Due to the large temperature fluctuations in spring, the body undergoes a transition from cold to warm. During this period, the seven methods of scientific diet and health conditioning in spring are very helpful for maintaining physical health and preventing diseases. Let our experts briefly introduce you to how to have a scientific diet, hoping to be of help to you!
Seven Rules for Scientific Diet and Health Conditioning in Spring:
Light Diet to Relieve Spring Heat
People are prone to "heatiness" in spring, with symptoms such as a yellow tongue coating, a bitter taste in the mouth, and a dry throat. Therefore, the diet should be light, avoiding greasy, raw, cold, and irritating foods. Those with obvious signs of heatiness can eat "heat-clearing" foods such as mung bean soup, honeysuckle tea, chrysanthemum tea, and water infused with lotus seed cores.
Pungent and Sweet Foods to Boost Spring Yang
Slightly pungent foods, such as scallions, ginger, chives, and garlic sprouts, are foods that nourish the spring energy. The ancient medical text "Qian Jin Fang" from the Tang Dynasty contains the saying, "In the second and third months, one should easily eat chives." Eating these foods is very beneficial for the body's generation of spring Yang energy.
Reduce Sourness, Increase Sweetness to Protect the Spleen and Stomach
Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that spring is the season when the liver, one of the five organs, governs the body. It is advisable to appropriately consume pungent, warm, and ascending foods, while raw, cold, and sticky foods should be eaten less to avoid harming the spleen and stomach. Therefore, in spring, one should appropriately eat more sweet foods and fewer sour foods.
Yellow and Green Vegetables to Prevent Spring Drowsiness
"Spring drowsiness" makes the body feel tired and the spirit listless. One should eat more red, yellow, and dark green vegetables, such as carrots, pumpkins, tomatoes, green peppers, and celery, which are very helpful for restoring energy and eliminating spring drowsiness.
Choose Foods Carefully to Reduce Disease
As the temperature gradually rises in spring, bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms begin to reproduce and become more active, easily invading the body and causing disease. Therefore, the diet should provide sufficient vitamins and minerals. Fresh vegetables like tatsoi, kale, and broccoli, and fruits like citrus and lemons, are rich in vitamin C and have antiviral effects. Yellow-green vegetables like carrots and spinach 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, thereby resisting the invasion of various pathogenic factors.
Be Wary of Gastrointestinal Diseases
Diseases such as gastric and duodenal ulcers are prone to flare up in spring. The diet should avoid consuming broths, chicken soups, fish soups, animal offal, and irritating condiments rich in substances like creatine and purine alkaloids, as these foods strongly stimulate gastric acid secretion or form gas, causing bloating and increasing the burden on the gastrointestinal tract.
Expel Phlegm and Nourish the Lungs to Ensure Well-being
Chronic bronchitis and bronchitis are also prone to flare up in spring. It is advisable to eat more foods that expel phlegm, strengthen the spleen, nourish the kidneys, and moisten the lungs, such as loquats, oranges, pears, walnuts, and honey, which can help alleviate symptoms.