Red dates (also known as Jujube Fruit ) are very commonly used in soup, porridge, and dessert in Asian countries.
But do you know its benefits especially in the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective? Read the rest of this blog post to find out.
People who are suitable to eat red dates
The main benefit of red dates is that they can help to strengthen the qi in your stomach and spleen. Hence, it is very suitable for people who have a weak spleen, no appetite, loose stools, and low energy.
Red dates benefit the spleen, stomach, and heart (mind). Thus, they can also help to calm the mind and improve sleep quality.
A lesser-known benefit of red dates is that it also used in conjunction with other more powerful tonic herbs in TCM because red dates can protect the stomach and spleen from the overwhelming tonic effect from other powerful herbs!
Thus, red date is a very safe food and tonic to consume (within the limits of recommended dosage)
People who are not suitable to eat red dates
The thermal nature of red dates is warm. Hence, overconsumption of red dates can lead to heatyness and if you are already having a sore throat and dry mouth, try to avoid red dates at the moment.
In addition, people who have phlegm and dampness body constitution are also not suitable to eat red dates! This is because red dates effectiveness are diminished in the presence of dampness. Spleen can only be strengthened effectively if there is no or less dampness in the spleen.
Recommended dosage
The recommended dosage for one person is 6 to 15g. And it is not recommended to eat red dates every day for most people.
How to eat red dates
It is easy to add red dates to your meal. For example, if you are cooking soups, you can add in red dates together with other ingredients to cook. Red dates can be cooked as little as 15min up to 2 hours, so it is flexible to add them in soup, porridge, and dessert.
Just some suggestion that if you are adding red dates to soup, it is better to use a small knife to make one to two slit(s) on the red dates so that the benefits of the red dates can be released into the soup more effectively.
If you are adding red dates into porridge, it is better to remove the seeds inside red dates and then cut them into smaller slices.
Hope you find this post useful!