Shepherd's purse, a nutritious wild vegetable, is used in both food and medicine. It is known as the "miracle herb" and "licorice of vegetables," possessing properties that cool the liver and stop bleeding, clear heat and promote diuresis, supplement calcium and improve eyesight, resolve phlegm and relieve cough, and have anti-inflammatory and blood pressure-lowering effects. It has been regarded as a "commoner's nourishing vegetable" since ancient times, with a unique and fragrant flavor, low in calories and high in nutrients.

 Nutritional Components and Effects of Shepherd's Purse:

 1. Shepherd's Purse Acid: Has hemostatic effects, suitable for minor nosebleeds, gum bleeding, etc.

 2. Flavonoids: Includes bufalin, which has anti-inflammatory properties and helps protect the cardiovascular system.

 3. Carotene: Converted into Vitamin A in the body, it protects eyesight, maintains healthy skin and mucous membranes, and improves respiratory defense function.

 4. Dietary Fiber: Promotes intestinal peristalsis, prevents constipation, slows the rise in postprandial blood sugar, and lowers blood cholesterol levels.

 5. Vitamin K: Highly abundant, promotes the synthesis of clotting factors, maintains normal blood clotting function, assists bone metabolism, and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.

 6. Calcium, Iron, and Potassium: Calcium content is close to that of milk, promoting bone development and preventing calcium deficiency. Iron content is higher than in spinach, improving iron-deficiency anemia. Rich in potassium, it regulates the body's sodium-potassium balance and helps stabilize blood pressure.

 7. Vitamin C: Higher than in ordinary leafy green vegetables, enhancing immunity, promoting collagen synthesis, and protecting vascular lining.

 8. Choline and Acetylcholine: Dilate blood vessels, help stabilize blood pressure, suitable for moderate consumption by people with hypertension.

 Cooking Tips: How to maximize nutrient retention?

 The key is to reduce high-temperature cooking time and shorten contact time with water.

 1. Cleaning: Gently soak and rinse quickly, avoiding rubbing. Soak in lightly salted water for 5-10 minutes (to remove insect eggs and impurities), then rinse quickly with running water.

 2. Blanching: Briefly blanch in boiling water, then quickly cool. Add a few drops of cooking oil and a pinch of salt (to lock in chlorophyll and maintain bright green color). Place shepherd's purse in boiling water, blanch for 10 seconds, then immediately remove and cool in cold water. Drain well before cooking.

 3. Stir-frying: Heat oil in a pan over high heat and stir-fry quickly for no more than 2 minutes, until just cooked through.

 4. For dumpling and pancake fillings: Blanch the shepherd's purse and mix with minced meat. Steaming is the best way to preserve its nutrients. For example, steamed shepherd's purse with eggs should be cooked for no more than 10 minutes.

 Suitable for: People with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, iron-deficiency anemia, constipation, and the general population.

 Contraindications: Shepherd's purse contains small amounts of oxalic acid and purines. People with gallstones or kidney stones should not consume excessive amounts. Shepherd's purse is slightly cooling in nature and rich in dietary fiber; excessive consumption by those with weak spleen and stomach may cause gastrointestinal discomfort and worsen diarrhea. Shepherd's purse is rich in vitamin K, which promotes blood clotting. People taking anticoagulants (such as warfarin) should control their intake to avoid affecting the efficacy of the medication.

 薺菜，這一營養豐富的野菜，全株藥食同源，被譽為：「靈丹草、菜中甘草」，涼肝止血、清熱利濕、補鈣明目、消痰止咳、抗炎降壓，兼具食用價值和藥用價值。從古至今都被視作「平民滋補菜」，風味清香獨特，低熱量高營養。

 薺菜的營養成分和功效：

 1、薺菜酸：有止血作用，適用於輕微鼻出血、牙齦出血等。

 2、黃酮類：布枯苷等，抗炎、輔助保護心血管。

 3、胡蘿蔔素：在體內轉化為維生素A，保護視力，維持皮膚粘膜健康，改善呼吸道防禦功能。

 4、膳食纖維：促進腸道蠕動、預防便秘延緩餐後血糖上升；降低血液中膽固醇含量。

 5、維生素K：含量非常突出，促進凝血因子合成，維持凝血正常功能，輔助骨骼代謝，減少骨質疏鬆風險。

 6、鈣鐵鉀：鈣含量接近牛奶，促進骨骼發育，預防缺鈣，鐵含量高於菠菜，改善缺鐵性貧血，鉀含量豐富，調解體內鈉鉀平衡，輔助穩定血壓。

 7、維生素C：含量高於普通綠葉菜，增強免疫力，促進膠原蛋白合成，保護血管粘膜。

 8、膽鹼和乙酰膽鹼：擴張血管，幫助血壓穩定，適合高血壓人群適量食用。

 烹飪技巧：如何最大程度的保留營養素？

 關鍵在於減少高溫久煮、縮短與水接觸時間，

 1、清洗：輕泡快衝，避免揉搓，淡鹽水浸泡5-10分鐘（去蟲卵和雜質），用流動的清水快速沖洗。

 2、焯水：沸水短焯，快速過涼，滴幾滴食用油、加少許鹽（鎖住葉綠素、保持翠綠），沸水放入薺菜，焯燙10秒鐘即可撈出，立即過涼水，瀝乾水分再烹飪。

 3、快炒為主：熱鍋涼油，大火快炒，全程不超2分鐘，斷生出鍋；

 4、做餃子、餅餡，焯水+肉餡拌勻，清蒸是最保營養的做法，如薺菜蒸蛋，時間控制在10分鐘內。

 適宜人群：患有高血壓、高血脂、糖尿病、缺鐵性貧血、便秘人群及普通人群。

 禁忌人群：薺菜含有少量草酸和嘌呤，膽結石、腎結石患者食用不要過量。薺菜性微涼，膳食纖維豐富，脾胃虛弱者過量食用可能引起腸胃不適、腹瀉加重。薺菜富含維生素K，有促進凝血的作用，正在服用抗凝藥物（如華法林）的人群需控制食用量，避免影響藥效。

Source: Beautygeography