Different seasons have different dietary habits. Mastering the principles of diet can lead to healthier eating. Pay attention to the following four "don'ts" in your autumn diet:
1. Don't overeat: In autumn, the pleasant climate and abundant food often lead people to overindulge. Excess calorie intake is converted into fat, causing weight gain, a phenomenon often referred to as "gaining autumn fat." Therefore, it's important to eat in moderation and not to let your appetite run wild.
2. Don't over-supplement: Traditional Chinese medicine teaches to "supplement when deficient, and purge when excessive." One should follow the principles of "only supplementing when there's a deficiency" and "supplementing what is lacking." While it's okay to supplement for deficiencies, it must be done in moderation to avoid disrupting the body's yin-yang balance. At the same time, one should understand that food supplementation is better than medicinal supplementation. "All medicine has some toxicity," so if a deficiency can be addressed with food, it should be.
3. Eat less irritating food: In autumn, one should eat less irritating, spicy, and dry-heat foods like chili peppers and black pepper. Instead, eat more vegetables and fruits, such as winter melon, radish, zucchini, eggplant, green leafy vegetables, apples, and bananas. Additionally, avoid the accumulation of damp-heat in the body. Foods with pungent aromas are believed to have a dispersing effect, so it's recommended to eat foods like celery.
4. Don't eat overly raw or cold foods: As the weather transitions from hot to cool in autumn, the body's physiological metabolism also changes to adapt. It's particularly important not to eat food that is too raw or cold, as this can lead to indigestion and various digestive tract ailments.