Many white-collar women drink fruit and vegetable juice for breakfast. Although it can provide direct nutrition from fruits and vegetables and clear internal waste, everyone overlooks the most crucial point: the human body always prefers a warm environment. When the body is warm, microcirculation is normal, and the transportation of oxygen, nutrients, and waste is smooth.
Therefore, when eating breakfast, never start with fruit and vegetable juice, iced coffee, iced juice, iced black tea, mung bean soup, iced milk, etc. In the short term, you may not feel any discomfort, but in fact, it will gradually weaken your body. Why is this?
Breakfast should consist of hot food to protect the "stomach qi" (wei qi). In Traditional Chinese Medicine, "stomach qi" is a broad concept that does not simply refer to the stomach organ itself. It includes the digestive and absorption abilities of the spleen and stomach, acquired immunity, and the function of muscles.
In the morning, the yin energy from the night has not yet dissipated, and the temperature of the earth has not yet risen. The body's muscles, nerves, and blood vessels are still in a state of contraction. If you consume cold food and drinks at this time, it will inevitably cause all internal systems to constrict further and blood flow to become even more obstructed. Perhaps at first, you won't feel any gastrointestinal discomfort, but over time or as you age, you will find that you cannot absorb the essence of food, as if you are never full, or your stools are always loose, or your skin gets worse and worse, or you always have a phlegmy feeling in your throat, frequently catching colds and suffering from minor ailments. This is what is meant by damaging the "stomach qi" and weakening the body's resistance.
Therefore, the first thing in the morning should be to enjoy hot congee, hot oatmeal, hot goat's milk, hot tofu pudding, hot soy milk, sesame paste, Chinese yam congee, or Cantonese congee, and then have it with vegetables, bread, sandwiches, fruit, or other snacks.
Because milk can easily cause phlegm and allergies, it is less suitable for people with respiratory, digestive, or skin problems, as well as for those living in humid climates.