Characteristics and Principles of Winter Health Preservation
Winter health preservation, a term in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM holds that winter is the season for storing vital energy. The practice of nourishing the body during winter is most suitable from the time of the Start of Winter to before the Start of Spring. Winter health preservation mainly refers to the use of methods such as diet, sleep, exercise, and medication to achieve the goals of nourishing vital energy, strengthening the body, and prolonging life.
Winter, in the context of the Chinese lunar calendar, refers to the 10th, 11th, and 12th months, and includes six solar terms: Start of Winter, Minor Snow, Major Snow, Winter Solstice, Minor Cold, and Major Cold. During winter, the weather is cold, the earth is frozen, all things wither, and the scene is desolate. When faced with this, people's first thought is to protect themselves from the cold and keep warm. Is protecting from the cold and keeping warm all that is needed for winter health preservation? What special attention should be paid to winter health preservation? How can one have a healthy and warm winter? Below, we will explore the topic of winter health preservation around these few questions.
Characteristics of Health Preservation
◆ The winter climate is cold, and the cold qi causes stagnation and contraction, which can easily lead to poor circulation of qi and blood in the human body, causing many old illnesses to recur or worsen. Especially for life-threatening diseases such as stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, and myocardial infarction, not only does the incidence rate increase significantly, but the mortality rate also rises sharply. Therefore, attention must be paid to preventing cold during winter health preservation.
◆ In winter, the body's yang qi is stored, qi and blood flow inward, the skin becomes tight, and it is difficult for dampness to be excreted from the body's surface. Through the transformation of qi by the kidneys and bladder, a small part becomes fluid distributed throughout the body, while most of it turns into water, flows down to the bladder to become urine, and unknowingly increases the burden on the kidneys, easily leading to diseases such as nephritis, enuresis, urinary incontinence, and edema. Therefore, attention must be paid to the maintenance of the kidneys during winter health preservation.
Methods of Health Preservation
An important principle of winter health preservation is "nourishing the kidneys and preventing cold." The kidneys are the original driving force of human life. When kidney qi is abundant, vitality is strong, and the body can adapt to the changes of severe winter. The key to ensuring abundant kidney qi is to prevent the invasion of the severe cold climate.
Principles of Dietary Regulation:
The diet in winter should follow the principles of "nourishing yin in autumn and winter," "nourishing the kidneys and preventing cold," and "calming yang by reducing worry." The diet should mainly focus on nourishing yin and潜阳 (subduing yang) and increasing caloric intake.
[Nourishing the Kidneys First]
Cold qi corresponds to the kidneys. The kidneys are the original driving force of human life and the "innate foundation" of the body. In winter, the body's yang qi retracts, and physiological activities also become more restrained. At this time, the kidneys must not only prepare sufficient energy for maintaining the body's heat expenditure in winter but also store a certain amount of energy for the coming year, so nourishing the kidneys at this time is crucial. In terms of diet, one must always pay attention to the regulation of the kidneys, supplement heat, and eat more animal-based foods and legumes to supplement vitamins and inorganic salts. Dog meat, lamb, goose meat, duck meat, soybeans, walnuts, chestnuts, black fungus, sesame, sweet potatoes, radishes, etc., are all suitable foods for winter.
[Warm Food, Avoid Hard and Raw Foods]
Sticky, hard, and raw-cold foods are mostly yin in nature. Eating these foods in winter can easily damage the spleen and stomach. Food that is too hot can easily damage the esophagus, and after entering the stomach and intestines, it can easily cause internal heat accumulation and lead to disease; food that is too cold can easily stimulate the blood vessels of the spleen and stomach, causing poor blood flow, and a reduction in blood volume will seriously affect the blood circulation of other organs, damaging human health. Therefore, the diet in winter should be warm, hot, soft, and easy to digest.
[Increase Bitter, Decrease Salty]
In winter, the function of the kidneys is relatively strong. If one eats more salty foods, the kidney qi will become even stronger, which will greatly harm the heart, weaken its function, and affect human health. Therefore, in winter, it is advisable to eat less salty food to prevent excessive kidney water; eat more bitter foods to nourish the heart and enhance kidney function. Common foods include: betel nut, oranges, pork liver, sheep liver, turnip, lettuce, vinegar, tea, etc.