The appropriate selection of health foods plays a vital role in preventing and treating common and frequent illnesses in the elderly, enhancing physical fitness, and prolonging life. However, improper consumption can have the opposite effect and even harm the body. Therefore, it is crucial to select health foods based on individual needs.
1. Adapt to individual characteristics. Due to differences in gender, age, physiological condition, body shape, and personal lifestyle, people have different dietary requirements. Therefore, the selection of health foods should not be one-size-fits-all. The same food may be highly beneficial for some people but counterproductive for others. For example, milk is an ideal nutritional food for most people, but a small minority lack the enzyme lactase, which can lead to discomfort and diarrhea after consumption. After eating the same amount of longan pulp, some people may find it helps them sleep, while others may experience "internal heat" and insomnia. When using dietary therapy to nourish the elderly with weak constitutions, it is important to distinguish between "yang deficiency" and "yin deficiency." For yang deficiency, it is advisable to choose warming and tonifying foods like lamb and dog meat. For yin deficiency, it is better to eat yin-nourishing foods like turtle meat, soft-shelled turtle meat, and clam meat.
2. Select foods according to the nature and symptoms of the illness. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory, dietary therapy should follow the principles of "warming the cold," "cooling the heat," "tonifying the deficient," and "purging the excessive." For diseases, the principle of "treating the acute symptoms first, then the root cause in chronic conditions" should be followed based on the severity and urgency. The "symptoms" refer to the clinical manifestations and signs of the disease, while the "root cause" refers to the mechanism and pathogenesis of the disease. Generally, chronic diseases are treated from the root cause, while acute diseases are often treated by addressing the symptoms first, or by treating both the symptoms and the root cause simultaneously.
3. Pay attention to the nature and flavor of foods. The "nature" of food refers to its four properties: cold, cool, warm, and hot. The "flavor" of food refers to its five tastes: sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, and salty. Generally, cold and cool foods have the effects of clearing heat, reducing fire, detoxifying, and reducing inflammation. They are suitable for consumption in spring and summer or by people with heat-related diseases. Examples of such foods include grains, mung beans, adzuki beans, pears, bananas, and persimmons. Warm and hot foods have the effects of warming the middle, tonifying deficiency, and dispelling cold. They are suitable for consumption in autumn and winter or by people with deficiency-cold diseases. Examples include glutinous rice, meat, crucian carp, and rice eel. Foods with different flavors also have different effects. Pungent flavor can disperse and moisten, unblock blood vessels, promote the circulation of qi and blood, strengthen muscles and bones, and enhance the body's resistance. Common foods include green onions, ginger, garlic, pepper, Sichuan pepper, radish, and various alcoholic beverages. Sweet flavor can tonify, balance the middle, and relieve pain. Common foods include jujubes, glutinous rice, animal liver, duck pears, coconuts, tofu, honey, and white sugar. Sour flavor has astringent effects and can consolidate and bind. When combined with sweet flavor, it can nourish yin and moisten dryness. A common food is vinegar. Bitter flavor can purge fire, drain dampness, and solidify yin. When combined with sweet flavor, it has the effects of clearing heat, promoting urination, and removing dampness and toxins, such as bitter melon and tea. Salty flavor can soften masses, dissipate nodules, and have a laxative effect. Examples include seafood, pork kidneys, and pigeon meat. Bland flavor foods have the effect of promoting urination to drain dampness, such as Job's tears, hyacinth beans, winter melon, lotus root, peanuts, and eggs.
4. Select foods flexibly according to the season and location. The four seasons have different climates: warm spring, hot summer, cool autumn, and cold winter. These constant climatic changes affect the body's physiological functions. TCM believes that diet should adapt to the changes of the four seasons to maintain the balance of yin, yang, qi, and blood in the body, thus ensuring "righteous qi resides within, and pathogenic factors cannot interfere." Generally, in spring, when the climate is warm and nature is vibrant, it is advisable to eat light foods, such as wheat-based dishes, and more vegetable congee, like shepherd's purse congee. In summer, the climate is hot and humid with heavy rainfall; it is advisable to eat cooling legumes and sweet, cool foods, such as mung bean soup, lotus leaf congee, mint soup, watermelon, and winter melon. In autumn, the climate turns cool and dry; it is suitable to eat foods that promote the production of body fluids, such as lotus root congee. In winter, it is cold, and foods should be warm and heating. One can eat eight-treasure rice, hot pot lamb, and longan and jujube congee to tonify the body's vital energy. Different geographical environments also have a significant impact on dietary structure. Moreover, improper diet can lead to "水土不服" (inability to adapt to a new climate or environment), so this factor should also be considered.