Dietary supplements for men to combat fatigue and dietary strategies for those who cannot quit smoking completely.
Men's jobs are generally more physically demanding than women's, with the high intensity of physical and mental stress easily leading to fatigue. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), fatigue is primarily caused by imbalances in the functions of the liver, spleen, and kidneys, resulting in an imbalance of Qi, blood, Yin, and Yang in the body. Many foods and Chinese herbs have anti-fatigue properties; using dietary supplements to combat fatigue is a more comprehensive approach that addresses both the symptoms and the root cause.
(1) Foods that can relieve fatigue
To eliminate fatigue, it's essential to regulate the balance of Qi and blood in the body. The following foods have this effect:
①Alkaline foods
Alkaline foods help balance the body's acidity, thus restoring energy. Common alkaline foods include fruits and vegetables such as bananas, cucumbers, and eggplants.
② Foods rich in vitamins
B vitamins and vitamin C are essential substances for the human body. They can quickly eliminate accumulated metabolic waste products and revitalize the body. Beans, carrots, pork and lamb liver, and whole grains all contain a variety of vitamins.
③ High-protein foods
Foods rich in protein, such as tofu, dairy products, beef, poultry, and fish, can replenish the calories consumed by the body in a timely manner, thereby quickly eliminating fatigue.
④ Traditional Chinese medicine
Chinese medicinal herbs such as ginseng, lingzhi, notoginseng, eleutherococcus senticosus, tremella, and donkey-hide gelatin have the effects of replenishing qi and nourishing essence, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, which can increase human activity and eliminate fatigue.
(2) Recipes that can combat fatigue
The following anti-fatigue recipes can provide you with satisfactory results.
① Chicken and Rice Porridge
Ingredients: 1 black-boned chicken, 50g glutinous rice, 45g astragalus, 15g each of angelica and jujube, 3g cinnamon.
Instructions: Boil astragalus, angelica, jujube, and cinnamon in water twice. After boiling for 30 minutes the second time, take 2000 ml of the decoction and cook it into porridge with a cleaned black-boned chicken and japonica rice in a clay pot. Add an appropriate amount of salt.
Effects: 1-2 times per week. It can nourish and strengthen the body and regulate the function of internal organs.
② Eel and Yam Porridge
Ingredients: 1 live eel, 50 grams each of japonica rice and yam.
Instructions: Clean the eel by removing its internal organs, slice it, and place it in a bowl. Add ginger, scallions, cooking wine, and salt, mix well, and then cook it into porridge with yam and rice.
Instructions: Take once daily. It has the effects of nourishing both qi and blood, and strengthening muscles and bones.
③ Ginseng and Spirit Turtle
Ingredients: 200g turtle, 50g ham, 15g each of codonopsis and wheat bran, 10g poria cocos, 6g each of ganoderma lucidum and jujube, 20g each of scallion and ginger, appropriate amounts of chicken broth, salt, and MSG.
Instructions: Cut the turtle into pieces, put them in a large bowl with all the above-mentioned herbs and seasonings, add an appropriate amount of water, and steam in a steamer until the turtle is cooked and tender.
Functions: Tonifies Qi and strengthens the spleen, eliminates fatigue.
④ Double ginseng meat
Ingredients: 150g sea cucumber, 15g fresh ginseng, 250g lean pork, 60g green peas, 60g bamboo shoots, 30g shiitake mushrooms, and appropriate seasonings.
Instructions: Wash the sea cucumber and cut it into pieces; cut the lean pork into small pieces, slice the bamboo shoots, and shred the shiitake mushrooms. Then, put all four ingredients, along with the ginseng and green peas, into a clay pot, add enough water to cover, and simmer until the pork is tender. Finally, add a little MSG, salt, and sesame oil.
Effects: Take 1-2 times daily to greatly replenish qi and blood, strengthen the body, and eliminate fatigue.
⑤ Jujube seed and lotus seed porridge
Ingredients: 20g jujube seeds, 20g lotus seeds, 20g goji berries, 100g of a mixture of japonica rice and regular rice.
Instructions: Wash the ingredients and cook them together with water to make porridge. You can add an appropriate amount of sugar.
