Four Traditional Chinese Medicine Tips to Remember Before Meals: Don't Relax Your Health in Early Autumn
"Four Traditional Chinese Medicine Tips to Remember Before Meals: Don't Relax Your Health in Early Autumn"
The beginning of autumn marks the start of the fall season, but the scorching heat of midsummer lingers, and the weather remains quite hot, leading to a phenomenon known as the "Indian Summer." Simultaneously, the start of autumn signifies the transition from hot to cooler weather, with yang energy gradually declining and yin energy on the rise. In the natural world, everything starts shifting from a phase of "growth" to "storage." Folk proverbs capture this shift with sayings like "Early autumn in the morning, coolness in the evening" and "On the day of the Start of Autumn, water becomes three parts cooler."
Don't Forget to Clear Heat and Nurture the Heart in Early Autumn:
Although there's a gradual cooling trend in the climate after the Start of Autumn, it's essential not to abruptly remove heat-clearing and heat-relieving foods from your diet. Continue with the dietary habits you had during the summer, incorporating foods like barley congee, lotus leaf congee, and cold bitter gourd dishes to dispel heat and support spleen health.
However, it's crucial to remember that after a long summer, the body's energy expenditure has been significant. Especially for older individuals with weaker spleen and stomach function, it's not advisable to consume excessively cold foods or those with cold properties. Limit the intake of foods like watermelon and pears, which have cooling properties, as excessive consumption may harm the spleen and stomach.
Key to Autumn Health: "Moisturize" Your Body:
Autumn is characterized by dryness in the air, which can deplete body fluids. The lungs are associated with the autumn season and are considered delicate organs that prefer moisture over dryness. Therefore, the dietary focus should be on clearing heat, removing dampness, strengthening the spleen, and moistening the lungs. Consume foods with yin-nourishing and lung-moistening properties such as glutinous rice, pumpkin, radish, honey, sesame, lily, tremella mushroom, and pears. Conversely, reduce the intake of fried and spicy foods.
Reduce Pungency and Increase Acidity:
"Reducing pungency" means consuming fewer spicy foods like onions, ginger, garlic, chives, and chili peppers. This is because the lungs, associated with the autumn season, tend to be sensitive and dislike dryness. Reducing pungency helps prevent excessive lung dryness.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, the metal element (represented by the lungs) restrains the wood element (represented by the liver). An excess of lung energy can harm the liver's function. Therefore, in autumn, there's an emphasis on "increasing acidity" to enhance liver function and counterbalance excessive lung energy. Consume more acidic fruits and vegetables like oranges, lemons, grapes, apples, pomegranates, bayberries, and grapefruits.
Exercise Caution with "Fattening Up for Autumn:"
A classic tradition following the Start of Autumn is "fattening up for autumn," stemming from an agricultural era where people needed to prepare for winter by increasing meat consumption and storing fat.
However, with changes in dietary patterns today, people generally have diets that are not lacking in fats and proteins. Consequently, there is no need for a deliberate "fattening up for autumn" approach.
Indiscriminate consumption of large quantities of tonics and rich foods like ginseng, deer antler, and fatty meats can be unscientific and potentially detrimental to health. This approach is particularly risky for individuals with cardiovascular diseases or older adults, as it can trigger disease exacerbation or complications.
Early autumn sees relatively high temperatures, and after the sweltering summer, many individuals may experience symptoms like fatigue and loss of appetite, indicating weakened spleen and stomach function. During this early autumn period, it's essential to use methods such as clearing heat, removing dampness, and strengthening the spleen to expel damp-heat from the body, promote the recovery of spleen and stomach function, and prepare for a healthy winter.
The beginning of autumn marks the start of the fall season, but the scorching heat of midsummer lingers, and the weather remains quite hot, leading to a phenomenon known as the "Indian Summer." Simultaneously, the start of autumn signifies the transition from hot to cooler weather, with yang energy gradually declining and yin energy on the rise. In the natural world, everything starts shifting from a phase of "growth" to "storage." Folk proverbs capture this shift with sayings like "Early autumn in the morning, coolness in the evening" and "On the day of the Start of Autumn, water becomes three parts cooler."
Don't Forget to Clear Heat and Nurture the Heart in Early Autumn:
Although there's a gradual cooling trend in the climate after the Start of Autumn, it's essential not to abruptly remove heat-clearing and heat-relieving foods from your diet. Continue with the dietary habits you had during the summer, incorporating foods like barley congee, lotus leaf congee, and cold bitter gourd dishes to dispel heat and support spleen health.
However, it's crucial to remember that after a long summer, the body's energy expenditure has been significant. Especially for older individuals with weaker spleen and stomach function, it's not advisable to consume excessively cold foods or those with cold properties. Limit the intake of foods like watermelon and pears, which have cooling properties, as excessive consumption may harm the spleen and stomach.
Key to Autumn Health: "Moisturize" Your Body:
Autumn is characterized by dryness in the air, which can deplete body fluids. The lungs are associated with the autumn season and are considered delicate organs that prefer moisture over dryness. Therefore, the dietary focus should be on clearing heat, removing dampness, strengthening the spleen, and moistening the lungs. Consume foods with yin-nourishing and lung-moistening properties such as glutinous rice, pumpkin, radish, honey, sesame, lily, tremella mushroom, and pears. Conversely, reduce the intake of fried and spicy foods.
Reduce Pungency and Increase Acidity:
"Reducing pungency" means consuming fewer spicy foods like onions, ginger, garlic, chives, and chili peppers. This is because the lungs, associated with the autumn season, tend to be sensitive and dislike dryness. Reducing pungency helps prevent excessive lung dryness.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, the metal element (represented by the lungs) restrains the wood element (represented by the liver). An excess of lung energy can harm the liver's function. Therefore, in autumn, there's an emphasis on "increasing acidity" to enhance liver function and counterbalance excessive lung energy. Consume more acidic fruits and vegetables like oranges, lemons, grapes, apples, pomegranates, bayberries, and grapefruits.
Exercise Caution with "Fattening Up for Autumn:"
A classic tradition following the Start of Autumn is "fattening up for autumn," stemming from an agricultural era where people needed to prepare for winter by increasing meat consumption and storing fat.
However, with changes in dietary patterns today, people generally have diets that are not lacking in fats and proteins. Consequently, there is no need for a deliberate "fattening up for autumn" approach.
Indiscriminate consumption of large quantities of tonics and rich foods like ginseng, deer antler, and fatty meats can be unscientific and potentially detrimental to health. This approach is particularly risky for individuals with cardiovascular diseases or older adults, as it can trigger disease exacerbation or complications.
Early autumn sees relatively high temperatures, and after the sweltering summer, many individuals may experience symptoms like fatigue and loss of appetite, indicating weakened spleen and stomach function. During this early autumn period, it's essential to use methods such as clearing heat, removing dampness, and strengthening the spleen to expel damp-heat from the body, promote the recovery of spleen and stomach function, and prepare for a healthy winter.
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