Pueraria root porridge

Kudzu root porridge has the effect of preventing hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Let’s learn about it together.

Pueraria root porridge

People with hypertension, coronary heart disease, yin deficiency, internal heat, thirst and excessive drinking can eat Pueraria lobata porridge regularly.

People often say "a day without seeing each other is like three years apart" to describe the longing of lovers. But do you know the origin of this saying? It turns out that it comes from a poem called "Picking Kudzu" in the Book of Songs, which tells the story of a woman who misses her lover while picking kudzu. The "kudzu" picked by the woman is the current kudzu root. A large number of studies have pointed out that there is a reason why the ancients liked to pick kudzu. Pueraria root is not only rich in nutrients, but also rich in a large number of isoflavones, phytoestrogens, etc. It can effectively dilate blood vessels, lower blood sugar, cure diseases and detoxify, and improve immune function. It is known as "Asian ginseng" and "longevity powder".

Nutritional treasures from common foods

It is said that during the Green Forest Uprising at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, in the early summer of 22 AD, a plague broke out in the Green Forest mountain area, and many rebels died of the disease. The military doctors suggested to the rebel leaders Wang Kuang and Wang Feng that they dig up Pueraria roots to supplement the army's rations, eating them raw or cooked for three meals a day. After a week, all the soldiers recovered.

Shen Jianhua pointed out that there are many legends about the magical effects of Pueraria root, some of which are true and some are false, and some businesses exaggerate for profit. For example, the saying that "Pueraria root can enlarge breasts" a few years ago confused many people. In fact, Pueraria root powder does contain some phytoestrogens, but there is no clinical trial to prove that it has a very good breast enhancement effect.

Experts warn that kudzu root is often cut obliquely or longitudinally, off-white or light brown, with residual brown cork sometimes visible on the surface. The cut surface is rough, fibrous, light, with a faint smell and a light taste. The root of sweet kudzu vine is less fibrous, and some are wooly. It is hard and heavy, rich in powder. It has a faint smell and a slightly sweet taste. When purchasing and distinguishing, it is better to choose large pieces, firm, white, powdery and less fiber.

Pueraria root can be used as a snack and can also lower blood pressure and blood sugar

As early as in ancient times, people used kudzu vines to build kudzu sheds for living, woven kudzu beds for sleeping, used kudzu fiber for textiles, clothing and shoes, and used kudzu root to satisfy hunger and treat diseases. According to legend, Emperor Yan Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs and found that this plant could satisfy hunger and detoxify, so he picked its seeds and spread them all over the world. Later generations called it kudzu root. Every late autumn, kudzu vines dry up and fall leaves, and its slurry gathers in the tubers. People dig it out and make powder, which is kudzu powder. Kudzu powder is white and delicate. It is a pure natural, pollution-free, nutritious and health food suitable for all ages. Kudzu powder is easy to eat and can be taken with boiled water. It can also be used to make various snacks. At present, the finished products made with kudzu powder in the world market include kudzu root oral liquid, kudzu root canned food, kudzu root powder mixed essence, kudzu root red sausage, kudzu root bread or noodles, kudzu root vermicelli, kudzu root beverages, etc.

According to measurements, wild Pueraria contains 10.41% total flavonoids such as puerarin, soy sauce, and daidzein; a total amino acid content of 5.21%, including 17 amino acids such as glutamic acid; trace elements such as iron, calcium, zinc, selenium, and germanium. Scientific research in recent years has also found that Pueraria is rich in isoflavones, phytoestrogens, etc.

Shen Jianhua said that from the perspective of modern medicine, Pueraria root can dilate coronary and cerebral blood vessels, increase coronary blood flow and cerebral blood flow; Pueraria root total flavonoids can reduce myocardial oxygen consumption and increase oxygen supply; Pueraria root can directly dilate blood vessels, reduce peripheral resistance, and has a significant antihypertensive effect, which can effectively relieve the "tight neck" symptoms of hypertensive patients. Puerarin can inhibit platelet aggregation; Pueraria root has a wide range of tail-receptor blocking effects; daidzein has a significant antispasmodic effect on the isolated intestinal tract of mice, and can counteract intestinal spasm caused by acetylcholine; Pueraria root also has a significant antipyretic effect and a slight hypoglycemic effect. Shen Jianhua pointed out that modern Pueraria root is often used to treat hypertensive encephalopathy, and is effective in improving symptoms such as headache, dizziness, stiff neck, tinnitus, and limb numbness, and is often used in combination with other antihypertensive drugs.

From the perspective of TCM properties and meridians, Pueraria root is sweet, pungent and cool, and belongs to the spleen and stomach meridians. Its main effects are to relieve muscle and release exterior, induce measles, promote body fluid and quench thirst, and raise yang and stop diarrhea.

