Cold Wave Incoming: What to Eat for Those Who Feel Cold?
In the cold winter, in addition to strengthening physical exercise and dressing warmly, consuming more cold-resisting foods in your daily diet can enhance your body's ability to withstand the cold. We refer to the following foods as "core foods." These foods have high nutritional value and cover all food categories, making them common choices for weight loss. These foods are low in energy and will not lead to fat accumulation. They should be the main components of your diet. All other foods can still be eaten, but their intake must be limited. Common cold-resisting foods in daily life include:
Meats
Dog meat, lamb, beef, and venison have better cold-resisting effects. They are high in protein, carbohydrates, and fat, and are beneficial for strengthening the kidneys, boosting yang, warming the middle and lower parts of the body, and replenishing qi and promoting blood circulation.
Eating these meats can speed up metabolism and enhance endocrine function in individuals with yang deficiency, thereby achieving a cold-resisting effect.
Vegetables
Includes: fresh, canned (without seasonings, fat, sugar, or other additives) vegetables; and tomato sauce.
Vegetables cannot be combined with non-core foods
Vegetables cannot be combined with non-core foods (for example, fried vegetables and legumes, oil-soaked vegetables, sugar-preserved vegetables, etc., are not core foods); vegetable juice is not considered a core food.
Root and Tuber Vegetables
Root and Tubers: Medical researchers have found that a person's sensitivity to cold is related to a lack of inorganic salts in the body.
These foods can be mixed with other foods
Lotus root, carrots, lily bulbs, sweet potatoes, green vegetables, and Chinese cabbage are rich in inorganic salts. These foods can be mixed with other foods.
Spicy Foods
Spicy Foods: Chili peppers contain capsaicin, ginger contains aromatic volatile oils, and pepper contains piperine.
Spicy Foods: Chili peppers contain capsaicin, ginger contains aromatic volatile oils, and pepper contains piperine.
Iodine-rich Foods
Iodine-rich Foods: Iodine-rich foods such as kelp, seaweed, sea salt, fat choy, jellyfish, clams, Chinese cabbage, spinach, and corn can promote the secretion of thyroid hormones in the human body.
Thyroid hormones have a thermogenic effect
Thyroid hormones have a thermogenic effect. They can accelerate the oxidative process of most tissue cells in the body (except the brain, glands, and uterus), increase heat production, raise the basal metabolic rate, enhance skin blood circulation, and resist cold and keep warm.
Iron-rich Foods
Iron-rich Foods: Researchers from Pennsylvania State University have found that people with low iron levels in their blood are also more sensitive to cold.
Increase intake of iron-rich foods
Anemic women have a body temperature 0.7°C lower than women with normal hemoglobin levels and produce 13% less heat. When their iron intake is increased, their cold tolerance significantly improves. Therefore, women who are sensitive to the cold can consciously increase their intake of iron-rich foods, such as animal liver, lean meat, spinach, and egg yolks.
Fruits
Includes: fresh, canned (in syrup or juice, not heavy syrup) fruits.
If canned, they must be packed in water or pure juice (not syrup)
If canned, they must be packed in water or pure juice (not syrup), and the packing liquid is not to be consumed; dried fruits (such as dried apricots, peaches, bananas, etc.) are not considered core foods; fruit juice is not a core food.
Soups
Includes: fresh, frozen, canned (without seasonings, fat, sugar, or other additives) clear soups.
Western-style cream-based soups and concentrated meat broth are not considered core foods.
Skim dairy products and other milk substitutes
Includes: skim milk, skim cheese, unsweetened skim yogurt; soy milk, tofu, and bean products without additives.
Must be sugar-free and low-calorie
Any foods made from the above ingredients, including drinks like milkshakes and hot chocolate, must be sugar-free and low-calorie and can be consumed once a day.