"How Much Do You Know About Food Nutrition" Series丨Shepherd's purse is in season. In addition to making dumplings, it can also stop bleeding and lower blood pressure

Shepherd's purse, which comes from the cruciferous family, is widely distributed in my country. The Chinese have a long history of eating shepherd's purse. The Book of Songs says: "Who makes tea bitter? It is as sweet as shepherd's purse." It can be seen that the ancients knew the deliciousness of shepherd's purse very early. There is even a saying among the people that "after eating shepherd's purse, all vegetables are not fresh." Shepherd's purse has high nutritional value and is rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins and other ingredients. It is particularly worth mentioning that shepherd's purse is a natural calcium supplement. Its calcium content is nearly three times that of the same weight of milk. It can be used as a good source of calcium in the daily diet and is very suitable for people with lactose intolerance to supplement calcium.

Shepherd's purse also has high medicinal value. There is even a saying that "On March 3, shepherd's purse is a panacea." Shepherd's purse was first recorded as a medicine in "Famous Doctors' Records" written by Tao Hongjing, a doctor in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Chinese medicine believes that shepherd's purse is sweet and mild in nature, and has the effects of clearing heat and stopping bleeding, calming the liver and improving eyesight, and clearing heat and promoting diuresis. It can be used clinically to treat dysentery, edema, urinary tract infection, red and swollen eyes, measles and various blood-heat bleeding diseases. Modern research has confirmed that shepherd's purse has clear pharmacological effects such as stopping bleeding, lowering blood pressure, promoting diuresis, and reducing fever, and is a very good food therapy product.

Hearing this, some people may think that shepherd's purse is delicious and nutritious, and it can supplement calcium and diuresis, so it is very suitable for pregnant women. In fact, it is not. Shepherd's purse contains ingredients that can stimulate the uterus and cause uterine contraction, so pregnant women should not eat too much shepherd's purse, especially those who have abnormal fetal movement and threatened abortion. In addition, shepherd's purse can relax the intestines and promote bowel movements, so people with weak spleen and stomach and prone to diarrhea should not eat too much.

Here are some tips for buying and cooking shepherd's purse:

1. The leaves of shepherd's purse have very diverse shapes and are difficult to identify, so it is best not to pick wild shepherd's purse in the wild to eat, so as to avoid accidentally eating poisonous plants due to unclear identification. It is recommended to buy shepherd's purse in the market.

2. Choose fresh and tender shepherd's purse without a main stem. Shepherd's purse that has grown a main stem and bloomed is relatively old and tastes bad, and is more suitable for medicinal use.

3. The root of shepherd's purse has the highest medicinal value. If used for dietary therapy, it is not recommended to remove it.

4. Shepherd's purse should not be cooked for too long, otherwise the nutritional components of shepherd's purse will be destroyed. If the cooking time is too long, the color of shepherd's purse will turn yellow, the taste will deteriorate, and the freshness will be lost.

5. When eating it cold, it is recommended to blanch it in hot water before eating it cold. This can remove oxalic acid that can affect calcium absorption without destroying vitamins and other ingredients.

6. It is best not to add too many seasonings when cooking, so as not to destroy the fragrance of shepherd's purse itself.

There are many ways to eat shepherd's purse. It can be eaten cold, made into soup, stir-fried, made into dumplings, wontons, etc. It is delicious and versatile. Here are two simple ways to cook shepherd's purse:

Shepherd's purse and tofu soup: Cut the tofu into small cubes and set aside. Then remove the impurities from the shepherd's purse, wash it and chop it into small pieces. Heat the wok with oil until it is 70% hot. Add the tofu cubes, shepherd's purse, salt, and ground ginger. Add an appropriate amount of broth or water and bring to a boil. Thicken with wet starch and drizzle with sesame oil.

Scrambled eggs with shepherd's purse: Wash and chop the shepherd's purse, mix it with 1-2 eggs and salt, add a small amount of cooking oil and fry until cooked.

This spring, let’s serve delicious dishes made with shepherd’s purse!

This article was scientifically reviewed by Zhang Huiqing from the Chinese Medicine Prescription Teaching and Research Section of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University.