Pueraria lobata porridge can cure colds

There are five main functions of Pueraria root. The first is to treat external symptoms, such as body aches during a cold. Pueraria root can relieve muscle sweating and treat external fever, headache, and anhidrosis. It is often used with cinnamon twig, ephedra, white peony root, etc. The most famous one is Pueraria root soup. If the wind-heat symptoms are accompanied by internal heat, it is suitable to be used with scutellaria, gypsum, bupleurum, etc. to relieve muscle and clear heat. The second major function of Pueraria root is to treat the initial onset of measles, fever, aversion to cold, and poor rash. It is often used with cimicifuga, peony, and licorice, such as Cimicifuga Pueraria root soup; it can also be used with mint, burdock, schizonepeta, cicada shell, etc. The third major function of Pueraria root is to treat thirst due to fever and thirst due to yin deficiency, such as diabetes. Pueraria root treats thirst due to loss of body fluid due to fever, and is often used with reed root, radix trichosanthis, and rhizoma anemarrhenae. If it is used to treat internal heat and thirst, it is often used with black plum, codonopsis, astragalus, and ophiopogon, such as Yuquan powder. Pueraria root can also be used for heat diarrhea and dysentery, spleen deficiency diarrhea. Damp-heat diarrhea is often combined with Scutellaria baicalensis and Coptis chinensis, such as Pueraria Scutellariae and Coptis chinensis Decoction; if the diarrhea is caused by spleen deficiency and weak qi, it is often combined with Codonopsis pilosula, Poria cocos, Atractylodes macrocephala, Licorice and other drugs, such as Qiwei Baizhu powder.

In the Qing Dynasty novelist Li Ruzhen's "Flowers in the Mirror", it was praised that "Kuang root is the best for detoxification, and Kudzu powder is the best". According to the "Compendium of Materia Medica", it can detoxify alcohol all over the body, Kudzu root and seeds can detoxify alcohol, and Kudzu flower can eliminate alcohol. The attached recipe also says that if a person is drunk and can't wake up, drink two liters of juice from raw Kudzu root; grind Kudzu flower into fine powder and add it to wine, so that you can drink for a long time without getting drunk. The famous Kudzu flower hangover soup is a prescription commonly used by doctors.

Pueraria lobata diet

1. Kudzu root porridge

Ingredients: 30 grams of Pueraria root and 50 grams of japonica rice.

Efficacy: Pueraria root tastes sweet and cool, and has the effects of clearing away heat and dryness, promoting fluid production and quenching thirst, and lowering blood pressure and blood sugar; japonica rice has the effect of nourishing the stomach and promoting fluid production.

Tips: Wash and soak the japonica rice overnight, put it in a casserole with the kudzu root, add 1000 grams of water, and cook over low heat until the rice is cooked and the porridge is thick. It can be used as a drink and can be eaten warm at any time.

Applicable population: hypertension, coronary heart disease, senile diabetes and other yin deficiency, internal heat, thirst and drinking frequently; can also be used for damp-heat diarrhea, fever disease damage to body fluid and thirst, etc.

2. Kudzu root and crucian carp soup

Ingredients: 50 grams of kudzu root, 150 grams of crucian carp, and appropriate amount of ginger slices.

Efficacy: Pueraria root is sweet and cool in taste, and has the effect of clearing away heat and dryness, promoting salivation and quenching thirst; crucian carp is sweet and flat in nature, and has the effect of strengthening the spleen and promoting diuresis.

Preparation tips: Remove impurities from the kudzu root, wash and slice it, wash the crucian carp, put it in a casserole, add 750 ml of water, and boil it over high heat for half an hour until 250 ml is left.

Applicable people: Mainly used for headache, fever, chills, discomfort in the limbs, body bone pain, anorexia, edema, and difficulty urinating caused by wind-heat and bone fire.

3. Kudzu root and Imperata root lean meat soup

Ingredients: 30 grams of Pueraria root, 15 grams of Imperata root, 125 grams of lean meat, and appropriate amount of ginger slices.

Efficacy: The root tastes sweet and cool, and has the effects of clearing away heat and dryness, promoting fluid production and quenching thirst; the root of Imperata is sweet and cold in nature, and has the effects of cooling blood and stopping bleeding, clearing heat and promoting diuresis; the lean meat is sweet and neutral in nature, and has the effect of nourishing yin and moistening dryness.

Preparation tips: Pick out impurities from the medicinal materials, wash them, add rinsed lean meat, add 750 ml of water, and boil for half an hour until 250 ml is left.

Applicable people: patients with colds and headaches, fever and chills, edema, difficulty urinating or urinary tract infections caused by wind and cold, as well as thirst, stomach heat and vomiting, lung heat and cough caused by febrile diseases.