Within one month, Minor Cold and Major Cold arrive, and the cold weather reaches its extreme. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that cold can easily damage our body's Yang energy. Among the five organs, the Kidney Yang is the strongest, and nourishing the kidneys in winter is in accordance with the natural cycle of Yin and Yang, helping to regulate the body to resist the cold.
Major Cold Sleep: Sleep for an Extra Hour
Major Cold is the last of the 24 solar terms. At this time, life is dormant, and all things lie dormant in winter. The body's metabolic processes of Yin and Yang are also quite slow. To stay healthy during Major Cold, one should follow the principle of "storage" in winter. The simplest way is to sleep early and rise late, getting an extra hour of sleep each day. Sleeping early helps nourish the body's Yang energy, while rising late helps nourish the Yin energy. This allows the vital energy to gather internally to moisten the five organs, thereby increasing the body's immunity. We especially recommend that office workers sleep one hour earlier.
Dispel the Cold Wave: Eat Lamb Once a Week
January is the coldest month of the year, with wind and cold as the main climatic characteristics. Diet should focus on eating warm foods that dispel wind and cold to defend against the invasion of pathogenic cold and wind. These foods include ginger, green onions, chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, and lamb. TCM experts believe that among warming foods, lamb offers the best value. It can be paired with Chinese yam, angelica, carrots, and Euryale ferox seeds, seasoned with ginger and green onions. Eating it once a week is more beneficial for getting through the cold winter.
Nourishment: Personalized Kidney-Nourishing Diet
TCM holds that the focus of winter nourishment is on tonifying the kidneys. With strong kidney function, the body can regulate itself against various disturbances. However, methods for tonifying the kidneys should vary from person to person. If you often experience spontaneous sweating and mental fatigue, you should eat more red ginseng, red dates, and Chinese yam to tonify Qi. If you suffer from dizziness, palpitations, insomnia, and a sallow complexion, use angelica, donkey-hide gelatin, and fleeceflower root to tonify blood. If you often experience low-grade fever in the afternoon, flushed cheeks, and night sweats, it is advisable to use Cordyceps sinensis and tremella to tonify Yin. If your hands and feet are often cold and you are sensitive to cold, you can use deer antler and Cistanche deserticola to tonify Yang.