What seasonal fruits are good to eat in spring from March to May?
A year has twenty-four solar terms, and each solar term has its corresponding food customs. Spring (March, April, May) has changeable weather, suddenly cold and suddenly hot, sometimes cold and sometimes warm, making it especially easy to catch colds and cough. At this time we can eat some seasonal fruits in season to supplement the nutrients we need. So what fruits are better to eat in spring? What seasonal fruits are there?
1. Pineapple
Spring is when plenty of fresh pineapples hit the market. Pineapple contains almost all the vitamins the human body needs, 16 kinds of natural minerals, and can effectively help digestion and absorption. The secret of pineapple for weight loss lies in its rich juice, which can effectively break down fat. Therefore, you might as well eat some pineapple every day as an after-meal fruit, or squeeze fresh pineapple together with your favorite fruits into pineapple juice to drink.
It should be noted that pineapple can cause allergies in some people, and such symptoms are called “pineapple disease” or “pineapple poisoning”. To eat pineapple, the skin and spines should be trimmed clean, the flesh cut into chunks, soaked in dilute salt water or sugar water to leach out the glycosides, and then eaten. Soaking pineapple in salt water can effectively destroy the internal allergy-causing structure of “bromelain”, thereby removing its ability to cause allergies and losing its toxicity for certain constitutions.
2. Orange
Among the many categories of fruit, acidic fruits contain more vitamin C, and modern nutrition science has unanimously praised vitamin C as one of the antioxidants. Spring weather is dry, and eating oranges in spring can effectively supplement water and vitamin C and delay aging. Oranges also have effects such as promoting salivation and quenching thirst, soothing the liver and regulating qi, promoting lactation, and aiding digestion and appetite, with good tonic benefits.
Oranges are delicious, but do not eat too many. After eating oranges, you should brush your teeth and rinse your mouth in time, so as not to harm the oral cavity and teeth. Do not soak orange peel in water to drink, because orange peel nowadays generally contains preservatives, which are hard to wash off with water.
3. Apple
Apple can be said to be one of our most common fruits. It contains various vitamins, minerals and crude fiber. People with a habit of constipation can eat 1 to 2 apples a day; the cellulose in them can promote gastrointestinal movement, help digestion and defecation, and also nourish and regulate the stomach and intestines. As the saying goes, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”.
4. Strawberry
Spring is the season when strawberries hit the market. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that strawberries have the effects of reducing internal heat, detoxifying and clearing heat. In spring, people's liver fire is often relatively strong, and eating some strawberries can have an inhibitory effect. Strawberries are best eaten after meals, because they contain a large amount of pectin and cellulose, which can promote gastrointestinal movement, help digestion, and improve constipation, and are suitable for conditions such as lack of appetite, post-meal bloating, and constipation.
Choose strawberries of moderate size; such strawberries are usually not “hollow” and are rich in water. It should be noted that overripe strawberries appear partially black on the outside, and it is hard to guarantee freshness. It is best to choose strawberries that are about 80 percent ripe, red but not soft; such strawberries taste best.
5. Mulberry
Spring is exactly the season for mulberries. It is not only a fruit, but also a good spring tonic. Spring weather is changeable, and loss of appetite is prone to occur, while mulberries contain nutrients such as tannic acid, fatty acids, and malic acid, which can help digest food. They taste sweet and sour and are delicious, with effects of improving appetite, strengthening the spleen and stomach, and aiding digestion. Moreover, they can also nourish blood and yin and promote salivation and quench thirst.
To eat fresh mulberries, choose purple-black fully ripe ones, soak them in salt water first, rinse them clean under running water, and then eat them. Mulberry skin is relatively thin, so avoid rubbing hard when washing. Just rinse with running water, then soak briefly in light salt water. In addition, mulberries can also be made into delicacies such as juice, jam, mulberry wine, dried mulberries, and mulberry honey paste.
6. Cherry
Among spring fruits, cherry is also worth recommending. Cherry has long had the reputation of “the first branch of spring fruit”. Its fruit is thick-fleshed, delicious and juicy, and rich in nutrients, with iron content especially prominent, more than 20 times that of citrus, pears and apples. Eating it in spring can strengthen the spleen and open the appetite, and tonify the middle and benefit qi. Eating cherries in spring can induce sweating, benefit qi, dispel wind and promote eruption. Note that cherries belong to fire, so they should not be eaten in excess; those with yin deficiency and hyperactive fire should avoid or eat little of them.
7. Mango
Mango fruit has extremely high nutritional value, with vitamin A content as high as 3.8%, even 1 times more than apricots. Its vitamin C content also exceeds that of oranges and strawberries. Mango contains nutrients such as sugar, protein, and calcium, phosphorus and iron, all of which are necessary for the human body.
The nutrients contained in mango are very rich, among which carbohydrates are as high as 11%-19%, and there is also a lot of protein. In 100 grams of mango flesh there are 2281-6304 micrograms of carotene, and mango contains various trace elements essential to the human body and so on.
In spring the human body's metabolism begins to become vigorous. In addition to eating more of the above fruits to supplement nutrition, in terms of diet it is advisable to choose foods that are pungent, sweet and slightly warm.