The "two porridges and one rice meal" model actually reflects the dietary preference of light meals among Rugao people, and it is an important part of Rugao's longevity diet culture. Coincidentally, the famous longevity town of Bama in Guangxi also has this habit. The greatest truths are the simplest. This seemingly ordinary dietary tradition actually contains the richest science of longevity.
Having porridge for breakfast and dinner, and rice for lunch, this is almost an unchanging three-meal recipe on the table of every Rugao person, past and present, and has been passed down for generations. Although people's living conditions are now very comfortable and they no longer worry about food, the dietary tradition of "two porridges and one rice meal" is still preserved. Experts who have long studied the phenomenon of longevity have surprisingly found that the popular "two porridges and one rice meal" dietary model among the people of Rugao is inextricably linked to the longevity of the local people.
The most valuable part of the "two porridges and one rice meal" concept is having porridge in the morning and evening. A large number of surveys show that 74% of the centenarians in Rugao drink porridge every morning and evening. Even in today's fast-paced life, in relatively traditional Rugao families, a pot of hot rice porridge or cornmeal congee is still prepared for breakfast and dinner, often with steamed buns and other staple foods. Those young people who eat soy milk and youtiao (fried dough sticks) at a breakfast shop because they are in a hurry for an early shift, when they return home in the evening, will still have a bowl of rice and then a bowl of cornmeal congee. If we go back 20 years, the Rugao custom of drinking porridge in the morning and evening was absolutely unbreakable.
Porridge, called "mi," "shan," or "yi" in ancient times, was written as "yu" by the ancients. China has records of porridge since the Han Dynasty. The Song Dynasty poet Lu You wrote a poem called "Eating Porridge," which says: "Everyone in the world seeks to live long, but they don't realize that longevity is right before their eyes. I have obtained the simple method of Wanchu, and only by eating porridge can one achieve the state of the immortals." This poem thoroughly reveals the divine quality of porridge. In the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen listed more than 50 methods of making porridge and their medicinal effects in his great medical work, "Compendium of Materia Medica." It can be seen that at that time, porridge was already recognized as a health-preserving treasure.
The benefit of drinking porridge in the morning is to regulate the spleen and stomach. Because the stomach has been digesting all night, the food is basically emptied. At this time, the empty stomach needs to replenish water and absorb nutrients. If you eat some raw, cold, or hard foods, it will irritate the stomach and make it uncomfortable. The book "Introduction to Medicine" records: "Getting up in the morning to eat porridge promotes the new by expelling the old, benefits the diaphragm and nourishes the stomach, produces body fluids, and makes people feel refreshed all day, which is no small supplement." The Song Dynasty writer Zhang Lei wrote a special essay, "Porridge Record," to explain the benefits of drinking porridge in the morning: "Every day, get up and eat a large bowl of porridge. On an empty stomach, the stomach is weak, and the energy of the grain is then produced. The supplement is not small, and it is extremely soft and smooth, compatible with the stomach and intestines, making it the most wonderful secret of diet."
Traditional Chinese medicine has the saying that "after the age of fifty, one's own yin energy is half," which means that the elderly have varying degrees of kidney essence deficiency. Regularly drinking porridge can help supplement kidney essence and prolong life. In the evening, during the hour of You (5-7 PM), it is the time when the kidney meridian is in charge. Supplementing the kidney at this time is twice as effective, so the effect of drinking porridge at night to nourish the kidney is particularly good.
The ancients highly praised the health-preserving effects of porridge. In the longevity town, many elderly people have cured their stomachaches, insomnia, and constipation by insisting on drinking porridge in the morning and evening. However, the greatest benefit of drinking porridge is nourishing the stomach, because it not only does not consume the stomach's energy (wei qi) but also replenishes it. The stomach is our foundation for acquired health. Taking good care of the stomach means being halfway to a long life.
Eating rice at noon is a common eating habit across the country, and Rugao is no exception. The difference is that on the noon table of Rugao people, there is no big fish, meat, oil, or sugar. Green vegetables, radishes, spinach, and tofu are the main and common dishes. As the Rugao proverb says: "Fish causes heat, meat produces phlegm, and tofu with green vegetables ensures peace and safety."
The "two porridges and one rice meal" model actually reflects the dietary preference of light meals among Rugao people, and it is an important part of Rugao's longevity diet culture. Coincidentally, the famous longevity town of Bama in Guangxi also has this habit. The greatest truths are the simplest. This seemingly ordinary dietary tradition actually contains the richest science of longevity.