Mustard Greens: Benefits, Effects and Nutritional Value, Dietary Taboos and Correct Ways to Eat Them

Mustard greens are a famous specialty vegetable of China, rarely cultivated in European and American countries, and originated in Asia. Mustard greens are rich in high nutritional value, so do you know what kind of vegetable mustard greens are? What benefits, effects and nutritional value do mustard greens have? How exactly should mustard greens be eaten?

1. What kind of vegetable are mustard greens?

Mustard greens are an annual or biennial herb of the Brassica genus in the cruciferous family, and are a famous specialty vegetable of China. Mustard greens are very rich in vitamins. Their specific benefits include refreshing the mind and sharpening the senses; mustard greens contain a large amount of ascorbic acid, a highly active reducing substance that participates in the body's important oxidation-reduction processes, can increase the oxygen content in the brain, stimulate the brain's use of oxygen, and has the effect of refreshing the mind and relieving fatigue.

Cultivated throughout China. The leaves are salted for eating; the seeds and the whole plant are used medicinally, able to resolve phlegm and calm wheezing, reduce swelling and relieve pain; the seeds ground into powder are called mustard, used as a seasoning; the oil pressed from them is called mustard oil; this species is an excellent nectar plant.

2. Benefits and effects of mustard greens

Warm in nature, pungent in taste. It enters the lung, stomach and kidney meridians; has the effect of diffusing lung qi and resolving phlegm, warming the middle and regulating qi; mainly treats internal excess of cold fluids, cough with stagnant phlegm, and fullness and stuffiness in the chest and diaphragm. Also for conditions such as impaired hearing and vision, swollen and festering gums, cold abdominal pain, and constipation.

3. What nutritional value do mustard greens have?

1. Refreshes the mind and sharpens the senses

Mustard greens contain a large amount of reducing substances such as vitamin A, B-group vitamins, vitamin C and vitamin D, as well as a large amount of ascorbic acid, which is also a highly active reducing substance and participates in the body's important oxidation-reduction processes. Mustard greens can increase the oxygen content in the brain, stimulate the brain's use of oxygen, and have the effect of refreshing the mind and relieving fatigue.

2. Enhances immunity

The vitamins in mustard greens can inhibit the toxicity of bacterial toxins, promote wound healing, fight infection and prevent the occurrence of disease, and can be used to assist in the treatment of infectious diseases, with the effect of detoxifying and reducing swelling.

3. Improves eyesight: mustard greens contain carotene and have the benefit of improving eyesight. If you feel eye fatigue or have eye conditions, you can eat mustard greens.

4. Warms the middle and resolves phlegm: mustard greens have the effect of warming the middle and boosting qi, and diffusing lung qi and resolving phlegm, with very good results for relieving deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach and chest tightness with cough.

5. Stimulates appetite and aids digestion, relieves constipation: pickled mustard greens have a special flavor, can promote gastrointestinal digestive function, boost appetite, and help digestion. Also, because mustard greens contain a large amount of dietary fiber, they have the effect of preventing and treating constipation, and are especially suitable for the elderly and patients with habitual constipation.

4. Dietary taboos of mustard greens

Mustard greens are often made into various pickled foods, and after pickling the salt content increases greatly, so patients with high blood pressure and vascular sclerosis should eat pickled mustard greens sparingly.

Mustard greens cannot be eaten together with crucian carp. Crucian carp is sweet and warm, with the effect of reducing swelling and resolving heat toxins, while mustard greens are pungent and are mostly pickled into pickled mustard tuber for eating. Pickled mustard greens are heavy in salty taste, and eating them with crucian carp will produce some irritating substances, leading to dysfunction of the lungs and kidneys and causing edema. Pickled mustard greens have a high salt content, so patients with edema and people with poor kidney function should eat them sparingly to avoid increasing the burden on the kidneys.

5. How exactly should mustard greens be eaten?

There are also many finer points to the ways of eating mustard greens. Putting a little mustard green in a salad will add some spiciness, and it should be avoided in excess because its texture is coarse and its flavor is strong. To remove some of the flavor, you can blanch it in boiling water before cooking. Mustard greens can be paired with barley, black rice, buckwheat, potatoes and beans, and also taste quite good made with sauce or bread paste. Mustard greens can be cooked by steaming, boiling or stir-frying. After pickling, mustard greens taste delicious, can increase appetite, and promote gastrointestinal digestive function. Adding mustard greens when making soup can give the dish a slight spiciness. Mustard green tubers contain dietary fiber, which can promote gastrointestinal peristalsis. In addition, mustard greens are an excellent food therapy for eye patients.