DISEASES? NOT THE MATTER IF YOU HAVE FIGS AROUND

Not only a familiar plant to human, fig is also recommended to be used by athletes because of its highly concentrated source of calories, minerals and vitamins.

Do you know figs may keep doctors at bay?

Health benefits of figs

Recent researches have shown that each 100g serving of figs provides approximately 1g protein, 0.4 g fat, 12.6g sugar, 49mg Ca, 23mg P, 0.4 mg Fe, 0.05mg carotene, 12.3g nitrogen-free extracts and 3,1g trace minerals.

Thanks to its wealth of valuable nutrients, ripe figs are often recommended to treat common diseases such as metabolic disorders and constipation in pregnant women. Crushed figs are also used to plaster on arm and leg ulcers.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, figs are used to flush out toxins from the body, dispel pimples or make a decoction for treating colds and regulating the respiratory system.

Besides, figs are an excellent source of potassium- an important mineral that helps control hypertension and reduce the amount of insulin needed by patients with diabetes who require insulin injections.

Figs are rich in calcium and phosphorus- key elements that help strengthen the bone and lower the risk of osteoporosis. Naturally choked up with dietary fiber, figs can be useful food for people watching their weight, especially those with obesity.

Figs are also loaded with phenols and fatty acids including omega-3 and omega-6 that lessen the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).

Many modern researches have shown that figs have the ability to slow down cancer cells growth.

Some prescriptions from figs

1. To treat dry cough without phlegm: Fresh peeled-off ripe figs 50-100g, rice 50-100g. Cook congee from all the ingredients, divided into several portions to serve within a day. Add some raisins or brown sugar if desired.

2. To relieve pharyngitis: Slice ready-to-eat fresh figs and then decoct for water. Add brown sugar and simmer the mixture until a concentrated fluid obtained for daily use.

3. To clear pimples and sores: Grind dried figs into fine powder and then sprinkle the powder onto those spots. To achieve a better result, one can soak and clean the injured areas in the decoction of figs or fresh fig leaves, then bandage them after drying and applying the powder.

4. To increase breast milk production or aid lactation: 120g fresh figs, 500g pork knuckle. Well stew all the ingredients, add seasonings and then divide into several servings to eat in a day. This recipe is aimed to enrich the blood and nourish Qi for women after giving birth suffering from debility, blood and Qi disorders and oligogalactia.

5. To treat arthritis: 500g fresh figs, 100g lean pork. Stew all the ingredients in 30 minutes for both eating and drinking. Or chop 2-3 cleaned fresh figs and then beat well with eggs to make omelet. A regular use will show amazing effects on healing the joint pain.

6. To lubricate the intestines to relieve dry stool or constipation: Wash and cut 10 fresh figs into halves. Split a small portion of pig’s large intestine into pieces. Well stew all the above, add seasonings and serve within a day.

7. To treat peptic ulcer: Pound parched figs into fine powder. Drink 2-3 times a day with 6-9g diluted in water each.

8. To treat gallstones and nephrolith: 50g dried figs, 10g oriental wormwood, 10g artichoke flower, 10g premna serratifolia leaf, 8g chamber bitter twig and leaf, 8g cornsilk, 12g chicken gizzard lining, 12g yellow turmeric root, 12g large-headed atractylodis rhizome, 10g glabrous greenbriar rhizome, 20g poor men’s ginseng, 8g licorice root, 5 slices of fresh ginger. Decoct all the above in 5 bowls of water until 2 bowls of water left. Filter out the fluid. Decoct 2 more times and take one bowl of fluid each. Mix 4 bowls of fluid together and decoct again for 2 bowls, divided for daily use. Serve constantly in 25 months.