Which one is better for removing dampness, red beans or adzuki beans? What's the difference?

Are red beans and adzuki beans the same kind of beans? Many people can't tell the difference between these two beans because the colors are the same. Let's take a look at the difference between the two!

The difference between adzuki beans and red beans

Adzuki bean, also known as red bean, red bean, etc., is the dried mature seed of the legume plant adzuki bean or adzuki bean. According to traditional Chinese medicine, red beans are sweet, sour, and flat in nature, and enter the heart, spleen, and small intestine meridians. They have the functions of strengthening the spleen and replenishing qi, promoting diuresis and removing dampness, and detoxifying and discharging pus. It can nourish the spleen, has a downward and diuretic nature, and is an excellent nourishing food therapy. It is very effective for spleen deficiency and dampness, edema, heaviness and fatigue of limbs, etc. "Shennong's Herbal Classic" says that it "eliminates heat toxins, carbuncles, disperses bad blood, relieves restlessness, and treats edema and muscle swelling." "Compendium of Materia Medica for Food Therapy" says that it "can effectively treat athlete's foot and abdominal edema, disperse qi, remove heat from joints, open the heart pores, and stop frequent urination."

Red beans, also known as acacia beans, are the mature seeds of the legume plant Abrus precatorius, and are widely distributed in tropical regions. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that this product is pungent, bitter, flat, poisonous, enters the heart and lung meridians, has the functions of clearing away heat and detoxifying, removing phlegm and killing insects, and is suitable for sores, carbuncles, swelling and pain, mumps, etc. "Bencao Shiyi" says that it "opens the nine orifices, treats heart and abdomen qi. It stops hot, stuffy headaches, wind and phlegm. It kills all parasites in the abdomen and skin." "Modern Practical Chinese Medicine" says that it "can treat skin diseases such as scabies, stubborn ringworm, etc., in the form of an infusion or paste."

Detailed effects of red beans

1. Diuretic and anti-edema: Ancient doctors often used adzuki beans as a diuretic to treat patients with various edema, including cardiogenic edema, renal edema, ascites due to cirrhosis, beriberi edema, and edema in pregnant women or after childbirth. Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty had a recipe for dietary therapy, which used red beans "cooked with carp, crucian carp, and yellow hen, and could promote diuresis and reduce swelling." From the perspective of modern medicine, whether it is fish or chicken, cooking them with adzuki beans is, on the one hand, a very nutritious high-protein diet, and on the other hand, it has a diuretic effect. Therefore, it is indeed a cure for both the symptoms and the root cause of edema caused by malnutrition and hypoproteinemia, or edema caused by kidney disease, heart disease, and liver disease.

2. Promote lactation: Ancient doctors and the general public often used it to treat postpartum milk deficiency by cooking red beans into porridge or stewing them in soup. For example, it is introduced in the ancient "Prescriptions for Childbirth": "If the milk is blocked, boil red beans and drink the juice." The Song Dynasty physician Chen Ziming also recorded in "Good Prescriptions for Women": "My wife is a vegetarian. Seven days after giving birth, her milk flow was not smooth. Medicines were ineffective. I happened to get a liter of red beans, boiled them into porridge and ate them. She had her period that night." Chen Ziming, a famous gynecologist, used red bean porridge to cure his wife's milk shortage after taking medicine to cure it. This further illustrates the reliability of the lactation-promoting effect of red beans.

3. Eliminate obesity: In the Zen longevity diet practice advocated by a Japanese macrospermologist, it was discovered that red beans are a very good longevity food. Statistics also show that thin people live longer and fat people live shorter. In the Tang Dynasty, Chen Shiliang's "Food Materia Medica" recorded that "eating red beans for a long time will make people thin".

Detailed effects of red beans

1. Nourishing the heart and replenishing blood: In ancient times, Li Shizhen called red beans "valley of the heart", emphasizing the heart-nourishing effect of red beans. Red beans can both clear heart fire and replenish heart blood. It is rich in crude fiber, which clinically helps lower blood lipids, lower blood pressure, and improve heart function. At the same time, it is rich in iron, can promote qi and replenish blood, and is very suitable for heart blood. Keep your hands and feet away from cold in winter.

2. Strengthen the spleen and stomach: The spleen and stomach have relatively strong digestive ability and better absorption. Therefore, people with weaker bodies should intensify their tonic food in winter and make good nutritional reserves for the coming year. Only then will they be energetic and strong and will not get sick in the coming year. Red beans, known as "adzuki beans" in traditional Chinese medicine, also have obvious effects on strengthening the spleen and stomach.

3. Eliminate edema: In addition to being rich in potassium, red beans also contain saponins in their skin, which have a strong diuretic effect. They can effectively improve the swelling of the face and feet caused by beriberi and kidney dysfunction. Therefore, red beans must be used to treat edema.