One of the things I like most about authentic traditional recipes is their delicious use of fresh vegetables. When I was younger, I used to enjoy vegetables raw from the garden, especially carrots, cucumbers, and string beans. Now I prefer to get my vegetables as part of a savory dish. Eating healthy requires fresh vegetables and fruit. Medical research keeps finding new health benefits to the foods our grandparents ate from their own backyard gardens. (It’s always amusing when the egg heads discover common sense.)
Chinese home cooking includes a lot of natural, healthy ingredients. Almost all of our recipes at My Chinese Home Kitchen include ginger and garlic. Many include scallions, red onions, green peppers, and hot peppers as well. These foods have antioxidant qualities, and some even have compounds that help (or appear to help) our bodies resist COVID.
Onions, Quercetin, and COVID
Quercetin, a polyphenol with antioxidant properties, has been in the news recently for its potential role as a zinc ionophore, helping to move zinc into the cell, and inhibiting the interaction between the SARS-COVID spike protein and the ACE2 receptors on the cell. This is similar to the action of hydroxochloroquine in fighting COVID.
Quercetin is recognized for its anti-inflammatory and other positive immune benefits, and for promoting cardiovascular and brain health. Proponents of the Mediterranean diet noted that many of the foods in that diet contained quercetin. In the Chinese diet, red onions are very high in quercetin content. Other fresh vegetables that are good sources of quercetin1:
- apples
- yellow onions
- green onions
- hot peppers
- coriander leaves
1 https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/80400525/Articles/AICR03_VegFlav.pdf
Further reading about quercetin
- Quercetin and Vitamin C: An Experimental, Synergistic Therapy for the Prevention and Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Related Disease (COVID-19)
- Cardiovascular Disease: A Target for the Pharmacological Effects of Quercetin
- Small molecules blocking the entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus into host cells: “We describe here the screening of Chinese herbal medicine-based, novel small molecules that bind avidly with the surface spike protein of SARS-CoV and thus can interfere with the entry of the virus to its host cells.”
- Quercetin, Inflammation and Immunity: This review focuses on the physicochemical properties, dietary sources, absorption, bioavailability and metabolism of quercetin, especially main effects of quercetin on inflammation and immune function.
- Quercetin and Its Metabolites Inhibit Recombinant Human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) Activity: This study examines how quercetin blocks the interaction of the COVID spike protein with ACE2 receptors on the cell.
The role of ginger in healthy eating
The Chinese have been producing ginger for 5000 years. There are many uses in traditional Chinese medicine for ginger, including alleviating nausea and menstrual cramps. Studies have shown that ginger may have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer benefits. There has been an increase in scientific study to examine the millenia-old word-of-mouth reputation of ginger. A summary can be found in Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd edition.
Health benefits of garlic
Garlic is widely known for its health benefits. Almost every recipe on this site uses garlic as one of the basic ingredients. The Chinese do not like the smell of blood in meat. They refer to it as a “fishy” smell, and they use cooking wine and garlic to remove this unpleasant smell. According to the Cleveland Clinic, garlic has been shown to reduce risk of colon cancer, act as an anti-inflammatory, reduce food poisoning by killing E. coli and salmonella, improve skin, and increase cardio-vascular health.
Hot chili peppers are important in a healthy diet
Jing uses chili peppers in just about every recipe. She’s from Guangxi and hot chilies are common ingredients. According to WebMD, eating hot chili peppers helps people to live longer. Chili peppers are shown to increase metabolism and aid in weight loss, reduce inflammation, even help with migraine headaches.
Hot chilies contain more vitamin C than oranges, without all the fructose of citrus.
The hottest peppers we use are called xiao mi la, and they are similar in size and heat to Thai Chilies.
You must use care when handling hot peppers. Be especially careful not to touch your eyes or other sensitive areas after handling hot peppers. However, if you do get capsaicin (the acid that makes peppers so hot) on a sensitive area, flush the skin with milk. DO NOT USE WATER. Water will spread the pepper acid, but the fats in milk will break down pepper acid. That’s why bleu cheese dressing is served with hot Buffalo-style chicken wings.
Cinnamon and healthy eating
We do not use cinnamon in very many recipes on this site, but it is a very important component of a healthy diet. There are two types of cinnamon, the Ceylon variety from India and Sri Lanka, and the more common Cassia Cinnamon from China. Cinnamon has potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Magnesium and calcium work together to reduce osteoporosis. Cinnamon has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, and anti-diabetes qualities, according to WebMD.
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