Chestnuts (Chinese Chestnuts) Explained: Benefits, Uses, and Who Should Avoid Eating Them Raw or Cooked
It is chestnut season again, and the streets and alleys are filled with the fragrant smell of roasted chestnuts. Chestnuts can be eaten boiled, roasted, stir-fried and in many other ways. Besides being delicious, chestnuts also have good medicinal value. So what are the benefits and uses of chestnuts? Is it better to eat them raw or cooked?
I. Benefits and Uses of Chestnuts
Chestnut is a specialty of China and has long enjoyed the reputation of “king of dried fruits”, and it is grown in many parts of China. Chestnuts are sweet in taste and warm in nature, entering the spleen, stomach and kidney meridians, and are rich in protein, fat and other nutrients. It is understood that chestnuts have the following 6 major benefits and uses:
1. Chestnuts help boost qi and strengthen the spleen: Chestnuts are sweet in taste and warm in nature; they enter the kidney, spleen and stomach meridians. Experts point out that chestnuts have a relatively high carbohydrate content, can supply the body with more heat energy, and can help fat metabolism, so chestnuts have the effect of boosting qi and strengthening the spleen, and tonifying the stomach and intestines.
2. Chestnuts help prevent cardiovascular disease: Chestnuts contain large amounts of starch, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins and many other nutrients, and eating them in moderation has a certain supportive effect on preventing cardiovascular disease.
3. Chestnuts help relieve mouth ulcers: Chestnuts are rich in vitamin B and riboflavin. If you have mouth ulcers, eating a moderate amount of raw chestnuts can help relieve the condition very well.
4. Chestnuts help relieve pain and stop bleeding: Mash raw chestnuts and apply them to the affected area to treat bruises, swelling and pain of muscles and bones, with pain-relieving and bleeding-stopping effects.
5. Chestnuts help improve the body's condition: Chestnuts contain large amounts of various nutrients needed by the human body. Taking chestnuts regularly can improve the body's immunity very well and improve the body's condition.
6. Chestnuts help relieve discomfort from kidney deficiency: According to ancient medical books, eating 7 chestnuts on an empty stomach every day and then eating pork kidney porridge has a certain supportive effect on relieving kidney deficiency.
II. Who Should Not Eat Chestnuts?
1. People who are obese and people who control their blood sugar are not suited to eating chestnuts
Chestnuts have a high starch content and more carbohydrates. Obese people can eat them as a staple food, but must never eat a large amount after a meal, otherwise it is very easy to eat too much and gain weight. Generally, eating 7 to 8 medium-sized chestnuts is enough. If you want to eat more chestnuts, you can put them in dishes, such as chestnut stewed chicken, but be sure to remember to eat a little less staple food, or you can skip the staple food. Secondly, people with diabetes should eat chestnuts in moderation and should not eat too many.
2. People with poor digestion are not suited to eating chestnuts
Chestnuts are a gas-producing food, and eating too many can easily cause bloating. If your digestion is poor, for example if you have indigestion, gastroesophageal reflux, or are prone to bloating and acid reflux, you should not eat too many. Generally, eating once a day, 7 to 8 medium-sized ones, is enough.
III. Is It Better to Eat Chestnuts Raw or Cooked?
Traditional Chinese medicine holds that chestnuts are sweet in taste and warm in nature, entering the spleen, stomach and kidney. There are two ways to eat chestnuts: raw and cooked: eating them raw tonifies the kidney, and eating them cooked strengthens the spleen.
1. Eating raw tonifies the kidney: Sun Simiao of the Tang Dynasty believed that chestnut is “the fruit of the kidney, and should be eaten in kidney disease”. In “Qianjin · Food Therapy” it is recorded: “Eaten raw, it greatly treats inability to move the waist and legs.” Therefore, eating chestnuts raw has a certain supportive effect on kidney deficiency and sore waist and legs, and also has the effect of stopping bleeding.
It is recommended that middle-aged and elderly people develop the habit of eating 5 to 10 air-dried raw chestnuts every morning and evening. Note that elderly people have poor digestion, so chew the chestnuts carefully in the mouth until they become a slurry with no gritty texture, then swallow little by little.
2. Eating cooked strengthens the spleen: Chestnuts are sweet in taste and warm in nature, and eating them cooked can relieve spleen deficiency. Steam or boil chestnuts and grind them into powder to make cakes, suitable for children who are rather thin and have anorexia or refuse to eat; or cook chestnuts with japonica rice into porridge, suitable for elderly people with indigestion and qi deficiency and fatigue.
From the above introduction, there is no distinction of better or worse between eating chestnuts raw and cooked; rather, it should be judged according to your own specific situation. People with spleen and stomach deficiency and cold should not eat chestnuts raw. Raw chestnuts are hard to digest, and cooked ones easily fill you up, so do not eat too many at one time.
IV. How to Peel Chestnuts?
1. Put raw chestnuts in a ventilated and dry place for a few days before eating them. At this time the chestnuts will be sweeter and easier to peel.
2. Use a knife to make a small cut in the middle of the raw chestnut, put it in salt water and boil for 5 minutes, then take it out, and while it is hot remove the shell and skin.
Conclusion: Many people like to treat chestnuts as nuts, as a snack. In fact, chestnuts are low in fat and high in starch, very suitable for replacing white rice, noodles and other staple foods, and their nutritional value is higher than that of ordinary grains. However, note that although chestnuts are delicious, they should also be eaten in moderation.