Lowering diabetes and blood pressure with river mussels.

Freshwater mussels, or river mussels, are a very popular food during the summer, with many delicious dishes such as sour mussel soup, mussel porridge, stir-fried mussels with lemongrass and chili... In Traditional Chinese Medicine, river mussels are also known as "bang". Both the meat and the shell are used as medicine.

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According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, river mussels have a sweet and salty taste, a cooling nature, and the effects of nourishing yin, promoting diuresis, dissolving phlegm, softening hardened masses, and lowering blood pressure. They are used for people with yin deficiency, fever, pulmonary tuberculosis, diabetes, hypertension, dry cough, insomnia, lower back pain, edema, scanty urination, leucorrhea, vaginal discharge, swollen lymph nodes, thyroid tumors, and jaundice.

Here are some medicinal dishes made from freshwater mussels:

Clam porridge:200-300g of river mussels, 100g of rice. Soak the mussels in rice water for half a day to a day, rinse thoroughly, boil until cooked, and keep the broth. Remove any black grit from the mussel meat, rinse, cut into small pieces, mix with seasonings, and let stand for 15-20 minutes. Sauté onions in oil, then add the mussel meat and stir well; set aside.

Strain the clam broth, add rice and cook into porridge; keep the heat low, stirring constantly to prevent sticking and to thicken the porridge; add the stir-fried clam meat, 1-2 onions, a few slices of julienned ginger, and season to taste. When serving, add a little pepper, chili powder, and chopped coriander. This dish is very suitable for the elderly with hypertension, prostate enlargement, diabetes, etc. For people with high cholesterol causing dizziness and headaches, add wood ear mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms to the porridge, which help lower blood cholesterol and improve blood circulation.

Clam porridge with corn silk:30-50g of river mussel meat, 20g of young corn silk. Simmer until tender, remove the corn silk, add onion and ginger. Treats high blood pressure, headaches, and edema.

Boiled clamsBoiled mussels, eaten with chili peppers, black pepper, and everyday spices, have the effect of nourishing yin, clearing heat, promoting diuresis, and dispersing stagnation. They are good for people with jaundice, edema, swollen lymph nodes, goiter, vaginal discharge, leukorrhea, and diabetes.

Clam soup with chives.

Clam, carrot, and red bean soup:200g clams, 15g Ligusticum chuanxiong, 100g carrots, 100g red beans. Add water and seasonings, cook into a soup, remove the Ligusticum chuanxiong residue, add fish sauce, onions, and MSG. Divide into several portions and eat throughout the day for 5-7 consecutive days. This is beneficial for people with physical weakness, sensitivity to wind, and cold hands and feet.

Clam and chive soup:150g of clams, 60-120g of chives, add water and seasonings to make soup. This dish is suitable for people with pulmonary tuberculosis, weakness, dry cough with little phlegm, night sweats, and diabetes.

According to Health & Life