Experts emphasize that winter wellness requires avoiding cold and seeking warmth to protect yang energy, maintaining relative balance between yin and yang. Therefore, winter health practices should comprehensively address diet, daily routines, and physical and mental well-being to prevent disease onset or exacerbation.
Dietary Care
As the saying goes, "Food therapy surpasses medicinal supplements." Nutritional supplementation plays a particularly vital role in winter wellness. With plunging temperatures, the body increases the breakdown of sugars, fats, and proteins to generate more energy and meet physiological demands. Consequently, consuming foods rich in carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and vitamins is essential.Simultaneously, cold weather impacts the urinary system, increasing urination and the loss of minerals like sodium, potassium, and calcium. Thus, foods rich in these minerals should be prioritized.Additionally, incorporate more vegetables and moderately increase intake of animal organs, lean meats, fish, and eggs. Foods like chicken, soft-shelled turtle, lamb, longan, and wood ear mushrooms are also beneficial. These not only offer delicious flavors but are rich in protein, fats, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other nutrients. They replenish calories lost to winter cold while tonifying qi, nourishing blood, and strengthening deficiencies—making them particularly suitable for those with weakened constitutions.Simultaneously, reduce pungent flavors and increase sour ones to prevent illness. Early winter is a high-risk period for cardiovascular diseases. During this time, prioritize consuming refreshing, moisturizing, and sweet-sour foods, avoiding excessive intake of spicy hotpot dishes. For instance, incorporating more vinegar into your diet can help soften blood vessels and prevent cardiovascular diseases.
Mental Well-being
During winter, the body's metabolism slows down. Therefore, winter health preservation should focus on "storing" energy, meaning maintaining mental tranquility. Experts advise learning to regulate negative emotions when encountering setbacks. Suppressed feelings of depression can be released through appropriate outlets to preserve emotional balance.Simultaneously, increase sun exposure. Winter's early darkness and short daylight hours contribute to depressive moods because nighttime heightens melatonin secretion from the pineal gland, affecting emotions. Sunlight, however, suppresses this hormone's production. Exercise Winter exercise remains essential. Moderate physical activity strengthens the body's resistance against disease.Wang Shijie, Director of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Shaanxi Second People's Hospital, emphasizes that winter coldness stiffens limbs, making warm-up exercises crucial before training. Activities like limb stretching, jogging, or light weight training should induce mild perspiration before progressing to high-intensity workouts. Clothing should prioritize warmth and cold prevention based on weather conditions.After exercise, promptly put on warm clothes to avoid catching a chill. Additionally, individuals with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases should avoid strenuous activities like ball games or mountain climbing. Middle-aged and elderly individuals with respiratory conditions should avoid cold exposure. Exercise should be done during daylight hours, avoiding early mornings and evenings to prevent triggering disease flare-ups. Older adults engaging in outdoor exercise should pay particular attention to staying warm.
Daily Routine
Traditional Chinese medicine holds that "cold is a yin pathogen that frequently damages yang energy." Without yang energy, the body loses its vitality for metabolism. Yang energy is especially crucial for the elderly, so post-Lìdōng daily routines must prioritize "nourishing and storing" yang energy.Experts emphasize two key points: 1. Early to bed, late to rise: Go to sleep reasonably early, and avoid rising too early in the morning. Elderly individuals, if time permits, should ideally wait until the sun rises and yang energy begins to ascend before getting up. This ensures adequate sleep, which supports the concealment of yang energy and the accumulation of yin essence.Second, pay attention to clothing: Neither too thick nor too thin is ideal. Wearing too little or too thin clothing, or having a room temperature that is too low, can lead to colds and deplete yang energy. Conversely, wearing too much or too thick clothing, or having a room temperature that is too high, can cause the pores to open, preventing yang energy from being stored and making it easier for cold pathogens to invade.