In the study of health preservation, diet is very important. So after the start of autumn, what adjustments do we need to make in our diet?
After the start of autumn, the diet should focus on "increasing sourness" to enhance liver function and resist the invasion of excessive lung qi. The following foods can be chosen:
1. Apple: In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is believed that apples have the functions of promoting fluid production, moistening the lungs, relieving restlessness, stimulating the appetite, and sobering up. For those with indigestion or qi stagnation, apple juice can be consumed.
Modern medicine also believes that apples can prevent and relieve fatigue. The potassium in apples can combine with excess sodium in the body and excrete it. When you consume too much salt, eating apples can help eliminate it, so eating apples or drinking apple juice is beneficial for patients with high blood pressure.
2. Grape: Its nature and flavor are sweet and sour. Fresh grapes are sweet and sour, promote fluid production to quench thirst, whet the appetite, and aid digestion. However, people with weak spleen and stomach should not eat too many, as it can cause diarrhea.
3. Starfruit: Its nature and flavor are sweet, sour, and neutral. Its fruit can promote fluid production and quench thirst. In autumn, if you suffer from wind-heat cough, you can eat fresh, washed starfruit. If you suffer from hot and difficult urination, use 2-3 fresh starfruits, wash, chop, and crush them into a juice, and take it twice a day with warm water. If you suffer from a sore throat, eat fresh, washed starfruit 2-3 times a day, 1-2 each time. However, eating too much of this product can harm the stomach, especially for those who are naturally deficient in spleen and stomach yang.
4. Pomelo: Its nature and flavor are sour and cold. It can relieve bloating, transform phlegm to stop coughing, strengthen the stomach to aid digestion, and reduce swelling and relieve pain. It is suitable for stomach ailments, indigestion, chronic cough, and excessive phlegm with wheezing. Pomelos are famous for their rich vitamin C content, which is beneficial for patients with cardiovascular diseases and obesity. The organic acids contained in pomelos are mostly citric acid, which has the effect of eliminating human fatigue.
5. Lemon: Its taste is extremely sour, with functions such as promoting fluid production, quenching thirst, dispelling summer heat, and calming the fetus. Citric acid is named after the most abundant organic acid found in various fruits. Patients with high blood pressure and myocardial infarction often drink lemon beverages, which is very beneficial for improving their symptoms.
6. Hawthorn: Its nature and flavor are sour, sweet, and slightly warm. It has effects such as dispelling stasis, eliminating stagnation, transforming phlegm, detoxifying, activating blood, refreshing the spirit, clearing the stomach, awakening the mind, preventing summer heat, and increasing appetite. It has significant therapeutic effects on more than ten diseases, including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and diabetes.
For dietary conditioning in autumn, the first thing to follow is the principle of "nourishing yin in autumn and winter" proposed in the "Huangdi Neijing." This means eating more foods that nourish yin and moisten dryness to prevent autumn dryness from injuring yin. The following dietary options are available:
1. Tremella: Also known as white fungus, it is a valuable tonic with nourishing properties. It contains various amino acids and vitamins and has effects such as tonifying the stomach, moistening the lungs and promoting fluid production, refreshing the spirit, nourishing the stomach, replenishing qi, and strengthening the brain. It is often used to treat symptoms like deficiency-type cough, blood in phlegm, physical weakness in the elderly, emaciation, and poor appetite. Compared to black fungus, its nature is cooler, and its effect of nourishing yin and promoting fluid production is stronger.
2. Pear: Its nature is cold and its flavor is sweet. It has functions such as moistening the lungs, resolving phlegm, stopping coughs, reducing fire, and clearing the heart. It is suitable for dry cough, thirst, and constipation caused by autumn dryness or yin injury from heat diseases, as well as vexation and thirst, coughing, and yellow phlegm caused by internal heat.
3. Sesame: Its nature and flavor are sweet and neutral. It has the effects of nourishing yin to moisten dryness, tonifying the kidneys and benefiting the brain, and stopping coughs and relieving wheezing. It is suitable for intestinal dryness and constipation, dry skin, and dizziness, premature graying of hair, and soreness in the lower back and knees caused by insufficient yin fluid and deficiency of essence and blood in the liver and kidneys.
4. Lotus Root: Its nature and flavor are sweet and cool. It is a good medicine for stopping bleeding and promoting fluid production. It is rich in starch, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and various nutrients, especially vitamin C.
5. Spinach: Its nature and flavor are sweet and cool. It can nourish yin to moisten dryness, nourish blood to stop bleeding, and promote bowel movements. It can be used for thirst with a desire to drink, intestinal dryness and constipation, and anemia caused by insufficient body fluids.
6. Soy Milk: It is made by soaking soybeans, grinding them into a juice, filtering out the dregs, and then cooking it thoroughly. Its nature and flavor are sweet and neutral. Its functions are to tonify deficiency and moisten dryness, and clear the lungs to transform phlegm. It is often used for chronic lung deficiency cough and phlegm-fire asthma.
7. Duck Egg: Its flavor is sweet and salty, and its nature is cool. It functions to nourish yin and clear heat. It can be used for cough with little phlegm, a sore and dry throat caused by yin deficiency, as well as thirst, cough with phlegm, and dry stools caused by deficiency-heat in the lungs and stomach.
8. Honey: It is both a fine nourishing food and a good medicine for treating various diseases. Honey contains 39% fructose and 34% glucose. Both of these monosaccharides can directly supply energy, replenish body fluids, and nourish the entire body. It has a certain therapeutic effect for symptoms of insufficient body fluids, stomach pain caused by stomach yin deficiency or qi deficiency.
There are the following dietary taboos in autumn:
1. Do not overeat
Generally, in autumn, due to the pleasant climate and abundant food, people tend to overeat. Excess caloric intake will be converted into fat and accumulate, causing people to gain weight. In the autumn diet, pay attention to moderation and do not indulge your appetite by eating and drinking excessively.
2. Eat less stimulating food
In autumn, one should eat less stimulating, spicy, and dry-heat foods, such as hot chili peppers. In addition, avoid the accumulation of various damp-heat qi. Foods with a pungent aroma have a dispersing function, so it is recommended to eat some pungent-aromatic foods like celery.
3. Do not eat food that is too raw or cold
As the weather turns from hot to cool in autumn, the body's physiological metabolism also changes to adapt. Pay special attention to the diet not being too raw or cold to avoid indigestion and various digestive tract ailments.
4. Avoid overly dry foods
Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that bitter and dry products can easily damage fluids and consume qi. In autumn, dryness is the predominant pathogenic factor. The lungs are delicate organs and are connected to autumn dryness, making them susceptible to invasion by the dryness pathogen. Many chronic respiratory diseases often recur or gradually worsen starting in autumn. Therefore, the diet for health preservation in autumn should avoid overly dry foods, such as some fried foods.