Kidney deficiency is a common problem that often troubles men. Kidney deficiency can be divided into two types: kidney yang deficiency and kidney yin deficiency. Typical symptoms of kidney yin deficiency include hot flashes, night sweats, dry mouth and throat, nocturnal emission, and premature ejaculation. Symptoms of kidney yang deficiency include sore and weak lower back and knees, easy fatigue, cold extremities, and aversion to cold. However, kidney yin deficiency or kidney yang deficiency only occur when kidney deficiency has developed to a certain degree. Most people only have a slight deficiency of kidney qi, far from reaching the level of kidney yin deficiency or kidney yang deficiency. Men with kidney deficiency can regulate it through diet, and sea cucumber is a good food for kidney tonification. Below are two common dietary methods: sea cucumber porridge and sea cucumber lamb soup:
Dietary Method One: Sea Cucumber Porridge
Soak 50g of dried sea cucumber in water and chop it into small pieces. Add 100g of glutinous rice and cook them together to make porridge. After it is cooked, season it with spring onions, ginger, and salt. It has the functions of tonifying kidney, nourishing essence, nourishing yin, and replenishing blood. It is suitable for people with weak constitution caused by kidney deficiency and symptoms such as sore and weak lower back and knees, insomnia, and night sweats.
Dietary Method Two: Sea Cucumber Lamb Soup
Soak 20g of dried sea cucumber in water and cut 100g of lamb into thin slices. Boil water and add spring onions and ginger. Then add sea cucumber and lamb. After they are cooked, season it and it is ready to be served. Lamb itself has a certain effect of tonifying the kidney. When combined with sea cucumber, the effect is not only doubled, but it also does not cause excessive internal heat.
Choosing Sea Cucumber
Sea cucumber can be divided into thorn sea cucumber and smooth sea cucumber. Generally, high-quality sea cucumber has a plump appearance, heavy texture, bright color, thin skin, thick flesh, and smooth and elastic texture after being soaked in water. It has no peculiar smell or sand. Thorn sea cucumber and flower sea cucumber are examples of good quality sea cucumber. On the other hand, poor quality sea cucumber has a dark skin, peculiar smell, and feels rough when touched. Careful identification is required when purchasing.
Preparing Sea Cucumber
When consuming sea cucumber, soak it in boiling water for 24 hours until it becomes soft. Cut open the belly, remove the internal organs, and wash it before cooking. It is important not to discard the tendons, as they have high nutritional value and can be used to make soup. The water for soaking sea cucumber must be cold and clean. Sea cucumber soaked in such water is not only large in size but also easier for the body to absorb. The container for soaking sea cucumber should be clean and should not be contaminated with oil, alkali, alum, salt, etc. Oil, alkali, and alum can easily cause sea cucumber to rot and dissolve, while salt makes it difficult for sea cucumber to fully absorb water. The water level should be enough to cover the sea cucumber. After soaking, sea cucumber can be stored in the refrigerator.
Benefits of Sea Cucumber
In traditional Chinese medicine, sea cucumber is considered to have a sweet, salty, and warm nature. It has the functions of tonifying the kidney, nourishing essence, and replenishing blood. Sea cucumber is regarded as a good food therapy for tonifying the kidney and strengthening yang, comparable to ginseng. Regular consumption of sea cucumber has a good effect on symptoms such as emaciation, nocturnal emission, impotence, sore and weak lower back and knees, and decreased sexual function caused by kidney deficiency in men.
Although sea cucumber has good nourishing effects, it takes a long time to have an effect. It is not possible to see immediate results by eating it only once or twice. However, sea cucumber is not suitable for everyone.
Suitable Population
Sea cucumber has a slippery and greasy nature, so it is not suitable for people with dampness in the spleen and stomach, excessive phlegm, thick and greasy tongue coating, as well as those with gastrointestinal infections and very young children. Sea cucumber is rich in protein, so excessive consumption at one time is not recommended as it may be difficult to digest. It is also not suitable to be consumed together with licorice in traditional Chinese medicine.
Precautions
The key to eating sea cucumber lies in removing the fishy smell and controlling the cooking time. Sea cucumber needs to have the fishy smell removed in order to bring out its freshness. The cooking time should be appropriate, as too long or too short will affect the taste. When preparing sea cucumber, you can put the whole live sea cucumber into boiling water with rice water. Take it out, rinse it clean, and remove the internal organs. Put the sea cucumber into the boiling rice water for the second time, steam it over low heat for about four to five minutes, then remove it and drain the water. It can be directly cooked after that.
