With the arrival of spring, people often experience "spring lethargy," characterized by emotional instability, vivid dreams, an active mind that is hard to focus, drowsiness, fatigue, and low spirits. The elderly, those who are frail, and those with multiple illnesses are particularly vulnerable. They often have a lower tolerance for negative stimuli and tend to become more sentimental, melancholic, and irritable during the spring. The best way to counteract these negative emotions is to seek personal hobbies and refinements according to one's physical condition and interests. This helps to cultivate one's character, soothe one's emotions, nourish the liver, and regulate the mind.
Dietary Supplementation: In spring, dietary supplementation should focus on light, mild foods that support the body's vital energy and nourish the fundamental qi. For those with a deficiency of qi, it is advisable to eat more foods that strengthen the spleen and boost qi, such as rice porridge, sweet potatoes, yams, potatoes, eggs, quail eggs, chicken, quail, beef, lean pork, fresh fish, and milk. For those with a deficiency of both qi and yin, it is recommended to consume more foods that replenish qi and nourish yin, such as carrots, bean sprouts, tofu, lotus root, water chestnuts, lily bulbs, tremella, mushrooms, duck eggs, and soft-shelled turtles.
Medicinal Supplementation: Medicinal supplementation in spring is for when the body shows clear deficiencies in qi, blood, yin, or yang, and these imbalances cannot be corrected through diet alone. Under the guidance of a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, one can take mild and gentle tonic herbs to balance yin and yang and dispel illness to build health. For symptoms like physical weakness, fatigue, shortness of breath, reluctance to speak, intolerance to exertion, frequent colds, and excessive sweating, one can consider using patent Chinese medicines such as Bu Zhong Yi Wan, Ren Shen Jian Wan, Xiang Sha Yang Wei Wan, or Yu Ping Feng San. Medicinal meals can also be used as an adjunct therapy, such as Astragalus and Codonopsis Chicken Soup, Ginseng and Mushroom Soup, Ginseng and Jujice Rice, or Chestnut and Qi-Nourishing Soup.