Why do we eat young chickens during the Great Heat? Eating young chickens during the Great Heat is not only a folk custom.

Why do we eat young chickens during the Great Heat? When the Great Heat season comes, people have a unique dietary custom, which is to eat young chickens as a tonic. Next, let’s take a look at the origin and benefits of eating young chickens during the Great Heat.

Why do we eat young chickens during the Great Heat?

The Origin of Eating Young Chicken

Great Heat is one of the 24 solar terms and the last solar term in summer. As the name suggests, the Great Heat is the hottest period of summer. Great Heat is the hottest solar term in the year. In winter, we nourish our body during the 39th day of winter, and in summer, we nourish our body during the 3rd day of summer. The Great Heat is right around the middle of the 3rd day of summer. Summer heat can easily damage body fluids, causing insufficient Qi and blood, and the body consumes a lot of energy. In central and northern Hunan, there is a traditional way of nourishing the body, which is to eat young chickens during the Great Heat. "Collected Explanations of the 72 Seasonal Changes in the Lunar Calendar" says: "Heat is hot, and there are two types of heat: the beginning of the month is small, and the middle of the month is big. Today is the big heat! People in Guangdong eat fairy grass, and people in the two lakes eat young chickens."

The benefits of eating young chicken

The Great Heat season is the period with the highest temperature in the year. The continuous high temperature weather makes people with weak constitutions easily suffer from heatstroke during this period. Even if they do not suffer from heatstroke, they will experience loss of appetite, dizziness, fatigue, irritability and excessive sweating, which is what Chinese medicine calls "summer heatstroke." There is a certain scientific reason for eating young chickens during the Great Heat. Because chicken has the effects of warming the middle, replenishing qi, replenishing essence and filling marrow, people who have poor appetite, sweat a lot, are weak and thin during the Great Heat can improve their symptoms after eating it, and it has the effect of stimulating appetite and strengthening the body. Compared with other meats, the protein in young chicken is also high-quality protein. Eating some young chicken can warm the middle and replenish the qi, laying a good foundation for withstanding the summer heat.

What is a broiler chicken

A broiler chicken refers to a young rooster that cannot crow yet, has just grown to maturity but has not been bred; or a young rooster that weighs one to one and a half pounds within three months of being raised and has never been bred. Later, a special breed was also called a broiler chicken. Compared with old chickens, the soup made from young chickens is not so greasy, so steaming or stewing young chickens is the best way to cook them, with the least nutritional loss. Young chickens have a good tonic effect on children in their growth and development period, as well as middle-aged and elderly people with decreased hormone levels. Even young people with weak constitutions may not mind giving it a try. However, people who have colds, fevers, excessive internal heat, and heavy phlegm and dampness should not use young chicken for tonic.