Effects: Calms the nerves and nourishes the brain.
⑥ Sweet Wheat and Jujube Porridge
Ingredients: 10g licorice root, 30g floating wheat, 10 jujubes, 100g japonica rice
Instructions: Boil licorice, wheat bran, and jujubes in water three times, then add 100 grams of rice to the liquid and cook into porridge.
Function: Suitable for those suffering from mental exhaustion.
⑦ Goji berries and sheep brain
Ingredients: One sheep brain, 30 grams of goji berries.
Instructions: Wash the sheep brains thoroughly, then place them in a bowl with goji berries, add appropriate amounts of chopped green onions, minced ginger, cooking wine, and salt, and steam until cooked.
Functions: It can nourish the brain and relieve physical fatigue.
⑧ Astragalus Chicken
Ingredients: 30g Astragalus membranaceus, 15g dried tangerine peel, 10g cinnamon, 1 rooster.
Instructions: Slaughter the rooster, remove the feathers and internal organs, and wash it clean. Then wrap the Chinese herbs in gauze, put them in a pot with the rooster, simmer over low heat until cooked, add an appropriate amount of salt to taste, and eat the meat and drink the soup.
Function: It can regulate physical fatigue.
9. Ginseng Glutinous Rice Porridge
Ingredients: 10g ginseng, 50g each of yam and glutinous rice, and appropriate amount of brown sugar.
Instructions: Slice the ginseng into thin slices and cook it into porridge with glutinous rice and yam. When the porridge is cooked, add brown sugar to taste and consume it while it is still warm, once a day.
Functions: It can replenish vital energy, fight fatigue, and strengthen the heart and spleen.
Many men smoke heavily, dozens of cigarettes a day. Men generally don't like snacks, so cigarettes are the snack they "eat" the most in their lives. If you ask a man why he smokes, most of him probably can't give you a definite answer right away. Youthful arrogance, unrestrained exuberance, pain and cruelty, despair and pessimism... a cigarette contains too many stories and emotions of a man.
From a health perspective, smoking is entirely detrimental to health. However, if quitting is truly impossible, try to minimize the harm to your body through diet.
(1) Drinking tea
Some compounds in cigarette smoke can cause thickening of the arterial intima, a significant decrease in gastric acid secretion, and an increase in blood sugar. Tea contains various components such as tea polyphenols and caffeine, which can inhibit these phenomena. Moreover, the diuretic effect of tea can reduce the time that toxins remain in the body.
(2) Eat more foods rich in selenium
Studies have shown that smoking leads to low levels of selenium in the blood, and selenium is an essential trace element for cancer prevention. Therefore, smokers should regularly consume selenium-rich foods such as animal liver, kidneys, meat, seafood, sunflower seeds, nuts, and mushrooms.
(3) Supplement vitamins
Smoking rapidly depletes the body's reserves of antioxidant vitamins, while oxidative substances continuously increase. If vitamins are not replenished in time, peroxidation can occur. Therefore, smokers especially need to supplement with antioxidant vitamins, such as beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Vitamin C, in particular, is a water-soluble vitamin also known as ascorbic acid, which effectively prevents peroxidation and reduces the urge to smoke. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in meat is recommended. Raw carrots and cucumbers are especially rich in antioxidant vitamins. Adequate supplementation with B vitamins, calcium, and magnesium is also important, as these can help middle-aged men relieve stress and reduce anxiety and insomnia during the smoking cessation process.
(4) Eat foods that lower cholesterol
Smoking can increase cholesterol and fat deposits in blood vessels, reduce blood supply to the brain, easily lead to brain atrophy, and accelerate brain aging. Therefore, smokers should eat less fatty meat containing fatty acids and instead increase their intake of foods that can lower or inhibit cholesterol synthesis, such as beef, fish, soy products, and high-fiber foods.
(5) Eat alkaline foods
When the body's fluids are alkaline, the absorption of nicotine is reduced. Smokers can eat more alkaline foods such as fruits, vegetables, and soybeans to lower the absorption rate of nicotine. At the same time, these alkaline foods can also stimulate gastric juice secretion and increase gastrointestinal motility, preventing indigestion, bloating, and high blood lipids, which are common among smokers.