Traditional Chinese medicine believes that pork is neutral in nature and has a sweet and salty taste. It benefits the spleen, stomach, and kidney meridians, and has the effects of nourishing the middle, benefiting qi, moisturizing the intestines and stomach, nourishing yin and moisturizing dryness, nourishing the skin, moisturizing the skin, nourishing gastric juice, promoting bowel movements, stopping thirst, nourishing blood, and producing body fluids. It is suitable for treating symptoms such as dry cough, cough with little phlegm, constipation, qi and blood deficiency, dry intestines, sore throat, thin and weak body, thirst, anemia, weakness, dizziness, and dehydration caused by fever.
In the "Qian Jin Yao Fang", it is said that "pork is suitable for the kidney, nourishing kidney qi deficiency." In the "Ben Jing Feng Yuan", it is described that pork "nourishes the liver and nourishes blood." The "Sui Xi Ju Yin Shi Pu" states, "pork nourishes kidney fluids, fills stomach juice, nourishes liver yin, moisturizes the skin, promotes bowel movements, stops thirst, and helps with emaciation." The "Mu Cao Bei Yao" says, "Pork has a lasting and mellow taste, nourishes the intestines and stomach, produces body fluids, nourishes the skin, and strengthens it." "Ben Cao Cong Xin" states that it "nourishes the intestines and stomach when kidney qi is weak and produces body fluids."
Due to the high content of several key nutrients in pork, many physicians and nutritionists consider pork to be an essential component of many special diets. It provides dietary options for patients with gastric ulcers, diabetes, and liver diseases, as well as high-quality protein for the elderly and children, and the necessary nutrients for patients to recover their health. Fresh lean meat and cured salted pork are both high-quality foods because they can stimulate the appetite of patients.
Pork is an excellent food with abundant nutrients. However, pork should not be eaten excessively, especially for patients with hypertension and arteriosclerosis. Middle-aged and elderly people should also not eat too much pork, especially fatty meat. According to relevant information, for an adult, 50 grams of lean pork and 50 grams of fatty pork per day are beneficial for the body.
With the improvement of living standards, pork is increasingly included in the diets of the general population. However, according to relevant information, frequent consumption of pork, especially fatty meat and pork offal, can lead to higher levels of blood lipids and cholesterol than normal individuals, and the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases is also higher. Excessive consumption of pork can aggravate dampness, phlegm production, and wind movement. Therefore, it is not suitable for people with weak constitution or excessive phlegm and dampness.
It is not suitable for people with phlegm stagnation and stagnant food. It should be temporarily stopped in case of fever, food stagnation, and loss of appetite. It is not suitable for people with excessive phlegm, cough, heavy dampness, and bloating. In addition, pork should not be used with croton, ume, rhubarb, balloon flower, coptis, hellebore, evodia, or cang er zi.
When eating pork, it is important to note that you should not eat pork from sick or poisoned pigs, as well as pork offal and trotters. Smoked, roasted, and cured pork can easily cause nitrosamine contamination, which is carcinogenic, so they should not be consumed for a long time. Repeated heating or thawing and reheating of meat products can produce bacteria toxins and carcinogenic substances such as nitrosamines due to the decomposition and transformation of proteins in the meat, which can harm human health if consumed for a long time.
Scientific cooking of fatty meat is beneficial to health. Edible fat is composed of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Pork contains more saturated fatty acids and less unsaturated fatty acids, while vegetable oil is the opposite. According to modern nutritionists, taking these three types of fatty acids in equal amounts is the most beneficial for human health. If the fat pork is cut into 3.3 cm square pieces and fried in vegetable oil (the ratio of vegetable oil to fat pork is 1:1.5), after the oil is drained, the fried residue is removed, and then a clear mixed oil can be obtained. This oil is semi-solid, golden yellow in color, suitable for cooking both vegetarian and meat dishes, and making pastries that are fragrant but not greasy. This way, not only can the fat pork be utilized, but also the worries about increasing cholesterol can be eliminated.
