Autumn Diet: Less Spicy, More Sour
For autumn diets, one should follow the principle of "less spicy, more sour," said Liu Wei, chief physician at the First People's Hospital of Manzhouli City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, during a "Bring Health into the Community" event in Manzhouli.
According to Liu Wei, "less spicy" means consuming fewer spicy foods. This is because, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is believed that "the lung pertains to the Metal element, which opens to the autumn, and lung Qi is abundant in autumn." Autumn is dry, windy, and can easily lead to "heatiness" (上火). Eating less spicy food can effectively prevent the lung Qi from becoming excessive. For autumn diets, on one hand, one can eat foods such as sesame seeds, glutinous rice, honey, grapes, radishes, bananas, tremella (snow fungus), and dairy products. Additionally, medicinal meals made from health-beneficial Chinese herbs that replenish Qi, nourish Yin, moisten the lungs, and transform phlegm can be consumed, such as ginseng, glehnia root, ophiopogon root, fritillary bulb, apricot kernels, sterculia seeds, and cordyceps. On the other hand, one should eat less of spicy items like green onions, ginger, chives, and chili peppers, and eat more sour fruits and vegetables.