Eating Sweet Potato Porridge
After the Major Snow, the temperature gradually gets colder. People pay great attention to keeping warm both indoors and outdoors,纷纷穿上冬装，防止受冻，出现冻疮。鲁北民间有“碌碡顶了门，光喝红黏粥”的说法，意思是天冷不再串门，只在家喝暖乎乎的红薯粥度日。此外，逢下雪到户外赏雪、堆雪人也是此时常有的景致。
Eating Scallions to "Activate Yang"
According to traditional Chinese medicine health preservation, around the time of the Major Snow, the weather is cold and Yang energy is hidden. If one does not pay attention to keeping warm, pathogenic cold can invade the body easily, leading to illness. Therefore, it is important to focus on nourishing Yang energy during the winter.
The period around the Major Snow is a high-incidence time for colds caused by wind and cold. The main symptoms of such a cold are aversion to cold and wind, and one usually needs to wear many clothes or a thick blanket to feel more comfortable. When the weather is cold, eating foods that boost Qi and activate Yang, such as scallions, can help prevent colds caused by wind and cold.
Although the green part of the scallion has a much higher nutritional content than the white part, from the perspective of activating Yang and food therapy, the white part has a greater effect. For example, many classic food therapy recipes for colds caused by wind and cold include scallion white, with the main ingredient of Scallion and Black Bean Soup being scallion white. Scallions are pungent in taste and slightly warm in nature, and they have the effects of activating Yang, detoxifying, and flavoring food. In addition to preventing and treating colds caused by wind and cold, they also have certain therapeutic effects for symptoms like abdominal pain due to cold, aversion to cold with fever, headache and nasal congestion, and insufficient lactation. It should be noted that while scallions can be eaten by the general population, people with gastrointestinal diseases, especially ulcers, should not eat them in large quantities.
Eating Chinese Cabbage for Skin Care and Beauty
The air is particularly dry during the Major Snow, and the cold wind causes many people's skin to become dry. Many office workers, after arriving at their workplace, are confined in air-conditioned rooms with the heating on, causing their skin to lose moisture even faster.
Eating Chinese cabbage in the winter is not only nutritious but also has skin care and beauty benefits. This is mainly because Chinese cabbage is rich in vitamins C and E, which can provide excellent skin care and beautifying effects. Chinese cabbage is also rich in dietary fiber, which not only helps to moisten the intestines and promote detoxification but also stimulates intestinal peristalsis, promotes bowel movements, and aids digestion.
Eating Red Radish Greens to Supplement Calcium
The arrival of the Major Snow marks the official beginning of the transition from autumn to winter. During this time, sunlight is weak, and under the influence of cold temperatures, the body's physiological functions and appetite both change. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the daily diet appropriately to ensure an adequate calcium intake to keep the body warm and comfortable during the winter.
The shorter days of winter affect the synthesis of vitamin D, and the cold weather increases urine output, leading to a greater loss of inorganic salts in the urine. The body can easily become deficient in elements like potassium, calcium, sodium, and iron, especially in the elderly. Therefore, calcium supplementation should be timely.
Radish greens are the vegetable with the highest calcium content, making them very suitable for people with calcium deficiency. For example, soybeans, which are known for their high calcium content, have about 191 milligrams of calcium per 100 grams. However, red radish greens have 350 milligrams of calcium per 100 grams, almost double the amount.
Like many vegetables, vitamins in radish greens can be easily lost. It is best to blanch them and eat them cold in a salad. One serving of cold radish greens can fully meet the body's daily needs for vitamins A and K, 55% of the daily requirement for vitamin C, 27% of folate, and 10% of calcium and manganese.