Jujube, also known as large date, has been praised in Wang Anshi's poem “Fu Zao” with lines like “Wind-wrapped in red silk, daily pearls crease red jade.” Jujubes symbolize auspiciousness and happiness, making them a must-have at ceremonial events. For example, placing jujubes and peanuts on newlyweds' beds suggests an early birth of a noble child.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) prescriptions, jujube is one of the most commonly used herbs that can also be consumed as food. TCM believes that jujube has a sweet taste and warm nature, targeting the spleen, stomach, and heart meridians. It is effective for tonifying the middle energizer, nourishing blood, and calming the spirit, often used to treat conditions such as spleen and stomach weakness, deficiency of qi and blood, poor appetite and loose stools, fatigue and weariness, palpitations and insomnia, women's emotional distress, and disharmony between nutritive and defensive qi. The herb can be effective when used alone, as seen in the formula from “Zhengzhi Zhunsheng” which treats emotional distress by burning jujubes to retain their properties and then brewing them with rice water. Emotional distress is often related to insufficient yin in the heart and excessive heart fire, as well as insufficiency of heart qi, so jujube is frequently combined with wheat and licorice, as in the Ganmai Dazao Decoction from “Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders.” Additionally, jujube can protect stomach qi and mitigate the toxicity of other herbs, as demonstrated in the Shi Zao Decoction from “Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders.” Modern pharmacological studies have confirmed that jujubes can enhance muscle strength, increase body weight, increase secretion of digestive fluids, protect the liver, and have sedative and hypnotic effects.
While jujubes are a healthful fruit, due to their high sugar content, they are not suitable for people with diabetes, severe constipation, or significant internal heat. “Sui Xi Ju Yin Shi Pu” states: “Excessive consumption can cause bloating, diarrhea, and thirst, all of which are detrimental… Children, postpartum women, and those with febrile diseases, summer heat illnesses, jaundice, edema, malnutrition, phlegm stagnation should avoid them.”
In daily life, jujubes can be eaten as snacks, brewed into tea, or added to porridge or soups. Below are three recommended jujube health recipes for your reference.
Jujube and Green Onion Soup
Ingredients: 20 jujubes, 7 green onions.
Preparation: Wash the jujubes and place them in a pot with an appropriate amount of water. Boil for 20 minutes. Wash the green onions and add them. Continue cooking over low heat for another 10 minutes before eating.
Efficacy: Tonifies the heart and spleen, nourishes blood, and calms the spirit.
Jujube and Mint Porridge for Relieving Depression
Ingredients: 15 jujubes, 6 grams of mint, 30 grams of wheat, 150 grams of glutinous rice.
Preparation: Wash the jujubes, remove the pits, and cut them into pieces. Brew the mint in water, strain out the leaves and keep the broth. Rinse the wheat and glutinous rice and place them in a pot with the mint broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, add the jujube pieces, and then simmer until it becomes a porridge.
Efficacy: Relieves liver depression, tonifies the spleen, and calms the spirit.
Jujube and Peanut Drink
Ingredients: 100 grams of peanuts, 10 jujubes, an appropriate amount of rock sugar.
Preparation: Soak the peanuts in lukewarm water for half an hour, then remove the outer skin (peanut coat). Wash the jujubes and add them along with the peanut coats to a pot with an appropriate amount of water. Simmer for half an hour. Remove the peanut coats and add rock sugar. Drink as a tea.
Efficacy: Nourishes blood to stop bleeding, tonifies deficiency, and strengthens the spleen.
Author: Yang Xiaoming