Amaranth, Han vegetable, Longevity vegetable: interactions and contraindications, benefits, and whether pregnant women can eat it

When it comes to summer vegetables, amaranth is one of them. Some people also call amaranth “han cai”. There is a saying: “June amaranth is as good as eggs, July amaranth is not to be traded for gold.” Moreover, amaranth has the fine name of “longevity vegetable,” which shows that amaranth is very rich in nutrients. So what can't amaranth be eaten with? What are its benefits and effects? Can pregnant women eat it?

Amaranth (xiàn) cai, formerly named: amaranth, also known as: yan lai hong, lao shao nian, lao lai shao, tricolor amaranth, an annual herb of the Amaranthaceae family and Amaranthus genus, with a thick stem, green or red, often branched, hairy or hairless when young. The amaranth plant is soft and smooth with a strong vegetable flavor, sweet and fragrant on entering the mouth, and has the effect of moistening the intestines and stomach and clearing heat. It is also called “fu kui”, “xie cai”, “xing cai”, and “xing cai”. In some places it is also named “hong mo hu, yun xiang cai, yun tian cai, yu mi cai, han cai, ren qing, etc., and in Hubei, Guangde in Anhui and other places it is called han cai.

Amaranth's benefits and effects

The stems and leaves of amaranth are eaten as a vegetable; those whose leaves are mixed with various colors are for ornamental use; the roots, fruits and whole plant are used as medicine, with the effects of improving eyesight, promoting urination and defecation, and removing cold and heat.

Benefits and effects

Amaranth can supplement qi, clear heat, improve eyesight, smooth labor, and benefit the large and small intestines. It can also promote the growth of teeth and bones, maintain normal myocardial activity, and prevent muscle spasms. It also has the functions of promoting blood coagulation, increasing hemoglobin content and improving oxygen-carrying capacity, and promoting hematopoiesis. It can also reduce weight and cleanse the body, promote detoxification, and prevent constipation.

Eating amaranth has many benefits for the body, for example:

1. Preventing constipation

Rich in cellulose, it promotes gastrointestinal motility, helps defecation, and prevents constipation.

2. Preventing aging

Amaranth is rich in anthocyanins, which help resist oxidation, fight free radicals, and delay aging.

3. Supplementing blood

Amaranth contains relatively rich iron, calcium, and vitamin K, which are beneficial to blood regeneration.

4. Improving immunity

Amaranth is rich in nutrients, containing protein, fat, carbohydrates, and various vitamins and minerals, and its carotene content is higher than that of solanaceous fruits.

5. Clearing heat and detoxifying

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that amaranth is sweet and cool in nature and flavor, and has the effects of clearing the liver and detoxifying, cooling the blood, and dispersing blood stasis.

6. Promoting children's growth and development

Amaranth is relatively rich in iron and calcium, which can promote the growth of teeth and bones. Its contents of protein, fat, and lysine are all higher than those of ordinary vegetables, and it is rich in minerals and various vitamins, providing nutrition for children's growth and development.

Can pregnant women eat amaranth

Answer: Pregnant women can eat amaranth.

Benefits of pregnant women eating amaranth

1. Promoting fetal bone development

The iron content of amaranth is 1 times that of spinach, and its calcium content is 3 times. The rich nutrients contained in amaranth are all relatively high among fresh vegetables. More importantly, the calcium and iron contained in amaranth are easily absorbed and utilized by the human body after entering it. Therefore, pregnant women eating amaranth can promote the fetal skeletal growth and development.

2. Enhancing immunity during pregnancy

Amaranth is rich in nutrients, containing protein, fat, carbohydrates, and various vitamins and minerals. The protein it contains can be more fully absorbed by the human body than milk, and its carotene content is more than 2 times higher than that of solanaceous fruits. It can provide pregnant women with rich nutritional elements during pregnancy, help strengthen the body, and improve pregnant women's immunity.

