October 23 marks the Frost's Descent solar term. After this period, people often find it challenging to choose seasonal fruits. Generally, during Frost's Descent, the eight fruits mentioned below are the most worthwhile to consume. So, what fruits are best to eat after Frost's Descent?
Fruits for Health After Frost's Descent
1. Pears
Autumn pears are an excellent choice during Frost's Descent. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that pears, renowned as the "king of fruits," possess a slightly cold nature and sweet taste. They promote fluid production, quench thirst, moisten dryness, dissolve phlegm, and facilitate bowel movements.Consuming one or two pears daily in autumn not only effectively combats autumn dryness but also clears heat, calms the mind, and offers therapeutic benefits for hypertension and insomnia with frequent dreams.
Eating pears raw alleviates yin deficiency symptoms like dry throat, itching, sore throat, dry cough, thirst, and hot flashes caused by upper respiratory infections.Juicing pears with a small amount of Sterculia lychnophora, cicada slough, and rock sugar, then boiling and drinking the mixture, moistens the throat and replenishes fluids for those with excess internal heat prone to pharyngitis. Simmering raw pears with rock sugar or honey into a paste creates Autumn Pear Paste, effective for treating lung-heat coughs.
2. Hawthorn
Traditional Chinese medicine holds that hawthorn is mildly warm in nature with sour and sweet flavors. It aids digestion, strengthens the spleen, promotes stomach health, dispels stagnant qi, invigorates blood circulation, and resolves blood stasis. It treats postpartum ear and occipital pain, retained lochia, flesh accumulation syndromes, phlegm-fluid retention with fullness, blood stasis pain and distension, and dissolves blood clots and qi masses.Li Shizhen, the great physician of the Ming Dynasty, noted in his Compendium of Materia Medica that hawthorn possesses three major functions: promoting digestion, resolving blood stasis, and treating tumors. He particularly emphasized its efficacy in activating blood circulation and resolving blood stasis.
Modern science indicates that hawthorn contains hawthorn acid, vitamin C, carotene, flavonoids, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other nutrients, offering health benefits.
Hawthorn berries can lower blood lipids. They help clear blood lipids and treat hyperlipidemia. Hawthorn reduces cholesterol deposits on arterial walls, combats atherosclerosis, and protects blood vessels. Thus, its health benefits should not be underestimated.
3. White Pomelo
The Frost's Descent solar term marks the harvest season for white pomelos in Madou Township, Tainan.The large white pomelo, known as the "King of Pomelos," is regarded as superior to the mandarin pomelo. Hence, the saying goes: connoisseurs eat white pomelo, while novices eat mandarin pomelo. Premium white pomelo offers a sweet-tart flavor, enhanced when dipped in plum powder. Its sweet, crisp, and juicy flesh makes it suitable for those with heat-induced coughs and diabetes. It also aids in relieving hangovers, lowering blood pressure, reducing fever, and restoring energy.
The flesh contains naringenin, neohesperidin, hesperidin glycosides, and sugars, along with abundant vitamin C, potassium, and organic acids. Its nature is cold, sweet, and sour, aiding digestion, quenching thirst, relieving fatigue, and lowering blood sugar. Consuming the flesh provides nutritional benefits and promotes health.
4. Persimmons
Persimmons reach peak ripeness around the Frost's Descent solar term. At this time, they are large, thin-skinned, and sweet—truly at their prime. As the saying goes: "Pick persimmons at Frost's Descent, harvest soft dates at Start of Winter; if you don't pick persimmons at Frost's Descent, hard persimmons turn soft."
Eating red persimmons during Frost's Descent not only helps ward off the cold but also strengthens bones and tendons, making them an excellent seasonal food. An old saying among Quanzhou elders goes: "Eat persimmons on Frost's Descent, and your nose won't run." Some regions interpret this custom as: "Eat persimmons on Frost's Descent, or your lips will crack all winter long."Rural folk climb tall persimmon trees at this time to pick bright, sweet fruits for eating. 5. Citrus 500 grams of tangerines contain 250 mg of vitamin C, 2.7 mg of vitamin A, and the highest vitamin B1 content among fruits.Citrus varieties are vast, including sweet oranges, southern oranges, seedless honey tangerines, and pomelos. All share the virtues of being nutritionally rich and entirely valuable. Citrus juice is abundant in citric acid, amino acids, carbohydrates, fats, numerous vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other nutrients.
The abundant vitamin B1 in citrus plays a vital role in neural signal transmission. Additionally, citrus contains significantly higher levels of carotenoids than other autumn fruits. This nutrient converts into vitamin A in the body, promoting eye health and vision clarity. Citrus also contains antioxidants, anti-cancer compounds, and anti-allergic components. It helps prevent blood clotting and reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke, and hypertension.
6. Jujube (Red Date)
Traditional Chinese medicine classifies jujubes as sweet and warm in nature, entering the spleen and stomach meridians. They function to tonify the middle energizer, invigorate qi, nourish blood, and calm the spirit. They are primarily used to treat spleen deficiency with poor appetite, fatigue, loose stools, and restlessness in women.First documented in the Divine Farmer's Classic of Materia Medica, ancient medical texts praised jujubes for neutralizing drug toxicity and harmonizing medicinal formulas. They remain indispensable in treating spleen-stomach deficiency, qi-blood insufficiency, anemia with cold deficiency, poor appetite, fatigue, loose stools, palpitations, and insomnia.
Modern medicine recognizes jujubes as rich in protein, fats, carbohydrates, carotene, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin P, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Their exceptionally high vitamin C content—exceeding 400 milligrams per 100 grams of fresh flesh—has earned them the nickname "nature's vitamin C pills," renowned for their antioxidant and anti-aging properties.As the folk saying goes: "Three dates a day keep old age away." Jujubes rank among the top choices for frost-season wellness fruits. 7. Water Chestnuts Autumn marks the season when water chestnuts hit the market, beloved by many for their consumption. Nutrient-rich, each 100 grams of fresh water chestnut flesh contains 3.6 grams of protein, 0.5 grams of fat,carbohydrates (24g), niacin, riboflavin, vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and various amino acids. They are regarded as a health-promoting fruit and an excellent medicinal food for autumn tonification. Traditional Chinese medicine suggests that tender water chestnuts are best eaten raw to relieve summer heat and counteract alcohol intoxication, while mature ones should be cooked to boost qi, strengthen the spleen, and treat spleen deficiency-induced diarrhea.However, many people bite through the shell with their teeth when eating raw water chestnuts without disinfecting them, making it easy to contract clonorchiasis. To prevent infection, avoid biting the shell with your teeth. It's best to soak them thoroughly in a potassium permanganate solution before eating, then scrub them clean with water. Cooking them thoroughly also prevents clonorchiasis infection.Water Chestnuts
Water chestnuts, also known as Chinese water chestnuts, are prized as "underground snow pears." With a sweet and cold nature, they clear the lungs, soothe the throat, dispel dampness, and eliminate phlegm. They effectively prevent autumn dryness-induced coughs, throat discomfort, and dry mouth with thirst. Combining them with lotus root juice enhances their benefits.
Besides eating them raw, water chestnuts can also be boiled, stir-fried, braised, or stewed. However, they are difficult to digest. Those with spleen-stomach deficiency-cold, poor digestive function, as well as children and the elderly should avoid excessive consumption. Always peel or thoroughly wash them before eating raw. Since water chestnuts grow in paddy fields, their skin may accumulate toxic biological waste and chemicals, and may even harbor parasites.