As the weather turns cold, steaming lamb and dog hot pots become popular again. That's right, you should eat more meat in the winter. This aligns with the principle of "nourishing and storing energy" during the cold season and is also necessary to keep warm. However, whether you need the yin-nourishing properties of neutral-cooled duck meat or the yang-warming benefits of hot lamb and dog meat depends on your body's constitution.
Meats are classified as cooling or warming, and supplementation should be tailored to your constitution.
"Light in spring and summer, moisturizing in autumn, and nourishing in winter" are the dietary characteristics of the four seasons. Winter is a time for storage. By supplementing your diet in winter, you can replenish the "essence" of your kidneys, storing energy for a healthier body the following year. This embodies the traditional Chinese medicine concept of "preventing illness before it arises." Additionally, the body perspires less in winter, making it easier to absorb nutrients from supplements. Therefore, it is much easier to supplement in winter, and nutrients are more easily absorbed by the body. Winter is the time to eat heartily.
However, winter's popular supplement foods—lamb and dog meat—are not suitable for everyone. Lamb and dog meat nourish yang energy, making them unsuitable for those with a "deficiency fire" constitution. Although it's important to eat more meat and supplement in winter, the choice of meat should be based on your body's constitution. Kidney yin deficiency requires yin-nourishing foods, while kidney yang deficiency requires yang-supplementing foods.
If you often experience a "deficiency fire," frequently suffering from mouth ulcers, tinnitus and swelling, a sore throat, dry or difficult bowel movements, you need to nourish your yin. Conversely, you need to supplement your yang. Winter soups are primarily meat-based. Dishes like lamb hot pot and dog meat hot pot are used to supplement yang. Duck and rabbit meat, on the other hand, are yin-nourishing foods. Therefore, the popular lamb and dog hot pots are not suitable for everyone. They can exacerbate the "fire" in some individuals, leading to restlessness, insomnia, irritability, and worsening physical discomfort.
"Warming meats" paired with "cooling vegetables"
Furthermore, lamb and dog meat are both considered warming foods, especially dog meat. Therefore, when eating lamb or dog hot pots, it's best to pair them with cooling and neutral-sweet vegetables, which can have a cooling, detoxifying, and "fire-reducing" effect. For example, water chestnuts, radish, and tofu are excellent pairings for lamb and dog meat. Radish is cooling and can help resolve stagnation and clear phlegm-heat; tofu can clear heat, reduce fire, alleviate vexation, and quench thirst; water chestnuts can clear heat, moisten the lungs, promote fluid production, and resolve stagnation. Additionally, the vast majority of vegetables are cooling foods and can be paired with the drying lamb and dog meat. This not only adds vitamins and fiber but also balances the nature of the food. Garlic, onions, and chives are considered warming foods. Eating them with the already warming lamb and dog meat will further increase yang energy, which not everyone can handle.