Winter Solstice health preservation mainly includes five aspects: daily routine, mental cultivation, medication, diet, and taboos for supplementation.
I. Regular Daily Routine
In terms of daily routine, one should sleep early and rise late, and go out to engage in activities only after the sun has appeared. At the same time, one should also wear more clothes, avoid unnecessary outdoor activities, and prevent excessive consumption of Yang energy.
"A regular routine nourishes the spirit, and avoiding excessive labor nourishes the essence." During the winter season, if one can arrange their daily routine reasonably, they can nourish their spirit and vital energy. Moderate work and rest can nourish kidney essence. Try to achieve "walking at a moderate pace, not listening to the extreme, not looking at the extreme, not sitting for too long, and not lying until exhausted." Sleeping the "midnight and noon nap" around the Winter Solstice holds an important position in health preservation. In addition to ensuring nighttime sleep, one can take a short nap after lunch, but avoid catching a cold while sleeping. Secondly, pay attention to wind and cold prevention. Thirdly, during the Winter Solstice solar term, it is advisable to bask in the sun more during the day to facilitate the growth of Yang energy.
During the Winter Solstice, high-intensity physical exercise should be avoided to prevent damage to Yang energy. One can choose exercises that combine movement and stillness, such as Tai Chi or Baduanjin.
II. Do not compete with time in youth, and eliminate vain thoughts in the mind
The focus of health preservation is to cultivate the mind. To preserve health, one must first cultivate a kind and generous heart; a broad heart is naturally free from worry. For winter health preservation, one should quiet the mind, worry less, maintain a cheerful and optimistic spirit, not be bothered by trivial matters, and not be overly attached to fame and fortune or be swayed by gains and losses; avoid long-term "overload" operation to prevent overwork and illness from accumulated fatigue.
III. Strengthen the foundation of innate constitution and protect the acquired Qi
As the winter climate turns cold, the Yang energy of heaven and earth is hidden. Correspondingly, in the human body, winter is also the best time to store essence and strength. During this period, in addition to paying attention to health preservation in daily life, one should also emphasize the winter supplementation of diet and medication.
Medicinal health preservation should focus on strengthening the foundation of innate constitution and protecting the acquired Qi. The so-called "foundation of innate constitution" refers to the kidneys, which are the root of life. When kidney Qi is abundant, the body's metabolic capacity is strong, and the rate of aging slows down. The so-called "acquired Qi" refers to the spleen and stomach, which are the source of Qi and blood production. All the nutrients needed for the body's vital activities depend on the spleen and stomach for supply. Therefore, the focus of medicinal health preservation in this season should be on protecting the spleen and kidneys. The principles of medication should follow: more tonification and less purgation; the medicine should be mild in nature, and the dosage should be small; focus on the spleen and kidneys, while also considering the five organs; classify the methods of tonification and adjust Yin and Yang; grasp the season and observe the patterns; use more pills, powders, pastes, and pellets, and fewer decoctions; combine medicine and food, and guide the situation according to its tendency. Only by using medicine in this way can one correct imbalances, remedy deficiencies, prevent diseases, and prolong life.
IV. Prudent Dietary Regulation
As the saying goes, "food supplementation is better than medicinal supplementation." If one can appropriately choose foods that are both delicious and beneficial to the body in winter, it will undoubtedly be well-received. Among the foods suitable for supplementation in winter, traditional Chinese medicine also divides them into several categories. In the severe cold, the first choice is warming and tonifying foods, such as chicken, lamb, beef, and crucian carp. The several foods mentioned above are all delicious and can be excellent products for supplementation in winter. However, excessive consumption of warming and tonifying foods can easily lead to "internal heat." For neutral and tonifying foods, such as lotus seeds, Euryale ferox seeds, coix seeds, red beans, red dates, bird's nest, forest frog, tremella, and pork liver, these foods have neither cold nor warm properties, nor do they have the drawback of being greasy and hindering the stomach. There is also a category of nourishing foods that have the effects of nourishing Yin, benefiting the kidneys, replenishing essence, and enriching the marrow. The main ones are: black fungus, black dates, sesame, black beans, pork spine, sea cucumber, turtle meat, soft-shelled turtle, and abalone.
For dietary conditioning during the winter season, it is necessary to select appropriate supplementing foods according to different individuals in order to achieve the true effect of health preservation. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, people born at different times have different personalities, and thus their dietary requirements are also different. According to ancient Chinese Five Elements and physiognomy theory, people can be divided into five types: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Each type has a different constitution, and their food supplementation also varies.
V. Taboos for Supplementation
First, avoid blindly eating dog meat. Some people with weak constitutions and suffering from diseases like arthritis can benefit from eating more dog meat in the severe winter. However, one should not blindly eat dog meat to avoid eating rabid dog meat and contracting rabies. Do not drink tea after eating dog meat, because the tannic acid in tea combines with the protein in dog meat to form a substance. This substance has a certain astringent effect, which can weaken intestinal peristalsis and reduce moisture in the stool. Therefore, toxic and carcinogenic substances in the stool will be easily absorbed by the human body due to staying in the intestine for too long.
Second, avoid confusing deficiency and excess. The therapeutic principle of traditional Chinese medicine is "tonify the deficient." If there is a deficiency, then tonify it; if there is no deficiency, then a normal diet is sufficient. At the same time, one should clearly distinguish the properties and scope of application of tonifying products to see if they are suitable for oneself. Experts believe that the main function of supplementation is "tonifying deficiency and repairing damage," and deficiency is divided into four types: Qi deficiency, blood deficiency, Yin deficiency, and Yang deficiency, each with its own different methods of tonification.