Column Daily-News Variety: ‘Hot and Spicy’ Food made from Herbs and Vegetables to Stay Health during the Rainy Season

During the rainy season, there are many treats to your health. Especially as fluctuation of temperature, common illness such as cold or flu may occur. To prevent and protect your health from such adversities, the use of dietary vegetables and medicinal herbs is significant and so, having cooked healthy herbal food menu also tends to boost immunity and maintain body balance. Assistant Professor Dr. Punyanut Amorndoljai from the Faculty of Integrated Medicine, Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT) as head of research team explained about the use of herbs and vegetables during wet season, “As you know, there are a variety of hot and cold temperament herbs and vegetables grown in Asia, Thailand in particular. One of the most common hot temperament herbs and vegetables found in Thai kitchen is ‘Chili’. There are many different types of Thai cuisines comprising hot herbs and vegetables which possess high medical properties improving digestion and blood circulation including basil, fingerroot, ginger, etc. From the perspective of Thai traditional medicine practitioner, we will be looking at the internal factor and external factor affecting the health body. Regarding internal factor, while our human body is composed of 4 elements: earth, water, wind, and fire, each person has its own primary element within us. However, when we look at the external factors including hot or cold weather, these factors may be the cause of illness, which can’t be controlled. During the wet season, the wind element in our body will take most action thus there is a possible chance of having problem like flatulence. Thus, spicy menu is a good selection. On the other hand, hot temperament food is considered a bad choice during summer since it may create higher body temperature causing body imbalance. In winter, eating food with chili can be a great choice, not only it will warm up your body but it also helps balance your body temperature during the season. Capsaicin is the main bioactive plant compound in chili, responsible for their unique, pungent taste and many of their health benefits including capsaicin extracted gels for neuralgia patients. Chili peppers are also rich in various vitamins such as vitamin A and C. Alongside chili, galangal, lemon grass and bergamot leaf can also be great sources of hot temperament ingredients for food menu since they are easily grown. There are also different types of leaf herbs that could be used as great ingredients with high medicinal properties for relieving flatulence and one of them is basil leaf.

Dr. Punyanut added, “These vegetables and herbs are very easy to grow. You can leave their seeds or plants in your planting area and within weeks you will find yourself ingredients for your next meal. In addition, some herbs can also be extracted as essential oil including lemon grass, bergamot leaf, etc. These essential oils could help you relax well. Mint leaf is another herb that is great for your health. This type of herb help promoted for treating coughs and colds, reducing pain, improving mental function, and reducing stress. Garlic is also great for cooking with varied therapeutic uses. Concerning the pharmaceutical uses, nevertheless, recipes for the treatment should be determined by type of disease, amount of use, and many other factors.

Principal tastes of herbal formulas could be divided into three groups: 1) hot 2) cold and 3) Sukum but subdivided into different tastes such as acerbic, sweet, salty, sour, bitter, etc. Interestingly, tastes of herb could tell a bit about its medicinal properties and if you choose the right one, it is a really good way of treating yourself before seeing the doctor.”

“As I explained earlier, good food at the right season could maintain your health. During wet season, the moisture in the air could lead you to cold or flu, food ingredients like basil, sweet basil, or hairy basil will be there to help you with your digestive system. When you look at Thai spicy salad, you might have seen similar ingredients with Thai medical recipes since they share similar herbs and vegetables including chili, lemon grass, or mint. Besides having healthy food, you should always look for a variety of food to eat and observe yourself. Some of the food might help with you sweat making you feel fresh and relaxed. Even though Thailand has various types of fruits and vegetables ready for you to enjoy, there are still limitation of edibility. Some should be eaten only if you boil it first. Just like the case of Siamese senna leaf, in order to cook the sennas you must boil and rinse first. If not, the sharp bitter taste of the leaf may affect the taste of curry. That is why back in the days, you won’t see Thai people cook sennas right away. There is also another common Thai herb that is used for several types of Thai cuisine including rice porridge, soup, salad, etc., called ‘Pepper’. Pepper would not only be used as food ingredients but it is also used as traditional medicine to help your digestive system, nerve pain relief in elderly. The hot temperament of pepper will help maintain your body temperature balance and sustain good health. There are black pepper and white pepper available in the market. Black pepper is white pepper that had the outer layer removed. In various Thai cuisine, black pepper might not be used as food ingredient because of its color, thus, fresh pepper is used as its replacement. You could cook your food including stir-fried spicy fingerroot or jungle curry with fresh pepper.

You could use galangal or bergamot leaf to maintain good blood circulation as well as stomach problems. While ginger can also be used for making essential oil extract to help relieve muscle pain, headache, and digestive problems. If you combine ginger with plai, you can use them as pain reliever and if you cook them together, you can either make good food and drinks from them. In case you want make a good herbal drink, you can boil ripe ginger with water. The odor of ginger will just freshen you up right away.”

“Even if these fruits, herbs and vegetables are good sources of medical properties, we do not actually eat them all the time. Certain consumption amounts as well as seasonal factors are required for selection. Some might not be good during wet season, some might be great during winter, it really depends on different factors. Sour taste of bioactive foods should be used during cold season, while the cold ones like cantaloupe or watermelon are preferred during hot season. Hopefully, with the right choice and the right time, all of us would stay healthy and reduce the risk of getting sick,” ended Dr. Punyanut.