Maintain a pleasant and optimistic mood, avoiding emotions and psychological states such as depression, anxiety, and anger. The *Neijing* (Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor) states, "Anger causes the liver's qi to invade, grief causes the lung's qi to invade, fear causes the spleen's qi to invade, and worry causes the heart's qi to invade," and "Anger causes qi to flow upwards, and in severe cases, leads to vomiting blood and diarrhea." These passages explain how emotional imbalance can lead to illness.
1. Start with your daily routine. At the very least, eat three meals a day at regular, fixed times. It's best to create a schedule for yourself and strictly adhere to it. This will also affect your sleep schedule, as some people who sleep and wake up late tend to combine their early and midday meals. This habit must be changed, as having a late-night snack cannot compensate. Although the body's biological clock can be shifted, it operates within a certain range and cannot differ too much. If you don't believe this, you can look up information about the human biological clock.
2. Generally, people with poor stomach digestion feel full after eating very little, and experience bloating if they eat slightly more. Eating too much at night can also affect sleep due to stomach distension. Hard and fibrous foods are difficult to digest. Therefore, it is recommended to eat smaller, more frequent meals. If it's not yet a regular meal time, you can have a small snack, but not too much. Always remember this is not a substitute for a regular meal. Food should be soft and loose; chewy or crisp foods should not be eaten in excess as they are the hardest to digest. It's best to drink soup before a meal, as drinking it after can increase digestive difficulty. Avoid eating for two to three hours before bedtime, as it can easily affect sleep. If you feel hungry, you can drink more water.
3. People with stomach problems should quit smoking, alcohol, coffee, strong tea, carbonated drinks (sodas), and spicy or irritating foods, as these are the most harmful to the stomach. The stomach prefers warmth and dislikes cold, so cold drinks and ice cream must also be avoided. Food is best served warm, which is a challenge for anyone, especially during the hot summer. There are two drinks you should drink more of: milk and hot water. Milk can form a protective layer for the stomach. Drinking a glass of milk in the morning before eating is the best thing you can do. Drink plenty of water, especially hot water, because the body often mistakes thirst for hunger.
4. While soy milk is good, it is considered "cold" in nature and cannot replace milk.
5. Steamed buns can nourish the stomach; you might try them as a staple food.
6. Other vegetables and fruits are indispensable for the body, so they should be consumed in sufficient quantities. However, it's best to cook them until they are soft to make them easier on the stomach. The fiber in vegetable and fruit peels can be eaten in moderation, but not too much, as it is difficult to digest. Therefore, melons and fruits can be eaten relatively more.
7. People with stomach problems should not exercise after a meal. It's best to rest and wait until the food in the stomach is mostly digested before starting work, or take a slow walk, which is also good for digestion. In short, avoid working right after a meal.
8. In non-acute cases, taking medication is not recommended, as long-term drug use has side effects, and stomach problems are chronic conditions that cannot be cured in a short period. If necessary, it is advisable to see a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctor, as TCM formulas are particularly effective for nourishing the stomach.
9. Papaya is suitable for the stomach's nature and can be considered a stomach-nourishing food. However, for people with high stomach acid, it should not be used excessively. Also, always remember that the stomach prefers warmth and dislikes cold. Besides ice, other cold foods like mung bean soup should also not be eaten in excess.
10. Once again, stomach problems are a chronic condition and cannot be cured quickly. The best remedy is "nourishment," which cannot be rushed. It can only be achieved by improving lifestyle habits. We all need a healthy stomach, and these changes are necessary.
11. Be cautious with medications that irritate the stomach, such as hormones, aspirin, phenylbutazone, and some anticoagulants. Also, be cautious with overly bitter and cold herbs such as gentian, sophora, and coptis.
A balance of work and rest, with appropriate physical exercise to enhance physical fitness. 5. Dietary therapy: Frequently cook congee with Job's tears, Chinese yam, red dates, Poria, and fox nut to strengthen the spleen, replenish qi, and invigorate the body.
Spring is windy, with alternating warm and cold spells and large temperature differences between day and night. The saying "Bundle up in spring, expose in autumn" refers to how to dress for health in spring. Another saying, "Nourish yang in spring and summer," emphasizes the health strategy for spring from a dietary perspective. In spring, the body's yang energy begins to rise, qi and blood flow smoothly, the liver qi is relaxed, the skin is moist, and the pores are open. Health preservation in spring should adapt to these characteristics. Five recommendations for spring health preservation
First, regulate your emotions and boost your spirit. Spring is sunny and pleasant. Elderly people should not isolate themselves and become depressed. They should maintain an open mind, be optimistic, and avoid anger and melancholy to nurture their nature. The best way to improve negative emotions is to cultivate a love for life and nature. You can go out with family and friends to enjoy the spring flowers, mountains and rivers, or take walks and practice exercises to cultivate your temperament, which will regulate qi and blood and invigorate your spirit.
