2015 Health Checklist

Introduction: The new year has arrived, what's on your New Year's resolution list? If your list is full of career, love, makeup, and beautiful clothes but lacks a plan for investing in your health, it's not a complete list. Check out the healthiest calendar of 2015 to see what health issues to pay attention to each month and what you can do to easily maintain your health!

January

Nourish the Kidneys and Prevent Cold

Health Principle: Nourish Yin in autumn and winter, nourish the kidneys and prevent cold.

Exercise: Take more walks, jog slowly, etc., and pay attention to keeping warm to prevent respiratory diseases.

Dietary Recommendations: Proper supplementation can replenish qi, blood, and fluids in a timely manner. Eat more lamb, chicken, soft-shelled turtle, walnut, jujube, longan meat, yam, lotus seed, lily, chestnut, etc. The above foods all have the effects of toning the spleen and stomach, warming the kidney yang, strengthening the spleen to resolve phlegm, and stopping cough to tonify the lungs. Of course, people with a constitution that tends to be "hot" and are prone to "heatiness" should take supplements slowly and eat less. Avoid all cold things, such as ice cream and raw and cold foods.

Scallion Fried Lamb

February

Generate Yang Qi, dress warmly for spring

Health Principle: Nourish Yang in spring and summer, dress warmly for spring.

Daily Routine: "Start of Spring and Rain Water arrive, wake up early and sleep late." After the Start of Spring, the climate is still dry, so replenishing fluids is also necessary.

Dietary Recommendations: It is advisable to eat more pungent and warm-dispersing foods such as jujube, fermented black beans, scallions, coriander, peanuts, chives, and shrimp. Avoid pungent foods. In spring, Yang Qi is initially generated, so you should eat pungent and sweet-dispersing foods, and not sour and astringent ones. Because sour flavor enters the liver and has an astringent nature, it is not conducive to the generation of Yang Qi and the free flow of Liver Qi. Dietary conditioning should cater to the preferences of the organs.

Jujube and Yam Porridge

March

Go to bed late and wake up early, eat sweet to nourish the liver

Health Principle: Nourish Yang in spring and summer, nourish the liver in spring.

Daily Routine: In spring, all things revive, you should go to bed late and wake up early, and walk slowly, which can make your spirit happy and your body healthy.

Dietary Recommendations: Eat more sweet foods, such as jujube, scorched rice, yam, chives, spinach, shepherd's purse, chicken, and chicken liver. Eat less sour food, such as tomatoes, lemons, and oranges. In spring, it is appropriate to eat more foods that can warm and tonify Yang Qi. The Tang dynasty "King of Medicine" Sun Simiao said: "In spring, one should reduce sour and increase sweet to nourish the spleen." Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the spleen and stomach are the foundation of acquired health. In spring, the liver corresponds; when Liver Qi is excessive, it can injure the spleen. Therefore, in spring, you should pay attention to eating more sweet and less sour to nourish the spleen.

April

Regulate Yin and Yang

Health Principle: Tonify the kidneys, regulate Yin and Yang.

Key to Health: To maintain a happy mood, it is advisable to choose gentle exercises that are dynamic yet static, such as spring outings, doing exercises, and practicing Tai Chi. In terms of diet, it is necessary to eat at regular times and in fixed amounts to prevent overeating.

Dietary Recommendations: Eat more spinach, shepherd's purse, scallions, fruits, yam, goji berries, rabbit meat, and less spicy, greasy, and very cold foods, such as chili, fatty meat, sea fish, and sea shrimp.

Three-Fresh Scorching Rice

May

Focus on the Heart

Health Principle: According to traditional Chinese medicine theory, the period around "Start of Summer" is beneficial for the physiological activities of the heart. People at the turn of spring and summer should adapt to the changes in weather and focus on the heart.

Mental Well-being: At the time of "Start of Summer," one should maintain a good mentality mentally and avoid extreme joy or anger that could injure the heart's Yang.

Dietary Recommendations: It is advisable to eat more foods that clear heat and drain dampness. Such as red beans, Job's tears, mung beans, winter melon, loofah, watercress, black fungus, lotus root, carrots, tomatoes, watermelon, and yam. Avoid rich, greasy, and spicy foods that generate heat, such as animal fat, greasy fish, raw scallions, raw garlic, and chili.

Steamed Loofah with Garlic

June

Go to bed late and wake up early

Health Principle: Pay attention to strengthening the body to avoid seasonal and infectious diseases, such as heatstroke, mumps, and chickenpox.

Key to Health: Go to bed late and wake up early to adapt to the abundance of Yang Qi, which is beneficial for the circulation of Qi and blood.

Dietary Recommendations: The principle of dietary conditioning is to lightly nourish. It is advisable to eat vegetables, beans, fruits, etc., such as pineapple, bitter melon, watermelon, lychee, mango, mung beans, and red beans. Avoid spicy and greasy foods.

Cold Bitter Melon Salad