The winter climate is dry, often making people feel dry and uncomfortable in their nose and throat. At this time, eating fruits that promote fluid production, quench thirst, and moisten the throat can bring a refreshing sense of comfort.
Among the fruits with health-preserving and medicinal properties in winter, pears and sugarcane are the most notable. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that pears can promote fluid production, quench thirst, relieve coughs and reduce phlegm, clear heat and reduce fire, nourish blood and muscle tissue, and moisten the lungs to relieve dryness. They are most suitable for people with fever and internal heat in winter. They are particularly suitable for lung-heat cough, pediatric wind-heat, dry throat and sore throat, and constipation. Pears also have the effect of lowering blood pressure, clearing heat, and calming the mind. Pears are rich in sugar and vitamins, which have liver-protecting and digestion-aiding effects. However, because pears are cold in nature, children with weak spleen and stomach, or poor digestion, should not eat too many.
Sugarcane has the effect of nourishing and clearing heat, and is rich in nutrients. As a cooling tonic, it has a certain therapeutic effect on low blood sugar, dry stools, difficult urination, nausea and vomiting, deficient-heat cough, and high fever with thirst. For those who are overworked or feel dizzy from hunger, eating two sections of sugarcane can restore their energy. However, sugarcane is cold in nature, so people with a weak spleen and stomach or abdominal pain should not eat it.
In addition, fruits suitable for winter consumption include apples, oranges, bananas, and hawthorn. Apples can promote fluid production, quench thirst, harmonize the spleen to stop diarrhea; oranges can regulate qi, stimulate the appetite, aid digestion, and resolve phlegm; bananas can clear heat, moisten the intestines, lower blood pressure, and prevent hemorrhoids; hawthorn can dilate blood vessels, lower blood lipids, enhance and regulate heart muscle function, and has the effect of preventing and treating coronary atherosclerosis.
After the Beginning of Winter, the weather becomes increasingly cold. In cold weather, how should we adjust our diet? Traditional Chinese medicine health preservation tells us that we should eat more warming and nourishing foods to nourish the five organs, support the body's foundation, cultivate vital energy, and promote the rise of yang energy in the body. This not only makes the body stronger but also has a good effect of warding off the cold. According to the different nutrients contained in food, the winter diet should have the following characteristics: 1. Eat more staple foods, and eat some mutton, quail, and sea cucumber appropriately.
Protein, fat, and carbohydrates are called thermogenic nutrients. Therefore, in winter, we should appropriately increase the intake of staple foods and oils, and ensure the supply of high-quality protein. Foods such as dog meat, mutton, beef, chicken, venison, shrimp, pigeon, quail, and sea cucumber are rich in protein and fat, produce a lot of heat, and are considered in traditional Chinese medicine to have the functions of strengthening the kidneys and yang, warming the middle and lower parts of the body, and replenishing qi and blood, making them the best for cold resistance.
2. Fear of cold is related to a lack of calcium and iron.
A person's fear of cold is related to the low intake of certain minerals. For example, the amount of calcium in the body directly affects the contractility and excitability of the heart muscle, blood vessels, and muscles; iron deficiency in the blood is an important cause of iron-deficiency anemia, often manifested as low heat production and low body temperature. Therefore, supplementing with foods rich in calcium and iron can improve the body's cold resistance. Foods rich in calcium mainly include milk, soy products, kelp, seaweed, shellfish, oysters, sardines, and shrimp; foods rich in iron are mainly animal blood, egg yolks, pork liver, soybeans, sesame seeds, black fungus, and red dates.
3. Kelp and seaweed can promote the secretion of thyroid hormone and produce heat.
The human body's thyroid secretions contain a substance called thyroxine, which can accelerate the oxidation of many tissue cells in the body, increase the body's heat production capacity, enhance the basal metabolic rate, speed up skin blood circulation, and resist cold. Foods containing iodine can promote the secretion of thyroxine. Foods rich in iodine include: kelp, seaweed, fat choy, jellyfish, spinach, Chinese cabbage, corn, etc.
4. Animal liver and carrots can increase cold resistance.
Cold climate causes significant changes in the body's vitamin metabolism. Increasing the intake of vitamins A and C can enhance cold tolerance and adaptability to cold, and has a good protective effect on blood vessels. Vitamin A mainly comes from animal liver, carrots, dark green vegetables, etc., while vitamin C mainly comes from fresh fruits and vegetables.
5. Sesame and sunflower seeds can provide the necessary elements for the body to resist cold.
Cold weather increases the body's demand for methionine. Methionine can provide a series of methyl groups necessary to adapt to the cold through a transfer reaction. Therefore, in winter, more foods containing more methionine should be consumed. Such as sesame, sunflower seeds, dairy products, yeast, leafy vegetables, etc.
6. Eating spicy food can dispel cold.
Chili peppers contain capsaicin, ginger contains aromatic volatile oil, and pepper contains piperine. They are all pungent foods. Eating more of them in winter can not only increase appetite but also promote blood circulation and improve the ability to resist cold.