Weight loss through grains and flowers: the benefits of green beans, Job's tears, sweet potatoes, corn, and lotus leaf cactus.

Haricot vert

Green soybeans are plump, unripe soybeans. The skin of the green soybean is green. They are round in shape, with a slightly sweet and salty flavor. They are delicious eaten casually or enjoyed with wine or tea, offering a lingering and fragrant taste.

Based on the color of the cotyledons, green soybeans are divided into two types: green-skinned and green-kernel soybeans, and green-skinned and yellow-kernel soybeans.

Green peas are rich in B vitamins, folic acid, copper, zinc, potassium, fiber, polysaccharides, and high-protein nutrients. Green peas can help prevent cardiovascular disease and lower blood cholesterol, thus also having some slimming effects.

Green beans are an ideal food for menopausal women, diabetics, and those with cardiovascular disease. They are also suitable for those trying to lose weight.

*[Expert Advice]* Patients with severe liver disease, kidney disease, gout, peptic ulcers, arteriosclerosis, or iodine deficiency should abstain from this food.

Job's tears

Job's tears are the kernels of the Job's tears fruit. Also known as five-grain rice, Job's tears, six-grain rice, and Huihui rice, it is a grain with both medicinal and culinary value. Job's tears are widely cultivated in mountainous areas and have a long history of cultivation in my country; the Wuyi Mountains region is a major producer of Job's tears.

Job's tears are highly nutritious and are known as the "King of the World's Gramineae Plants." In ancient my country, Job's tears were considered a natural treasure and were often used in sacrificial rites. In Europe, it is called the "Grain of Life and Health." In Japan, it is listed as an anti-cancer food.

Job's tears contain nutrients such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, crude fiber, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, and iron. It also contains coixol, triterpenoids, and coixyl esters.

Job's tears are a nutritious and refreshing summer food, hailed as a "friend of life and health." Job's tears are easily digested and absorbed by the body, making them effective for weight loss, nourishment, and even medicinal purposes.

Because of its high calorie content, Job's tears can promote metabolism and reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract. It can also prevent fat from accumulating in the stomach. Regular consumption of Job's tears can also improve abdominal obesity caused by chronic enteritis, indigestion, and food stagnation.

Job's tears contain a large amount of fiber and minerals, thus having a good diuretic effect. It not only clears heat but also helps detoxify. Because Job's tears are also rich in amino acids and other nutrients, they have a good effect on lowering blood lipids, helping to eliminate bloating caused by water retention, thus achieving the goal of weight loss. In particular, cooked Job's tears have the effect of strengthening the stomach and aiding digestion. They can effectively regulate the intestines, promote metabolism, cleanse excess oil from the stomach and intestines, and also play a significant role in eliminating excess body fat. Furthermore, Job's tears are especially beneficial for men.

It is highly effective in eliminating lower body obesity.

[Expert Advice] Job's tears can inhibit the proliferation of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells, enhance adrenal cortex function, and increase white blood cell and platelet counts. It is an ideal anti-cancer health supplement.

sweet potato

Sweet potatoes, also known as yams, are botanically called *Sophora japonica*. They were introduced to my country in the 16th century, and their cultivation history is less than 500 years old. Sweet potatoes are sweet, nutritious, easily digestible, and provide a large amount of energy, so they are used as a staple food in some regions.

For example, it is rich in vitamins A, C, and E, as well as a certain amount of B vitamins. It also contains a large amount of carbohydrates, protein, fat, carotene, dietary fiber, and more than 10 kinds of substances such as potassium, iron, and copper.

The trace element thiocyanate in sweet potatoes has a cancer-preventive effect. The dietary fiber and ketones in sweet potatoes promote bowel movements, expelling excess fat and calories from the body. They can also be used to treat sores and anal fissures. Dechloroepidermosterone (DHEA) is a unique component of sweet potatoes; this substance is both anti-cancer and prolonging. It is a steroid similar to hormones secreted by the adrenal glands, which foreign scholars call "pseudo-hormones." It can effectively inhibit the occurrence of breast cancer and colon cancer.

[Expert Advice] Eating cold sweet potatoes can easily cause stomach discomfort. Sweet potatoes produce acid in the stomach, so patients with stomach ulcers or excessive stomach acid should not eat them. Rotten sweet potatoes (sweet potatoes with black spots) and sprouted sweet potatoes can cause poisoning and should not be eaten.

corn

Corn, also known as maize, is native to Mexico and Peru in South America and has a history of more than 7,000 years. It is crystal clear and moist, hence the beautiful name "pearl rice".

Corn contains carbohydrates, protein, fat, crude fiber, vitamins B1, B2, and B2, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, selenium, iron, etc. Its protein and fat content is higher than that of rice, and it contains a unique collagen protein of up to 30%. Corn oil has high nutritional value, containing oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, etc.