3. Helping reduce internal heat during pregnancy

Pregnant women eating amaranth has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, improving eyesight, and benefiting the throat. Amaranth is sweet and cool in nature and flavor, good at clearing and disinhibiting damp-heat, clearing the liver and detoxifying, cooling the blood and dispersing blood stasis, and has a certain auxiliary therapeutic effect on symptoms of internal heat and red and swollen throat in pregnant women during pregnancy.

4. Improving anemia during pregnancy

The iron contained in amaranth can synthesize hemoglobin in red blood cells and has the functions of hematopoiesis and carrying oxygen; in addition, amaranth also contains calcium and vitamin K, which can promote blood coagulation, hematopoiesis, and other functions. Therefore, amaranth is very suitable for people with anemia, and pregnant women with anemia can also eat amaranth to improve anemia during pregnancy.

5. Preventing constipation during pregnancy

Amaranth is not only rich in nutrients, but can also help pregnant women prevent constipation during pregnancy. Pregnant women eating an appropriate amount of amaranth can promote detoxification, moisten the intestines and stomach, and prevent constipation.

Precautions

Of course pregnant women can eat amaranth during pregnancy, and pregnant women with anemia can also eat an appropriate amount of amaranth to improve it.

However, amaranth should not be eaten in large amounts. Because amaranth is slippery and disinhibiting in nature and can open the orifices and smooth labor, Supplement to the Materia Medica Yanyi also points out: amaranth, discharges blood and also enters the blood aspect, and is good at moving. This shows that it is best not to eat it in early pregnancy, especially for those with a tendency to miscarriage or a history of habitual miscarriage.

Among the people, amaranth and purslane are often regarded together as the best vegetables for people with fractures and pregnant women about to give birth, but eating large amounts of amaranth has the effect of smoothing labor, so it is recommended that pregnant women still eat less amaranth. However, appropriate consumption by pregnant women at term can also promote a smooth delivery.

Amaranth leaves contain a high concentration of lysine, which can supplement the deficiency in the amino acid composition of grains. They are very suitable for infants, young children, and adolescents to eat, and have a good effect on promoting growth and development, especially beneficial for infants fed with milk, milk powder, and other breast-milk substitutes. They can not only add rich vitamins and minerals, but also help digestion.

What amaranth cannot be eaten with

1. Wasabi

Amaranth can supplement qi, clear heat, improve eyesight, and benefit the large and small intestines. It can promote blood coagulation and hematopoiesis, and can also promote detoxification and prevent constipation. Wasabi is a spicy condiment crop with effects such as reducing fat, lowering blood pressure, detoxifying, and aiding digestion. However, these two foods cannot be eaten together, otherwise they will produce toxins and cause food poisoning.

2. Milk

After drinking milk, it is best not to eat amaranth immediately, otherwise it will affect the absorption of calcium in it, leading to nutrient loss and reducing the nutritional value of the two foods.

3. Soft-shelled turtle

Soft-shelled turtle is delicious and extremely high in nutritional value. It can enhance the body's disease resistance and regulate the human body's endocrine function. It can also clear heat and nourish yin, calm the liver and extinguish wind, and soften hardness and disperse nodules. However, it is not suitable to eat with amaranth. When some of their substances meet, they will damage the stomach, easily cause indigestion, and may even reduce digestive function.

Dietary contraindications

1. Amaranth is cold and cool in nature, so people with a constitution of excess yin and deficient yang, spleen deficiency with loose stools, or chronic diarrhea should not eat it. People with an allergic constitution may suffer from phytophotodermatitis after eating amaranth and being exposed to sunlight. This condition is relatively serious and requires extra attention.

2. People with a history of allergies had best not pick and eat amaranth, goosefoot, shepherd's purse, and other strongly photosensitive vegetables. After eating, the skin may have allergic reactions such as purpleness, itching, burning, and diffuse swelling. Medical experts call this phenomenon “phytophotodermatitis.” If exposed to sunlight for a long time, people with an allergic constitution are relatively likely to be “affected” after eating amaranth.