November 8th marks the first solar term of winter: Start of Winter. As the name suggests, it heralds the arrival of winter. With shifting weather and climate, our health preservation strategies should naturally adjust. Some claim winter is the golden season for nourishment, advocating for substantial tonic intake after Start of Winter. Is this accurate? How should we properly preserve health during this period? Let experts guide us.
Expert: Start of Winter Marks Autumn-Winter Transition, Respiratory Patients Vulnerable
While the Start of Winter signifies winter's arrival, climate transitions lack strict boundaries—winter doesn't abruptly begin on this day.Dr. Huang Hanchao, Chief Physician at Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, previously explained that the weather during the Start of Winter period bridges autumn and winter, exhibiting characteristics of both seasons. "For instance, the air remains relatively dry during this time, and the temperature difference between morning and evening can be quite significant, resembling the lingering heat of late summer."
According to Dr. Huang, individuals most susceptible to health issues during this season include those with respiratory conditions, as their symptoms often flare up. Children and the elderly are also vulnerable. For seniors, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases may experience a small surge in incidence, requiring heightened vigilance.
Winter calls for heavy tonics? Start with light tonics at the beginning of winter
Many believe winter demands substantial tonics to ward off cold and illness. While acknowledging some truth in this, Dr. Huang Hanchao emphasizes the importance of approach. The arrival of winter at the start of winter doesn't necessitate immediate heavy tonics; adjustments should be made according to timing and climate. During the beginning of winter, opting for light tonics is the correct health preservation principle.
"Autumn dryness may still linger during the Start of Winter, so the health principle should be light nourishment—that is, slightly clearing internal heat while replenishing yin fluids. Opt for moisturizing ingredients rather than solely warming, drying foods. Save heavy nourishment for the Minor Snow solar term."
For mild nourishment during the Start of Winter, Chief Physician Huang Hanchao recommends sweet soups like chestnut, lily bulb, red bean, and rock sugar concoctions—sweet and moisturizing without causing internal heat.Additionally, soups made with ingredients like Chinese yam, lion's mane mushroom, goji berries, chestnuts, walnuts, and pork bones can be consumed. For daily hydration, Western Sen honey tea is particularly suitable for those engaged in mental work.
Naturally, certain dietary restrictions apply during the Start of Winter. Chief Physician Huang Hanchao advises that, due to lingering effects of the "Indian summer," one should avoid fried, spicy, and highly nourishing foods whenever possible, in addition to warm and drying foods.
What to Eat for Nourishment After the Start of Winter
1. Napa Cabbage
Napa cabbage is warm in nature and sweet in taste, entering the spleen and stomach meridians.It warms the stomach, boosts qi, dispels cold, and wards off wind. It helps alleviate stomach cold pain, abdominal sensitivity to cold, lower abdominal discomfort, and irregular bowel movements.
2. Black beans
Black beans boast the highest protein content among legumes, exceeding pork leg meat by more than double.Their fat content consists mainly of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, with essential fatty acids accounting for 50% of the total. They also contain phospholipids, isoflavones, and biotin. Therefore, consuming black beans does not pose a risk of high blood lipids and can even help lower cholesterol. Traditional Chinese medicine considers black beans to be neutral in nature and sweet in taste, with functions of moistening the intestines and nourishing the blood.
3. Goat Meat
Goat meat is warming in nature and enters the spleen and kidney meridians. It warms the kidneys, boosts yang energy, and strengthens the waist and bones.Traditional Chinese medicine considers sea bass warm and sweet in nature, with effects of strengthening the spleen and stomach, nourishing the liver and kidneys, and relieving coughs and phlegm. In winter, sea bass becomes plump and succulent, its flesh snow-white and delicate—the prime season for savoring this fish.
5. Green Onion
Green onion has a pungent taste and warm nature, promoting sweating to expel pathogens and warming the middle burner to dispel cold. It is primarily used for respiratory symptoms caused by wind-cold invasion, such as fever with chills, headache, nasal congestion, cough with white phlegm, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.
6. Crucian Carp
Crucian carp is warm in nature and sweet in taste. It fortifies the spleen and boosts qi, warms the middle burner and descends qi, promotes diuresis and reduces swelling, nourishes blood, and aids lactation. Rich in unsaturated fatty acids, regular consumption not only enhances physical fitness but also reduces obesity, helps lower blood pressure and blood lipids, and promotes longevity.
7. Shiitake Mushrooms
Shiitake mushrooms contain various vitamins, minerals, over 50 enzymes, free amino acids, choline, adenine, ergosterol, and shiitake polysaccharides. They inhibit cholesterol synthesis in the body, promote cholesterol breakdown and excretion, and prevent elevated blood lipids.
8. Ginger
Ginger is warming in nature with a pungent flavor. It warms the body, induces sweating, stops vomiting, detoxifies, and warms the lungs.
9. Millet
Millet is neutral-to-warm in nature with a sweet taste. Its sweetness and yellow color benefit the spleen, harmonizing the stomach and warming the middle burner. Millet porridge is commonly used for children with spleen deficiency diarrhea, elderly with qi deficiency fatigue, and postpartum nourishment for women.