Peanuts - A valuable food and medicine for winter.

Peanuts, also known as groundnuts or groundnuts, with the scientific name Arachis hypogaea, are a food crop belonging to the legume family that is widely cultivated in Vietnam.

Peanuts are herbaceous plants that grow 30-50 cm tall. Their leaves are opposite, compound, pinnate with four leaflets, each leaflet measuring 1-7 cm long and 1-3 cm wide. The flowers are typical yellow pea-like inflorescences with red veins, and the flower stalks are 2-4 cm long. The Chinese have given this seed names such as "fruit of longevity" and "sugar bean."

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the parts of the peanut plant—the stem, leaves, tubers, kernels, and outer membrane, as well as peanut oil—are valuable medicinal ingredients. These have effects such as nourishing the blood, strengthening the spleen, moistening the lungs, dissolving phlegm, and treating certain ailments like edema in pregnant women, stomach ulcers, and duodenal ulcers. However, it's important to note that people with cold and damp constitutions and diarrhea should avoid peanuts. Eating too many roasted peanuts can also easily cause internal heat (causing discomfort and gnawing hunger). Absolutely do not eat peanuts that are moldy.

According to nutritionists, peanuts are a very energy-rich food, essential during the cold winter months. Here are some medicinal remedies using peanuts:

- Decreased white blood cell count: Cook 10g of peanut kernels and 10 jujubes. Cook 30g each of peanut kernels, Job's tears (coix seeds), small red beans, and jujubes, once a day.

- High blood pressure: Soak peanuts with the thin outer membrane intact in vinegar, seal the jar tightly, and eat after soaking for one week, 10 peanuts at a time, twice a day. Boil 125g of peanut shells in water and drink the decoction, or boil crushed peanut shells and drink the resulting liquid, 10g at a time, three times a day. Boil 30g each of peanut leaves and young peanut stems in water and drink the decoction, one dose per day.

- Bloody urine due to strenuous exercise: 30g each of peanuts and lotus seeds (remove the hard shell and the embryo); boil them, then reduce the heat and simmer until very tender. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and continue simmering. After a while, eat it. Eat once every two days. Take about half a cup of the thin membrane covering the peanut kernel, roast it dry, grind it into a powder, and mix with water to drink 1-2 times a day.

- Anemia: 100g peanuts, 50g jujube, 50g brown sugar; cook until tender and eat once. 30g peanuts, 30g red beans, 30g green beans; 10g brown sugar, 10g white sugar, 10g rock sugar; cook until tender and eat once. 30g peanuts, 30g lotus seeds (shell and embryo removed); 15g goji berries, 9 jujubes, a moderate amount of brown sugar; add 300ml water and cook in a double boiler until tender; eat 1-2 times a day.

- Nocturnal emissions: Take 6g of the thin membrane surrounding the peanut kernel, boil it to make a decoction, and drink it twice a day.

- Rhinitis: Cook 30g of peanuts, add a little rock sugar, and consume within the day. Continue this treatment for 2 weeks.

- Joint pain: Cook 60g of peanut root with a little lean pork until very tender, then eat.

- Stomach and duodenal ulcers: Cook 100g of peanuts with pork or chicken eggs and eat. Every morning after brushing your teeth and washing your face, eat 2 spoonfuls of the cooked peanuts, then have breakfast half an hour later. Continue this for 1-2 weeks and you will see noticeable results.

- Chronic bronchitis: Consume 30g of peanuts in the morning and evening.

- For chronic cough, shortness of breath, and little phlegm: Crush 15g of peanuts and 15g of sweet almonds. Take 10g at a time, add a moderate amount of honey, and mix with boiling water to drink.

- For persistent cough: Boil 30g each of peanuts, honey, and jujube in water, and drink the decoction twice a day.

- For coughs with excessive phlegm: Cook 30g of peanuts until soft, then mix with 30g of honey. Consume twice a day.

- For hoarseness: Cook 60-100g of peanuts (including the thin outer membrane). Eat once a day, or add a moderate amount of honey for better results.

According to Vietnam Agriculture - NT