Hawthorns are loved for their sweet, tart taste which can improve the appetite, help digestion and aid in weight reduction. This fruit is also an important component of many traditional Chinese medicines.
Well the following are some simple ways to use the fruit as a daily healthcare food and medicine.
To relieve the suffering of indigestion caused by overeating, take three to four hawthorns or drink a cup of hawthorn tea to ease the discomfort. The fruit can stimulate the release of digestive ferment in the stomach and also with a special ferment in the fruit, it can help break down fat.
Steamed hawthorns
Prepare 12 fresh hawthorns and steam for 20 minutes. Discard the seeds and eat four of the fruit three times a day. Eat this cooked fruit everyday to prevent and cure high blood pressure. Besides, it can also control fat in blood.
Hawthorns and lotus leaf porridge
Prepare 15 grams of hawthorns, fresh or dried, 100 grams of sticky rice and 12 grams of lotus leaves in slices. Cook the rice into porridge and add the other two ingredients until soft.
( Shanghai Star March 4, 2002)