Each vegetable has different characteristics and varies in its nutritional value for the human body. When choosing vegetables to eat, we must follow the changes of the four seasons and adhere to the body's natural rhythm of spring birth, summer growth, autumn harvest, and winter storage. Only by aligning with the natural order can we achieve proper health maintenance and improve our overall health.
Preventing Illness in Spring
Spring is the season of transition from cold to warm, with temperatures continuously rising. Bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms begin to multiply and become active, easily invading the body and causing disease. Fresh vegetables like bok choy, rapeseed, bell peppers, and tomatoes are rich in vitamin C and have antiviral properties. Yellow-green vegetables like carrots and amaranth are rich in vitamin A, which helps protect and strengthen the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract and the epithelial cells of respiratory organs, effectively preventing the intrusion of various pathogenic factors. Green vegetables like cabbage and cauliflower are rich in vitamin E, which can boost the body's immunity and enhance its resistance to disease.
Combating Summer Heat and Toxins
Summer is hot, and the body tends to sweat, losing a significant amount of water that needs to be replenished promptly. The water in vegetables is natural, pure, nutritious, and biologically active, filtered through multiple biological membranes, making it incomparable to daily drinking water. Summer is the peak season for gourds, which have a high water content and can be consumed more frequently. Additionally, the body is significantly affected by summer heat and dampness in summer. It is advisable to eat more cooling vegetables. Amaranth, water shield, Malan head, cucumber, loofah, mung bean sprouts, fresh lotus root, eggplant, bitter melon, winter melon, celery, celery stalks, and lettuce all have the effect of clearing heat and removing summer heat.
Nourishing Yin in Autumn
During this period, yang energy diminishes and yin energy grows, and the climate is dry. The liver is easily damaged, leading to autumn dryness symptoms such as dry and cracked skin, a sweet taste in the mouth, a dry throat, and a cough with little phlegm. It also容易 (yì róng - easily) triggers colds and the recurrence of old illnesses. At this time, it is important to eat more vegetables rich in nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin E, carotene, lycopene, and flavonoids, such as radishes, carrots, pumpkins, lilies, broccoli, and shepherd's purse, to nourish yin and moisten the lungs.
Expelling Cold in Winter
In the harsh winter, yin flourishes and yang declines, and all things lie dormant. The body is affected by cold air, causing changes in physiological functions and appetite, which in turn affects the body's nutritional metabolism, increasing the consumption of various nutrients to varying degrees. During this season, it is important to eat as many types of vegetables as possible, especially stem and leaf vegetables like chives, cilantro, garlic, radishes, and daylilies, to increase the supply of nutrients, supplement the body's energy, and provide enough warmth to expel cold. At the same time, one should consciously choose vegetables that can clear internal heat and remove toxins. Furthermore, although the supply of greenhouse vegetables in winter is increasing in many places, green leafy vegetables are still not as abundant as in summer. You can choose easily stored legume vegetables like corn, soybeans, and peas.