Many people like to drink vegetable juice upon waking in the morning, the reason being to absorb the direct nutrients from the juice and cleanse the body of waste. However, this practice overlooks the most crucial point: the human body prefers a warm environment. Dr. Hua Li from Dongguan People's Hospital says that the body needs to be warm for microcirculation to function properly, so the first thing you eat in the morning should ideally be warm.
From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, Hua Li explains that breakfast should not start with cold drinks like vegetable juice, iced coffee, iced fruit juice, or iced bean paste, but with hot food. In the morning, the body's yin energy from the night has not yet dissipated, and the body's muscles, nerves, and blood vessels are still in a state of contraction. If you consume cold food and drink at this time, it will inevitably cause these systems to constrict further and impede blood circulation. [China Food]
Perhaps you don't feel any discomfort in your stomach and intestines when you first start consuming cold food and drinks. But over time, as you get older, the function of your digestive system in absorbing nutrients becomes impaired. This can lead to issues like not gaining weight despite eating a lot, having loose stools, worsening skin, frequent colds, and a constant stream of minor ailments. This is a sign of weakened stomach qi and a compromised immune system.
Therefore, the first thing you should eat in the morning should be something hot, such as congee, hot oatmeal, hot goat's milk, hot tofu pudding, hot soy milk, or sesame paste. You can then have it with vegetables, bread, sandwiches, or fruit. Hua Li specifically reminds that milk is not the best choice for breakfast, as it can easily lead to phlegm production and allergies. Therefore, milk is not suitable for people with respiratory, digestive, or skin problems, or for those living in humid climates.