Spring Diet: "Five More, Five Less"
A year's plan starts with spring. As the beginning of the four seasons, establishing a good dietary foundation in spring is crucial for your health throughout the year. Your spring diet should follow the principle of "Five More, Five Less".
1. Eat more staple foods, fewer non-staple foods.
In spring, the body's immunity and defense functions can easily decline. At this time, eating more staple foods is both economical and provides direct energy conversion for the body's basic needs. Furthermore, spring is a time to focus on nourishing the spleen and stomach. Compared to dishes with large amounts of meat and fish, rice is much easier to digest and can effectively protect the gastrointestinal tract.
2. Eat more vegetables, fewer fruits.
The focus in spring is on nourishing the liver. Vegetables help the liver efficiently metabolize proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. A lack of vegetables can impair liver metabolism. Eating fewer fruits does not mean avoiding them altogether, but fruits contain significant fruit acids and are considered "raw and cold" foods. Consuming too many can easily damage the spleen and stomach.
3. Eat more dairy products, less meat.
Drinking more milk in spring can meet the body's various needs for growth and health, making it the top choice for spring wellness for all groups of people. Meat is high in cholesterol, and excessive consumption can easily lead to weight gain and trigger "high-class" diseases like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol.
4. More water, less oil.
The changing of seasons intensifies the body's loss of water. The simplest way to detoxify is to drink more water. Every morning, drinking some honey water can help cleanse the intestines and expel toxins and internal heat.
5. More color, less monotony.
This means eating more foods of various colors and fewer foods that are monochromatic or bland in flavor. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the five organ systems each have their preferences: the heart favors red and bitter; the liver favors green and sour; the kidneys favor black and salty; the lungs favor pungent (spicy) and white; and the spleen favors yellow and sweet. Therefore, one's diet should cater to the preferences of these organ systems.