[Unveiling the Truth: Is Alfalfa Poisonous or Beneficial?]

Alfalfa, commonly known as clover, is a wild herbaceous plant with high nutritional value. It contains rich protein and vitamins. Alfalfa can be eaten as food and used in medicine. But is alfalfa poisonous?

　　[Is Alfalfa Poisonous?]

Alfalfa is a spring vegetable with high nutritional value. Its tender stems and leaves can be eaten. It contains protein, various vitamins, niacin, and minerals. It is usually used for stir-frying and can also be used as a base for dishes such as braised pork. It can also be pickled and made into sauce.

Alfalfa is not poisonous and is mostly used as fodder. It is known as the "king of forage" and does not have any toxicity.

Alfalfa has a bitter taste and a neutral nature. It has the effects of invigorating the spleen and stomach, promoting urination and defecation, treating bladder stones, and promoting blood circulation. It also has the functions of lowering blood lipids, preventing atherosclerosis, enhancing immune function, antioxidation, anti-cancer, and estrogenic effects.

Therefore, eating more alfalfa in spring is beneficial to health. The treatment of urinary tract stones usually requires alkalizing urine, restricting purine diet, and inhibiting uric acid synthesis.

However, it is not recommended to eat too much, as this plant often grows in roadside fields and is easily contaminated. Improper use can be harmful to health.

　　[The Nutritional Value of Alfalfa]

Alfalfa is a high-quality forage that is favored by various livestock and poultry. It has high nutritional value and is suitable for green feeding, grazing, making hay, and silage. It is known as the "king of forage" because of its good palatability.

Alfalfa has a high crude protein content, and its digestibility can reach 70-80%. The types and content of amino acids in the protein are complete and abundant. The content of lysine is 5.7 times that of corn kernels, and tryptophan and methionine are also significantly higher than corn.

In addition, alfalfa is rich in various vitamins and trace elements, and it also contains some unknown growth-promoting factors, which have a good effect on the growth and development of livestock and poultry.

The nutritional value of alfalfa varies with its growth stage. When it is young and tender, it has a high crude protein content and a low crude fiber content.

But as the growth stage lengthens, the crude protein content decreases, the crude fiber content significantly increases, and the stem-to-leaf ratio increases.

　　[Precautions for Alfalfa]

Alfalfa has a long history of cultivation and has high value. It can be used as a vegetable on the dining table, as fodder for livestock, and as a medicine. However, many people now do not have a particularly good understanding of alfalfa.

The edible part of alfalfa is the tender stems and leaves. In spring, pick the tender stems and leaves, remove impurities, blanch them in boiling water, then soak them in cold water to rinse and squeeze out the water. It can be eaten cold, stir-fried, stewed, boiled, used as filling, or steamed.

Because alfalfa belongs to coarse grains, it has a good detoxification effect on our body.

However, wild alfalfa is generally not recommended for consumption, so it is mainly used by farmers to feed livestock.

If it is cultivated alfalfa, it has a good effect on helping our body digest. When feeling weak and fatigued, it can be consumed in moderation. However, it is important to remember not to consume excessive amounts, as it may have adverse effects.