The liver is an important organ in the human body. It has the functions of regulating qi and blood, helping the spleen and stomach digest food and absorb nutrients, as well as regulating emotions and smoothing the flow of qi. Therefore, properly nourishing the liver in spring will bring health and longevity for the entire year. So, how should one nourish the liver in spring? In terms of diet, one should eat more foods that are warm and tonifying to yang energy, such as: green onions, ginger, garlic, chives, and mustard. Research shows that garlic not only has strong bactericidal effects but can also promote metabolism, increase appetite, prevent arteriosclerosis and hypertension, and even has brain-nourishing effects. Green onions are highly nutritious and can also prevent respiratory and intestinal infectious diseases. In addition, one should eat less cold-natured foods in the diet, such as: cucumbers, water bamboo, and lotus root, to prevent the suppression of yang energy generation.
Increase Sweetness, Reduce Acidity
In spring, the liver's function is vigorous. If one eats more sour foods, the liver qi will become even more excessive, leading to a decline in the spleen and stomach's digestive and absorption functions, affecting human health. Therefore, it is necessary to eat less sour food to prevent excessive liver qi. It is advisable to eat sweet foods in spring to strengthen the spleen and stomach qi, such as: jujubes, which have a mild nature and can nourish the blood vessels, strengthen the spleen and stomach. They can be eaten raw or made into jujube porridge, jujube cakes, and jujube rice. Yam is also an excellent food for spring diet, with the effects of strengthening the spleen and qi, nourishing the lungs and yin, and tonifying the kidneys and securing essence. Yam can be made into sweet dishes like candied yam, braised yam, premium yam, and crystal yam balls; it can also be made into snacks like yam cake, yam bean paste buns, yam candied haws, and yam sesame crisp cookies; it can also be made into yam porridge and yam red date porridge.
Eat More Vegetables
After winter, people often suffer from insufficient intake of various vitamins, inorganic salts, and trace elements. For example, in spring, people are more prone to stomatitis, angular cheilitis, glossitis, and certain skin diseases, all of which are caused by nutritional imbalance from eating too few fresh vegetables. Therefore, when spring arrives, people must eat more vegetables. Focus on local and seasonal vegetables. In spring, one can eat more wild vegetables. Wild vegetables grow in the suburbs, are less polluted, and are simple to prepare—they can be served cold stir-fried, in soups, or as fillings. They are rich in nutrients and have significant health benefits, such as shepherd's purse, purslane, dandelion, plantain, elm money, and bamboo shoots. Nowadays, greenhouse vegetable cultivation has gradually changed the situation of insufficient fresh vegetable supply in spring. In places with convenient living, fresh vegetables can be eaten at any time, such as spinach, celery, rapeseed, water bamboo, asparagus lettuce, toon, and green beans. Spring soups should be mainly made with red carrot, white radish, kelp, winter melon, tomato, and spring bamboo shoots, supplemented with chicken liver, pork liver, and shredded lean meat. The soup should be light and fresh in flavor.
Drink More Porridge
For breakfast or dinner, one can eat some health-preserving porridges that are warm-tonifying to the kidneys, strengthening to the spleen and stomach, and beneficial for qi and blood, such as chicken liver and japonica rice porridge, chive and japonica rice porridge, and pork liver and japonica rice porridge.
Supplement with Protein
In spring, the diet should also include more high-quality protein to enhance resistance, such as eggs, fish, beef, chicken, and soy products.