The importance of sour plum drink for energy, cooking techniques for calcium retention, and sufficient sleep.

I'm so tired, I need some plum juice.

Nutritionally, plums are rich in organic acids, such as citric acid and malic acid. Among them, a special type, citric acid, effectively inhibits lactic acid production and removes harmful substances that cause blood vessel aging. High levels of lactic acid in the body are a major cause of fatigue. Therefore, when working late or feeling mentally exhausted, drinking a cup of plum juice can have a refreshing effect, revitalizing muscles and blood vessels. In addition, the acidic substances can promote the secretion of saliva and gastric juices, not only quenching thirst but also preventing motion sickness during travel or helping to sober up after excessive alcohol consumption.

Sour plums contain a variety of vitamins, especially vitamin B₂, which is hundreds of times higher than in other fruits. Although they taste sour, they are alkaline. After eating too much acidic food such as meat, drinking some sour plum juice can help balance the body's blood pH.

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, people with excessive liver fire should eat more sour plums. They can not only reduce liver fire but also aid digestion and nourish the liver. In addition, sour plums are a natural throat soother, gently moisturizing inflamed areas and relieving pain.

"Calcium retention" techniques during cooking

In cooking, the key to "preserving calcium" is to combine meat and vegetables, and beans and grains. When cooking, try to remove factors that hinder calcium absorption and utilization to retain more calcium.

(1) Stew tofu and fish together. Fish contains vitamin D, which can promote the absorption of calcium from tofu and greatly improve the bioavailability of calcium.

(2) Blanch green vegetables such as spinach and amaranth before cooking. In the digestive tract, oxalic acid and phytic acid easily combine with calcium to form an insoluble compound, affecting calcium absorption. When the levels of oxalic acid and phytic acid in food are too high, it not only affects the absorption of calcium in the food itself, but also the absorption of calcium from other foods. Therefore, these factors that are detrimental to calcium absorption should be removed as much as possible during cooking.

Since oxalic acid is easily soluble in water, blanch spinach, amaranth, etc. in boiling water before cooking to remove the oxalic acid before stir-frying them with tofu. This will prevent the formation of insoluble calcium oxalate.

(3) Vinegar is commonly used when cooking meat dishes. Sweet and sour fish and sweet and sour pork ribs are among the dishes that are most conducive to calcium absorption. Vinegar is an acidic food, which can not only remove odors but also dissolve the calcium in fish bones and pork ribs. Fish and pork ribs are high in protein and calcium. In an acidic environment, calcium is most easily absorbed when it is combined with protein. When cooking, you can simmer the fish and pork ribs over low heat for a long time to ensure that the calcium in the fish and pork ribs dissolves more completely.

(4) Soak the rice in warm water first, or make more fermented pasta. Because rice and wheat flour contain a lot of phytic acid, which can form insoluble calcium phytate with calcium, affecting calcium absorption. Therefore, fermenting the flour or soaking the rice in warm water before eating can remove some of the phytic acid.

(5) Stir-fried tomatoes with eggs and stir-fried pickled mustard greens with soybeans are also good for calcium supplementation. Vitamin C promotes calcium absorption, and tomatoes are rich in vitamin C. When stir-fried with eggs, the vitamin C in tomatoes can promote calcium absorption and increase the absorption rate. Pickled mustard greens are also rich in vitamin C, and eating them with soybeans can also greatly improve the absorption and utilization of calcium.

Sufficient sleep is the best medicine for the body.

Sufficient sleep is the best tonic. Why is that? You may have heard the saying, "Food supplements are not as good as medicine supplements, and medicine supplements are not as good as sleep supplements." Indeed, sleep and diet are the most important aspects of health preservation. People consume a lot of energy during work and study, and in addition to compensating through diet, they also need to compensate through sleep. The ancients had a saying, "Taking a hundred doses of medicine is not as good as sleeping soundly," meaning that a good night's sleep is worse than taking tonics.

Sleep is not only an important way to replenish and store energy, eliminate fatigue, and restore physical strength, but also a crucial link in regulating various physiological functions and stabilizing the nervous system. Sufficient sleep can bring renewed mental and physical energy. When extremely tired, even a short 20-minute nap can make you feel as energetic as a car with a full tank of gas.

If a person does not get enough sleep or has poor sleep quality, they will often feel listless, have difficulty concentrating, experience headaches, dizziness, muscle aches, and fatigue.

If a person suffers from chronic sleep deprivation and is in a state of overwork, the body will undergo pathological changes that deplete qi and damage blood, harming the five internal organs. Mental strain depletes blood, liver strain depletes spirit, spleen strain depletes appetite, lung strain depletes qi, and kidney strain depletes essence, thus sowing the seeds for many diseases. This can be proven through animal experiments.

A physiologist conducted an experiment on dogs, providing them with only water and no food each day. The dogs survived for 25 days. However, if they were deprived of sleep for five consecutive days, their body temperature dropped by 4°C. After another 92-143 hours of sleep deprivation, they died. Autopsies of the dogs revealed significant morphological changes in their central nervous system. This demonstrates that prolonged sleep deprivation inevitably leads to exhaustion, a conclusion consistent with scientific fact.

In real life, few people intentionally choose to "stay awake for extended periods," but many, consciously or unconsciously, work overtime day after day, or spend their time online, playing games, watching TV, reading, or busy with social engagements, depriving themselves of normal sleep time and leading to sleep deprivation. It's important to understand that chronic sleep deprivation and prolonged sleeplessness are only slightly different in degree; the only difference is the extent of the damage to health. Therefore, we must make good use of sleep as a "tonic," treating our bodies and lives with care.