Corn is recognized worldwide as a golden health food. It contains abundant nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, selenium, lecithin, linoleic acid, fiber, and vitamin E, offering comprehensive health benefits. It can accelerate gastrointestinal motility, reduce cholesterol absorption, and prevent coronary heart disease and arteriosclerosis. It can also absorb some glucose from the body to alleviate diabetes. Furthermore, it can help eliminate cancer risks, meeting various requirements for a weight-loss food. Moreover, it contains the longevity factor glutathione. With the participation of enzymes, it can generate glutathione peroxidase, a component that has anti-aging and anti-senescence effects.

Corn contains dietary fiber, which stimulates gastrointestinal motility, accelerates fecal excretion, and aids in weight loss. It can also help prevent constipation, enteritis, and colon cancer.

The natural vitamin E in corn has the effects of protecting the skin, promoting blood circulation, lowering serum cholesterol, preventing skin lesions, and delaying aging. It can also reduce arteriosclerosis and brain function decline.

The nutrients in corn germ can enhance metabolism and regulate the nervous system, resulting in smooth, delicate skin and inhibiting or delaying the formation of wrinkles.

[Expert Tip] Corn is more effective when cooked.

**5-Minute Floral Slimming Treatment**

Flowers have been known for their slimming effects since ancient times; for example, lotus leaves and cacti are believed to have slimming properties. So, which flowers are most effective for slimming? Which flowers are easiest to eat? Please take 5 minutes to find out.

lotus leaf

Lotus leaves are neutral in nature and bitter in taste. They contain lotusine, nuciferine, protonuciferine, quercetin, and lotus flavonoids.

Lotus leaves can be used in summer to achieve good slimming, beauty, and weight loss effects. This is because lotus leaves have the functions of clearing heat and promoting diuresis, strengthening the spleen and stomach, dispersing blood stasis and stopping bleeding. They can treat summer heat, chest tightness, diarrhea and various bleeding disorders, as well as leukorrhea in gynecology, and can also be used as an adjunct treatment for obesity.

Lotus leaves have a certain blood pressure lowering effect. They are not only a natural tonic, but also have medicinal value. They are especially suitable for consumption in summer.

Wash fresh lotus leaves and decoct them into a soup. Then, use the lotus leaf soup to cook porridge with rice and rock sugar. This can be served as a snack or a refreshing summer drink. When eaten warm, it can help to "scrape away excess oil," clear heat and dampness, promote the upward movement of clear yang, stop bleeding, lower blood pressure, and lower blood lipids. It is suitable for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and symptoms such as dizziness, chest tightness, thirst, and dark urine caused by summer heat.

The best season for harvesting lotus leaves is from June to September, when you can find large, intact, green, and spotless leaves. Lotus leaves can be used to make a variety of dishes, such as: steamed pork with lotus leaves, winter melon soup with lotus leaves, lotus leaf porridge, steamed chicken with lotus leaves, smoked silver carp with lotus leaves, eight-treasure rice with lotus leaves, quail slices with lotus leaves, frogs playing with lotus leaves, slimming soup with lotus leaves, and mung bean and lotus leaf tea.

[Expert Tip] The Chinese Medicine Dictionary (Essentials of Diagnosis and Treatment) records: "Taking lotus leaves as a supplement can make one thin and weak; taking them alone can also reduce fat and eliminate edema."

**cactus**

Edible cacti are a type of cactus whose fleshy stems can be eaten as vegetables, and whose seeds can be eaten fresh as fruits. Their morphological characteristics include fleshy, green stems, segmented growth, and no or almost no spines. The stem segments are flattened.

Edible cacti are only recently being cultivated in my country. They were introduced from Mexico by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1997. After adaptability training and variety selection, their cultivation began to be promoted.

Edible cacti are rich in vitamin B1, vitamin B2, carotene, and trace elements such as iron and zinc, as well as various amino acids, minerals, proteins, and fiber.

Cactus contains various essential amino acids and trace elements, as well as valuable components such as *Echinopsis pilosula*, *Hylocereus undatus*, and *Hibiscus mutabilis*, which can enhance the body's immunity. It not only has effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, strengthening the stomach and spleen, and soothing the throat and lungs, but also has significant effects on slimming, beauty, and weight loss.

Cactus has significant therapeutic effects on many diseases, such as liver cancer and bronchitis. Cactus also has the effects of lowering blood sugar, blood lipids, and blood pressure. Eating one slice of cactus daily can eliminate excess sugar, cholesterol, and fat in the body, promoting blood circulation, clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing fat and slimming the body, and promoting metabolism.

Cacti also contain a substance called malonic acid, which has an inhibitory effect on fat growth and can be used for weight loss.

[Expert Advice] People with weak spleen and stomach should eat less. Cactus is bitter and cold in nature, and has excellent heat-clearing and detoxifying effects; however, excessive consumption can lead to diarrhea. Wild and ornamental cacti should not be eaten casually, as they contain a certain amount of toxins and anesthetics, and not only do they have no therapeutic effects, but they can also cause nerve paralysis.