Autumn Health Preservation: Three Refusals
1. Refuse Autumn Dryness
The dry climate of autumn often makes people feel dryness in the mouth, nose, and throat, and leads to dry coughs. Because the lungs and large intestine are interconnected, autumn can also cause constipation. Furthermore, autumn dryness can result in chapped lips, dry skin, and hair loss. To prevent autumn dryness, first and foremost, it is important to supplement with water; it is best to drink 3-4 glasses of water daily.
The diet in autumn should be based on the principles of nourishing yin and moistening the lungs, and preventing dryness to protect yin. One can eat more pears, apples, grapes, bananas, radishes, and green leafy vegetables to help promote fluid production and prevent dryness. Eat less of spicy and drying foods like chili peppers, green onions, ginger, and garlic. For middle-aged and elderly people, it is not advisable to bathe too frequently in autumn; once or twice a week is appropriate, with each session not exceeding half an hour and the water temperature around 25°C. It is not suitable to use alkaline soap for bathing; one should choose less irritating soaps. In autumn, one should also smile often. Frequent smiling not only helps to nourish lung qi but can also drive away depression, eliminate fatigue, relieve chest tightness, and restore physical strength.
2. Refuse Autumn Fatigue
Saying goodbye to the hot summer and welcoming the crisp and clear autumn, people feel much more comfortable than in summer. However, some people experience a feeling of drowsiness and fatigue, a phenomenon known as "autumn fatigue." Autumn fatigue is a protective response that compensates for the body's excessive consumption during the summer. Although it will naturally disappear after a period of adjustment and adaptation, it is best to take corresponding preventive and control measures to avoid affecting work and life.
First, engage in appropriate physical exercise, such as walking or hiking, which are excellent choices. However, the intensity should not be too high at the beginning; one should gradually increase the amount of exercise. If you exercise excessively, it will increase the body's sense of fatigue, which is actually detrimental to recovery. Second, get as much sleep as possible. Third, adjust your diet; the diet should be light and avoid greasy foods; eat more foods rich in vitamins, such as carrots, lotus root, pears, honey, sesame, and wood ear mushrooms; eat more foods containing potassium. Fourth, eat more foods containing caffeine in moderation.
3. Refuse Autumn Weight Gain
In the summer, the hot weather leads to high energy consumption, and people generally have poor appetites, resulting in an insufficient supply of heat in the body. In autumn, as the weather turns cool, food intake can unknowingly increase, greatly increasing the intake of calories. Coupled with the pleasant climate, people get adequate sleep and perspire less. In addition, to prepare for the coming cold winter, the body actively stores fat for warmth. Therefore, the body absorbs more heat than it dissipates.
In autumn, people can easily gain weight if they are not careful, which is an even greater threat for those who are already overweight. Therefore, overweight individuals should pay more attention to weight loss in autumn. First, attention should be paid to dietary adjustment; eat more low-calorie weight-loss foods, such as red beans, radishes, Job's tears, kelp, and mushrooms. Second, in autumn, attention should also be paid to increasing calorie expenditure by increasing activities in a planned way. The clear autumn sky and crisp air are a perfect time for traveling outdoors. You can enjoy the mountains and waters, which will lift your spirits, and at the same time increase your activity level to achieve the goal of weight loss.