October 8th marks the "Cold Dew" (Hánlù) solar term in the 24 solar terms. From the "Cold Dew" period, rainfall gradually decreases, the weather becomes dry, and days are warm while nights are cool. From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the most significant climatic characteristic in the south during this solar term is the dominance of the "Dryness" pathogen, which most easily damages the lungs and stomach. During this time, people's sweat evaporates faster, often leading to symptoms such as dry skin, increased wrinkles, a dry throat and mouth, a dry cough with little phlegm, and even hair loss and constipation. Therefore, the focus of health preservation is to nourish yin, prevent dryness, moisten the lungs, and benefit the stomach.
Cold Dew Season: Protecting the Lungs and Nourishing Yin for Health
During the Cold Dew season, all things gradually decline and wither as the cold energy grows. In nature, the yin and yang energies also shift, with yang energy gradually receding and yin energy flourishing. In terms of health preservation, we must align our body's physiological activities with these natural changes to maintain internal yin-yang balance. Following the principle of "nourishing yang in spring and summer, and nourishing yin in autumn and winter" emphasized in seasonal health practices, it is essential to protect the body's yin energy during the Cold Dew season.
Autumn Corresponds to the Lungs
In the golden autumn, the energy of dryness prevails, and the pathogenic dryness can easily invade the body, consuming lung yin. If not properly cared for, a person will experience a series of autumn dryness symptoms, such as a sore throat, dry nose, and dry skin. Therefore, the diet in late autumn should focus on nourishing yin and moistening the lungs. Specifically, dietary health should be based on a balanced intake of the five flavors, and according to individual conditions, one should appropriately consume more sweet, light, and moistening foods. These not only nourish the spleen and stomach but also moisten the lungs and intestines, preventing and treating symptoms like a dry throat and mouth.
Mental and Emotional Care Should Not Be Neglected
As the weather turns colder and the days grow shorter, the bleak and gusty autumn winds can often make people emotionally unstable, irritable, and prone to feelings of sadness and sorrow. Seeing withered grass, fallen leaves, and凋零 flowers, some people may feel desolate, bleak, and a sense of decline. Sadness and worry most easily injure the lungs. Therefore, the Song Dynasty health scholar Chen Zhi said: "In autumn, the bleak winds and miserable rain often make the elderly prone to agitation and sentimentality. If they appear unhappy, one must find ways to persuade them and engage their minds, so they forget their autumnal thoughts." Excessive excitement and agitation can cause yang energy to become unstable, potentially triggering illness. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain a good mindset, guide emotions according to the circumstances, release pent-up feelings, and cultivate an optimistic and open-minded attitude. One can build on their usual hobbies to enjoy themselves, cultivate their character, stabilize their emotions, and improve the body's ability to resist dryness and enhance immunity.
After Cold Dew, the weather turns from cool to cold, and the chill is biting after nightfall. As the saying goes, "In Cold Dew, don't expose your feet." This is a warning that people should pay attention to the changing weather, especially to keep warm, add or remove clothing promptly to prevent invasion of cold pathogens, and not to go barefoot, to avoid "cold entering from the feet." The feet are the farthest from the heart, receive less blood supply, and have a thin layer of fat, making them particularly susceptible to the cold. Experts remind that cold feet can easily cause capillaries in the upper respiratory tract mucosa to constrict, leading to a decrease in the body's resistance. The respiratory tract is extremely sensitive to the stimulation of cold air. A sudden drop in temperature can reduce the resistance of the respiratory organs, allowing pathogens to take advantage. Mild cases can cause external colds and coughs, while severe cases can trigger respiratory diseases like bronchitis and asthma.
After Cold Dew, in addition to wearing warm clothing, shoes, and socks, one should also develop the habit of washing their feet with hot water before bed. Soaking the feet in hot water can not only prevent respiratory infections but also dilate blood vessels, speed up blood flow, improve the nutrition of the skin and tissues of the feet, reduce the occurrence of lower limb soreness, and relieve or eliminate the fatigue of the day.
As the saying goes, "Cold-hardening exercise should begin in autumn." During the Cold Dew season, to prepare for the colder winter and adapt to the severe cold, one should engage in cold-hardening exercises to continuously improve the body's ability to resist the cold.
During this solar term, it is advisable to consume nourishing soups and broths to moisten the lungs, generate fluids, strengthen the spleen, and benefit the stomach, such as carrot and fig soup with raw fish, Prince Ginseng and Ophiopogon pear soup with lean pork, and Chinese yam and Astragalus root soup with pork pancreas.
It is recommended to choose more sweet, cool, and moistening ingredients, such as American ginseng, bird's nest, Hashima (frog oil), Glehnia root, Ophiopogon root, Dendrobium, and Solomon's seal rhizome. Among these, American ginseng has a bitter, slightly sweet, and cool nature, and acts on the heart, lung, and kidney meridians. It has the effects of replenishing qi and nourishing yin, clearing deficient fire, and generating fluids. It is suitable for conditions like qi and yin deficiency, lack of saliva and thirst, lung deficiency with cough, and vexation from deficient heat. Bird's nest is sweet in nature and neutral, acting on the lung, stomach, and kidney meridians. It has the benefits of tonifying deficiency and repairing damage, nourishing yin and moistening dryness, and transforming phlegm and stopping cough. It is often used for cough and shortness of breath caused by lung and kidney deficiency. Hashima is sweet and salty in nature and neutral, acting on the lung and kidney meridians. It has the effect of nourishing essence and yin to moisten the lungs, and is suitable for conditions like physical weakness, consumption, pulmonary tuberculosis with hemoptysis, and persistent dry cough. Dendrobium (Hollow Stem) is sweet and slightly cold in nature, acting on the lung, stomach, and kidney meridians. It moistens the lungs and yin, benefits the stomach and kidneys, sharpens the mind and brightens the eyes, and is a good remedy for reducing fire. It also has effects such as generating fluids to quench thirst, tonifying the five organs for deficiency, clearing the lungs to stop cough, and preventing colds. These are all premium items for autumn replenishment.
Persimmon: Persimmons have the功效 (effects) of moistening the lungs to stop cough, clearing heat to generate fluids, transforming phlegm, and softening hard masses. Eating fresh persimmons raw is effective for conditions like pulmonary tuberculosis with cough, deficiency heat and lung flaccidity, cough with excessive phlegm, and hemoptysis from deficiency and overwork. Ripe, soft, and red persimmons can treat conditions such as heat-induced thirst, dry mouth and chapped lips, vexation in the heart, and dysentery due to heat.