Talking about Sea Cucumbers in Winter

This is the 2907th article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

Speaking of sea cucumbers, everyone should be very familiar with them. Among the traditional Chinese food ingredients, sea cucumbers are as famous as ginseng, bird's nests, and shark fins, and are well-known tonics. With the general improvement of the living standards of the Chinese people and the popularization of artificial breeding technology of sea cucumbers, sea cucumbers have gradually entered thousands of households and are no longer the rare and unattainable items they used to be. Stewing some sea cucumber soup from time to time for nourishment has become the norm for many people, and now various promotional materials on sea cucumber health care are emerging in an endless stream.

The winter solstice is approaching. According to the announcement of the meteorological department, Shanghai officially entered winter today. Winter tonic is a hot topic for everyone after dinner, so today I will talk to you about whether patients with kidney deficiency and kidney disease can eat sea cucumbers and how to eat sea cucumbers.

The nutritional value of sea cucumber

Sea cucumbers are well-known, but there are not many records about their medicinal value throughout the ages. The earliest record that can be found is in "Compendium of Materia Medica", which records that sea cucumbers can "tonify the kidney and benefit the essence, strengthen yang and cure impotence". This may also be the basis for the later generations to believe that eating sea cucumbers can tonify the kidney and boost yang. The description of "Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica" compiled by Zhao Xuemin in the Qing Dynasty is relatively detailed, saying that "sea cucumbers are warm and nourishing in nature, and are as good as ginseng, so they are called sea cucumbers", and also saying that "the taste is sweet and salty, it nourishes the kidney meridian,..., eliminates phlegm and prolongs life,..., and kills sores and insects". However, judging from this description, the medicinal effect of taking sea cucumbers is not necessarily nourishing.

"Modern Practical Chinese Medicine" records that sea cucumber "is a nourishing product. It is used as a hemostatic agent to treat tuberculosis, neurasthenia and hemophilia-like patients who are prone to bleeding." This record is different from the statements in the ancient "Compendium of Materia Medica" and "Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica".

The specific ingredients of various types of sea cucumbers that can be retrieved are also different. For example, the specific ingredients of edible dried sea cucumbers are: 21.55% water, 55.51% crude protein, 1.85% crude fat, 21.09% ash; the ingredients of water-soaked sea cucumbers are: 76% water, 21.5% protein, 0.3% fat, 1% carbohydrates, 1.1% ash, 118 mg calcium, 22 mg phosphorus, 1.4 mg iron. In addition, each kilogram of dried sea cucumber contains 6,000 micrograms of iodine.

Some studies have reported that sea cucumbers contain active ingredients such as protein, mucopolysaccharides, selenium, and multiple vitamins, which have pharmacological effects such as regulating immunity and anti-oxidation.

Can patients with kidney disease eat sea cucumbers?

1. Patients with gouty nephropathy and hyperuricemia should be more careful about eating sea cucumbers. Although some reports suggest that the purine content in sea cucumbers is relatively low among seafood, it is still seafood after all, and the low content is also relative. For patients suffering from gout, they should still pay attention to controlling their appetite.

2. Patients with renal impairment should also be careful when eating sea cucumbers and pay attention to controlling the amount. On the one hand, patients with renal impairment often have high uric acid, and the protein intake of such people needs to be strictly controlled. Many international and domestic clinical studies have long confirmed that patients with renal impairment should have a high-quality low-protein diet and control their daily protein intake (such as 0.6 g/kg/day). This can effectively delay the progression of renal impairment. A high-protein diet will accelerate renal impairment.

3. For patients with glomerulonephritis whose proteinuria is not controlled, since most of them are autoimmune-related diseases, the protein contained in sea cucumbers, as a foreign foreign protein, may cause the body's immune response after entering the human body, leading to recurrence of the disease. It is similar to what we call "irritating food", so you should be careful when eating it.

4. In addition, as a high-protein food, people with weak spleen and stomach and poor digestion should be very careful when eating sea cucumbers. Eating them may cause gastrointestinal discomfort, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

5. People with allergies should also be careful when eating sea cucumbers.

6. Patients with thyroid disease should avoid it.

So in what situations can sea cucumbers be eaten?

Generally speaking, it is okay for sub-healthy people and weak people who do not have the above organic diseases to eat sea cucumbers occasionally. Sea cucumbers are a delicious and nutritious seafood ingredient because they contain some essential amino acids, vitamins, fatty acids and some trace elements.

Author: Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Gong XuezhongChief Physician, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor