No dietary taboos. The term "dietary taboos" specifically refers to dietary restrictions for patients during their illness.
Everyone knows that, like medicine, food has its own properties. For example, glutinous rice is sweet and warm in nature and has a sticky texture, while white liquor is pungent, strong, and hot. Therefore, issues of dietary taboos exist, including methods of eating, the quality and quantity of food, interactions between different foods, the relationship between diet and one's constitution or illness, and incompatibilities between diet and medication. The dietary taboos for patients during their illness focus on the relationship between diet and the illness, and the incompatibility between diet and medication. As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, the famous physician Zhang Zhongjing pointed out in his book "Jin Gui Yao Lue": "The flavors of the food one consumes can be either beneficial to the illness or harmful to the body. If one gains benefit, the body will be improved; if harmed, illness will be caused." The classic Chinese medical text "Huangdi Neijing" also states: "Poisonous herbs attack pathogenic factors, the five grains nourish, the five fruits assist, the five kinds of livestock benefit, and the five vegetables supplement. When flavors are combined and consumed, they supplement and benefit the vital energy." It is clear that traditional Chinese medicine has long recognized that both diet and illness, and diet and medication, have issues of compatibility and incompatibility that must be given sufficient attention. So, what are the dietary taboos for a cold?
First, let's talk about the importance of moderation in diet. After catching a cold, appetite often decreases, which is more pronounced when there is a fever. Modern medicine believes that during a fever, various digestive enzymes are destroyed or their activity is low, leading to a patient's loss of appetite. If one forces themselves to eat more, it often leads to symptoms of indigestion such as abdominal bloating,加重 the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, and is不利于 the body's ability to concentrate its energy on expelling external pathogens. It can delay recovery from the cold, or even worsen the condition. Therefore, it is best for a cold patient to eat less. The degree of this reduction should be controlled with the premise of ensuring the body's energy supply. This raises the issue of food quality. Patients with a cold are encouraged to eat more light and easily digestible foods, such as congee and noodles, and to avoid fried and greasy foods. Some have even proposed a "fasting therapy," which involves stopping solid food after catching a cold and only drinking soups and broths. This method can sometimes have unexpected results. Of course, this method is not suitable for everyone, but it can be tried by patients who are generally robust and have a mild cold. Please remember to have sufficient energy reserves; otherwise, the result will be the opposite of what is desired.
Finally, let's focus on which foods should be avoided during a cold. This is related to two aspects: one is the avoidance of certain foods after taking medication, and the other is the relationship with the condition of the illness. In the initial stage of a cold, if it is caused by wind-cold pathogens and one is taking medicines to release the exterior and dispel cold, then one should avoid raw and cold foods, as well as greasy foods. If it is caused by wind-heat pathogens and the initial stage is one of clearing and resolving, one should also avoid raw and cold foods. Once the heat pathogen is not expelled, leading to high fever, followed by thirst, irritability, and constipation, fruit is then needed to help. One can frequently drink pear juice, orange juice, watermelon, congee soup, or mung bean soup. However, one must avoid overconsumption of raw and cold, greasy foods.
What has been discussed above are mainly general principles. Specifically, during a cold, one should avoid or eat in moderation foods such as duck, pork, lamb, dog meat, soft-shelled turtle, clam, vinegar, and persimmon. This is because a cold is an externally contracted disease, and its treatment should focus on releasing the exterior and resolving the pathogen. Duck meat is cool and greasy, and can easily cause diarrhea and trap pathogenic factors. Pork is greasy and promotes dampness and phlegm. Lamb is sweet and warm, aiding heat, and has the drawback of trapping pathogenic factors. Dog meat is also warm and can easily generate heat and fire, thus it is contraindicated for heat syndromes. Soft-shelled turtle is sweet, moist, and greasy, and has the drawback of trapping pathogenic factors. Clam, also known as freshwater clam, is cold and draining, with a yin-nourishing and cooling effect; overconsumption can hinder the dispersion of exterior pathogens. Vinegar is sour and astringent, and can easily cause qi stagnation and retention of pathogenic factors after consumption. Persimmon is cold, astringent, and stagnating, and overconsumption can easily trap pathogenic factors. Therefore, all the above foods are dietary taboos for a cold. Inadvertently consuming or overconsuming them is often不利于 the dispersion of external pathogens and can sometimes even worsen the condition, requiring careful attention.