Ginger soup is a commonly used method in folk medicine to warm the body and prevent and treat colds. It is mainly made by combining ginger with other ingredients to make a soup. Consuming ginger soup with brown sugar at the early stage of a cold has a good sweat-promoting effect.
Ingredients:
Ginger, a suitable amount, and a small amount of brown sugar
Instructions:
1. Take a suitable amount of ginger and wash it.
Tip: It is best to choose fresh ginger for making ginger soup, as fresh ginger has more ginger juice and better cold-expelling effects.
2. Break off a piece of ginger from the larger piece and slice it. The thinner the slices, the better.
3. Pour 350ml-500ml of water into a kettle for boiling the ginger soup.
4. Put the ginger slices or ginger shreds into an enamel pot with the water and turn on the stove to boil.
5. When the water is about to boil (when it is boiling but the steam has not yet come out of the pot), add a suitable amount of brown sugar into the water and stir it with chopsticks to dissolve the sugar. Continue boiling.
6. When the water boils, the ginger brown sugar soup is ready.
Benefits of Ginger Brown Sugar Soup:
The gingerol and ginger ketone in ginger can promote sweating and expel accumulated heat from the body. Old ginger, which contains less water, is especially effective in promoting blood circulation. Adding brown sugar provides additional calories. However, ginger soup is only suitable for treating external wind-cold conditions, and is not suitable for people with heat-induced colds. Moreover, ginger can promote blood circulation, so it should not be consumed if there is inflammation or bleeding.
Considerations based on constitution and timing:
The key to treating a cold is to "eat according to one's constitution and timing." Dietary therapy for a cold should vary according to the course of the illness. Some foods are suitable for regular nourishment, but should be avoided during inflammation or when infected with influenza.
Some people believe that it is important to eat more fruits during a cold. However, this depends on individual circumstances. Eating more fruits can supplement vitamin C, but whether vitamin C can treat or prevent colds is still controversial.
Furthermore, fruit juice or fruit is often cold, which may cause bronchial constriction and worsen coughing, especially if accompanied by fever. Therefore, it is not suitable to consume fruits during a cold. Particularly, water-rich fruits such as watermelon and pear are more cooling, and consuming them may worsen symptoms such as cough, runny nose, diarrhea, and cold hands and feet.
To combat influenza, pears, watermelon, sugarcane juice, coconut juice, and onion and fermented soybean soup are recommended.
When experiencing symptoms such as sore throat, runny nose, thick phlegm, and high fever, it is not advisable to take tonics such as ginseng, angelica, astragalus, and sesame oil, as it may worsen the condition. According to traditional Chinese medicine, cooling fruits such as watermelon and pear have a cooling effect and can be used to "extinguish fire".
