Eating mutton in winter seems to be a widely recognized health rule. Our country has also had the saying of "nourishing according to the seasons" since ancient times. As the seasons change, health methods should also be adjusted accordingly, and diet therapy becomes the most important aspect of health preservation. TCM experts believe that the custom of eating mutton at the Winter Solstice is quite good.
Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that humans are interconnected with heaven and earth, and climate changes affect human physiological activities. Spring and summer are yang, with a warm and hot climate; autumn and winter are yin, with a cold climate. Humans also undergo physiological changes following the changes of the four seasons. The three months of winter are a period for storing yang energy. The weather is very cold, so one should focus on protecting the body's yang energy and not let it dissipate excessively. If yang energy is excessively consumed in winter, and the body's storage is insufficient, it is easy to experience phenomena like limb weakness and dizziness in the following spring, which goes against the principles of health preservation. Therefore, it is very necessary to eat some yang-warming foods. However, experts also warn people not to eat too much mutton, as it is also a dry and hot food. Excessive consumption can easily damage yin, especially for people with a yin-deficient constitution.
In fact, besides mutton, warm foods can also include glutinous rice, dog meat, red dates, longans, and sesame seeds. Eating less of cold foods like cold drinks and seafood can also help support yang energy from a dietary perspective. Experts believe that in addition to warm-tonifying foods, some neutral-tonifying foods can be consumed more, such as lotus seeds, Euryale ferox seeds, coix seeds, red dates, bird's nest, and tremella. These foods are neither overly cold nor overly warm, and they are not greasy or hard on the stomach. There is also a category of nourishing foods that have the effects of nourishing yin, benefiting the kidneys, replenishing essence, and enriching the marrow. These mainly include wood ear mushrooms, black dates, sesame seeds, black beans, and soft-shelled turtles.