnuts is easily digested and absorbed by the human body.
Some scholars have used trypsin, chymotrypsin and pepsin to conduct in vitro hydrolysis experiments on walnut protein and found that these enzymes can hydrolyze the gluten in walnut protein into polypeptides with smaller relative molecular weights within ten minutes.
In other words, walnut protein has a high digestibility and net protein ratio, which can be said to be a very high-quality plant protein.
Protein supplementation will also improve the body's strength.
Some people feel that their legs and feet are always weak unconsciously, and they seem to be unable to support themselves after walking a few steps. Faced with this problem, you can also eat some walnuts appropriately.
Studies have shown that walnut protein can reduce the levels of blood lactic acid and urea nitrogen, and increase the levels of muscle glycogen and liver glycogen, indicating that walnut protein has a certain anti-fatigue ability.
In addition, walnut peptides can also promote recovery after fatigue and improve physical strength.
Consolidate sperm and reduce urination
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that walnut kernels replenish qi and yang, nourish the kidneys, strengthen essence and reduce urination. It is suitable for symptoms such as frequent urination, impotence and slippery sperm caused by insufficient kidney qi.
From the perspective of modern science, walnuts can strengthen the kidneys and liver because they contain high arginine, and can also regulate symptoms related to sexual dysfunction.
Researchers have conducted walnut dietary intervention on more than a hundred adult men. After twelve weeks, the sperm motility, motility and morphology of these adult men have improved.
Natural “Brain Gold”
In the public opinion, walnuts are known as "natural brain gold".
Some people think that walnuts can nourish the brain because they look like "brains" and belong to the category of "seeking likes for like", "taking images from like", and "complementing shapes with shapes".
Let’s not discuss whether this statement is scientific or not. What is certain is that walnuts’ ability to nourish the brain has been scientifically proven.
Whether you are a young mental worker or an elderly person, you can use walnuts to supplement your health.
Walnuts not only help improve cerebral circulation and enhance brain power, but are also beneficial to brain nerves, helping to enhance cell vitality and improve brain nerve ability.
Studies have shown that walnut extract can inhibit the peroxidation of unsaturated fatty acids in cell membranes to form peroxidized lipids, thereby stabilizing cell membranes.
The phospholipids in walnuts can enhance cell vitality, promote bone marrow hematopoiesis, improve the ability of brain nerves, and enhance the body's disease resistance.
Walnut fat is rich in linoleic acid and linolenic acid. These unsaturated fatty acids are the main structural fats of brain tissue cells; walnut zinc is one of the key components of the pituitary gland. Sufficient linoleic acid and linolenic acid can also eliminate blood vessel walls. Impurities produced by internal metabolism purify the blood and provide fresh blood to the brain, thereby improving the brain's physiological capabilities.
The phospholipids contained in walnuts have the ability to nourish the brain and are one of the basic substances for nerve cell metabolism. The glutamic acid contained in walnut kernels can promote the synthesis of gamma-aminobutyric acid in the human body, thereby reducing blood ammonia and promoting brain cell respiration.
For middle-aged and elderly people with sleep disorders and neurasthenia, it is also beneficial to eat some walnuts appropriately.
Modern research has found that reduced melatonin can lead to problems such as sleep disorders and system disorders.
Walnuts are one of the natural sources of melatonin.
Clinical nutrition research has found that after eating a certain amount of walnuts, the content of melatonin in the blood increases and the antioxidant activity is enhanced.
That is to say, eating some walnuts appropriately can help maintain the melatonin level in our body in a relatively youthful state, help calm and regulate the nervous system, improve the body's function and constitution, and delay the aging process.
Cardiovascular care
The weather is cold in winter and the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor is large. If you have chronic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, you need to pay more attention to maintenance.
Eating some walnuts appropriately will help maintain cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions.
Research shows that eating walnuts can reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease.
Scholars once conducted such an experiment. They selected a certain number of adults who regularly consumed appropriate amounts of walnuts. After eight weeks, the subjects' cholesterol dropped by 4%, and their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol dropped by 6%. %.
There was another experiment in which an experimental group that added walnuts to their diet and a control group that did not add walnuts were set up. After four weeks, compared with the control group, the cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and Triglycerides were reduced.
These studies have confirmed that appropriate consumption of some walnuts can help improve the human body's blood lipid environment.
Research shows that walnut oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, especially monounsaturated fatty acids, which contain about 60% to 70%. A diet rich in monounsaturated fatty acids can prevent coronary heart disease, while increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and reducing glycerol. Triester content.
In other words, walnuts have a positive impact on the prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Knowledge about eating walnuts
Some people may be curious: "Isn't it easy to eat walnuts? It's just a walnut. What kind of knowledge can you gain? Just buy it and eat it!"
In fact, there are some "know-how" about eating walnuts.
For example, walnuts include pecans and paper-bark walnuts.
If you just want to nourish your brain through walnuts, either one is fine; but if you want to nourish your kidneys, pecans would be a better choice.
Another example is the question of whether to peel off or keep the thin brown skin on the surface of walnut kernels when eating walnuts.
If you have a cough and asthma problem, and the cough and asthma are caused by cold lungs or lung and kidney deficiency, it is not recommended to peel walnuts when eating them.
Chinese medicine often uses walnuts when treating cold problems.
The famous doctor Zhang Baoxun once introduced to everyone a soup with a wide range of applications, "Five Tiger Soup", in which walnuts are used.
It is now the turn of autumn and winter. Under the impact of temperature changes, many people are troubled by the problem of "cold".
Maybe it starts with a cold, but as the body's resistance weakens during a cold, viruses and mycoplasmas can easily "take advantage of the situation" and then evolve into "pneumonia", which is really scary.
A few days ago, a doctor friend of Yiru was still lamenting that he received a patient. He didn’t know it until he checked it. But he was shocked when he checked it. Good guy, he had several infections combined, including viruses and mycoplasma. . To this extent, the patient is particularly uncomfortable, and it is also very difficult for the doctor to regulate it.
If you don't want to get to this point, you have to "keep the cold out" from the beginning.
What should I do if I want to prevent colds but can’t take medicine in advance?
Wuhu soup is one of the simpler prevention methods in the family.
Five Tiger Soup
Take two walnut kernels, five grams of sesame seeds, two grams of green tea, three slices of ginger, and nine mung beans. Add water and cook together. Boil the pot for about three minutes.
There is no need to peel the walnut kernels in Wuhu Soup.
If you have constipation problems and need to relieve bowel movements, it would be better to peel walnuts before eating them.
If none of the above conditions apply, you can leave the skin alone. After all, there are certain nutrients in the skin.
It should be noted that although walnuts are good, you should not eat too much. Basically, two to three a day is enough.
Those with phlegm-fire accumulating heat, yin deficiency, excessive fire, or persistent diarrhea should not take it.
Regarding the precautions for eating walnuts and the difference between pecans and paper-bark walnuts, Yiru has talked with you in previous articles. Interested friends can click on the link below to learn more~
→ Walnuts in ancient books—pecans ←
Walnut, hard and rough shell, pure and delicate kernel.
This strong sense of contrast does not exist in us humans.
The polishing of life has forced us to wrap ourselves in a "hard" shell, but our pure and gentle heart has never been lost.
Perhaps it is this toughness on the outside that protects the softness inside us.
May we still feel the romance of rain, snow, wind and frost after going through thousands of sailings.
There is joy in being busy, there is flavor in leisure, there is no thought or delusion, and there is freedom.
