Eat six of them before and after meals: what are the "six" that the elderly often talk about?

Summary: A vegetable that looks like garlic and also like scallions, why is it called "six"?

Seeing the saying "Eat six before and after meals, and you will not pass by the doctor's door," what everyone is curious about should be this "six," right? So what exactly are the six of? Or does it mean eating something called "six" before and after meals? Does it remind you of that saying, "Three dates a day, and you will never grow old"?

What is "six"?

The "six" in "Eat six before and after meals" has actually been eaten by many people, especially rural people living in places with mountains, who must be familiar with this food. The "six" here is actually the "jiao tou" (pronounced "jiao") that we often see.

What is "jiao tou"?

Jiao tou is actually a fairly common vegetable in the south. It also exists in the north, but is mostly wild there, with relatively little cultivated planting, while in the south there is more cultivated planting. Jiao tou also has several other names. In our area, it is mostly called wild chive, fire scallion, and so on. In some places it is called "qiao tou," especially in the Guangdong region, where it is mostly called qiao tou, and sometimes this vegetable is specifically used during sacrifices. In some places it is also called xiebai, and so on.

Jiao tou belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family. Its leaves look somewhat like small scallions and are hollow. It grows flower stalks, and its flowers look somewhat like chive flowers, with a light purple color. The root is very much like a garlic bulb, but relatively small, about the size of a thumb. It is often stir-fried for eating, or used in soup, or pickled, and the taste is very good in all cases.

What are the effects of jiao tou?

Since the question mentions "Eat six before and after meals, and you will not pass by the doctor's door," this shows that jiao tou has considerable effects. So what are the effects of jiao tou? Jiao tou is a kind of health food. Jiao tou not only tastes very good, but the key point is that jiao tou also has rich nutritional value. Jiao tou contains abundant vitamins, protein, and essential trace elements for the human body such as calcium, phosphorus, and iron. In addition, it also contains substances such as alliin, methyl alliin, and garlic sugar. The nutritional elements in jiao tou are beneficial to the body.

In addition, jiao tou also has certain medicinal value. Jiao tou has medicinal effects such as promoting digestion, removing greasiness, dispersing masses, descending qi, and preventing cancer. Therefore, jiao tou also has the reputation of being the "lingzhi among vegetables," and from this we can see that the small jiao tou indeed has quite a few effects.

How is jiao tou made delicious?

Here is a jiao tou recipe that I personally quite like - cold-dressed jiao tou. Clean fresh jiao tou, cut off the leaves and fibrous roots, dry off the moisture, cut into shreds, add an appropriate amount of salt, and then add chili oil for seasoning. If you do not mind the trouble, you can also splash it with hot oil, and the taste will be even better.

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