Second, maintain a regular routine and protect against wind and cold. In spring, it's advisable to sleep late and wake up early, and spend more time outdoors to stretch your body, making you more energetic throughout the day. The morning air is fresh, which is beneficial for expelling harmful substances accumulated in the respiratory tract overnight and promoting metabolism. However, it's worth reminding that due to the degeneration of organ functions in the elderly, one should not get up immediately after waking. Because the ligaments in the elderly are relatively loose, a sudden change from lying down to standing can easily cause back sprains and may affect the nervous system. For those with high blood pressure or heart disease, a sudden change in posture could lead to accidents. After waking, the elderly can stretch in bed, move their limbs and joints, rest for a while, and then get up. Additionally, in early spring, the temperature is fickle, like a child's face, changing at any moment, with cold snaps often occurring. Therefore, one should not be careless with clothing (see "First Avoidance").
Third, eat in moderation and nourish yang. As the body's metabolism speeds up in spring and nutrient consumption increases accordingly, the diet should be sweet and warm, rich in nutrition, with the principle of strengthening the spleen and supporting yang. Avoid overly sour and astringent foods; the diet should be light and palatable, avoiding greasy, raw, and cold foods. It is especially not advisable to consume large amounts of pungent and hot substances like ginseng and strong liquor, as they can generate heat and fire. One should choose foods that are both invigorating and nutritious, such as soybean sprouts, mung bean sprouts, tofu, fermented bean curd, barley, wheat, red dates, lean meat, fish, eggs, peanuts, black sesame, citrus, green onions, ginger, garlic, coriander, and honey. Due to the lack of fresh vegetables in winter, which can lead to insufficient vitamin intake, it is also important to eat more fresh vegetables in spring, such as bamboo shoots, spring chives, rapeseed, spinach, celery, shepherd's purse, Malan vegetable, wolfberry, and toon.
Fourth, strengthen the body and exercise. The fresh air in spring is the most beneficial for expelling the old and taking in the new, nourishing the internal organs. Exercising more in spring will enhance immunity and disease resistance, reducing the incidence of various illnesses like the flu throughout the year, and it also keeps the mind sharp and less prone to fatigue. People can choose outdoor activities according to their age and physical condition. The amount of exercise should not be too large to avoid excessive sweating, which can damage yang energy. The standard is to feel energetic, relaxed, and comfortable after exercise. Generally, simple and easy activities can be chosen, such as Tai Chi, walking, jogging, spring outings, flying kites, and swinging on a swing.
Fifth, focus on health preservation and prevent diseases. In addition to paying attention to diet and daily routine, it is also important to prevent various diseases in spring. Because the weather is fickle, with alternating warm and cold spells, bacteria and viruses are more likely to breed and spread, easily leading to diseases like the flu, pneumonia, bronchitis, meningitis, scarlet fever, mumps, and viral myocarditis. Therefore, one must always maintain good hygiene, wash and sun-dry clothes and bedding, eliminate pests, ventilate rooms, and improve defense capabilities. During epidemics, avoid crowded public places to prevent infection. Five things to avoid in spring health preservation
First, avoid reducing clothing abruptly. Since ancient times, those who are good at health preservation have attached great importance to the principle of "bundling up in spring." There are sayings like "Don't pack away your cotton clothes in the second month, there may still be pear blossom snow in the third," and "Only after the Dragon Boat Festival can you put away your winter clothes." In early spring, the temperature alternates between cold and warm, and the weather is unpredictable. Do not suddenly remove winter clothing, as doing so too early can easily lead to colds and lung damage, causing respiratory diseases. Sudden cold can also cause blood vessels to spasm, making the blood thicker and the flow slower, leading to organ ischemia. This provides an opportunity for colds, pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, arthritis, migraines, coronary heart disease, and other conditions to occur. In addition, quilts should not be thinned out immediately, in line with the principle of "bundling up in spring."
Second, avoid excessive "spring drowsiness." It's said that "spring drowsiness, autumn fatigue," and people are prone to feeling drowsy in spring. Some elderly people have the habit of sleeping in. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that lying in bed for too long damages qi. Excessive sleep can make one ill even if there was no sickness to begin with, because it reduces the body's metabolism and obstructs the smooth flow of qi and blood. The air in spring is very fresh; the elderly should go out to participate in fitness activities to make their bodies correspond to the vibrant energy of the season, thereby avoiding a state of excessive drowsiness.
Third, avoid an unregulated diet. In early spring, the diet should be high in calories. The elderly should pay attention to eating more nutritious, easily digestible, and light foods, and avoid or minimize raw and cold foods to prevent gastrointestinal irritation and disease. For those with a "cold stomach," drinking ginger and brown sugar water in the morning and evening has the dual effect of warming the stomach and preventing colds.
Fourth, avoid emotional imbalance. In the classic novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*, there is a scene where Lin Daiyu buries fallen flowers. In real life, when elderly people see spring flowers and warm sun, they may also feel sentimental, especially widows or widowers, who are more likely to dwell on memories of the past. This is very detrimental to health preservation. Once emotions are imbalanced, external evils can take advantage of the weakness and cause illness. Therefore, in spring, the elderly should see more of the beauty in life and keep their spirits high.
Fifth, avoid overexertion. Spring is a season with many infectious diseases. Due to weaker immunity, the elderly are more susceptible to infection. If they are overexerted or frequently visit crowded public places like shopping malls or cinemas while their bodies are fatigued, they are easily infected by bacteria and viruses, leading to respiratory and other infectious diseases. Therefore, the elderly should pay attention to a balance of work and rest, and engage in moderate activities.