What should be considered when taking tonics in autumn?
After the start of autumn, temperatures often remain high with significant humidity. People may not feel the coolness or dryness of autumn, but instead experience a stifling, humid atmosphere. Additionally, summer often weakens spleen and stomach function due to summer fatigue or excessive cold food consumption, making this an ideal time for substantial tonic intake.
However, before beginning autumn tonics, allow the spleen and stomach time to adjust. Start with nutrient-rich, easily digestible foods to regulate digestive function. Otherwise, nutrients may not be absorbed and could even cause illness. Examples include fish, lean meats, poultry eggs, Chinese yam, and lotus seeds. Additionally, dairy products, legumes, fresh vegetables, and fruits are all suitable for moderate consumption.Gorgon fruit, valued for both medicinal and culinary uses, is an excellent choice for regulating the spleen and stomach. Rich in carbohydrates and proteins, it nourishes and strengthens the body, tonifies the middle energizer, invigorates qi, stimulates appetite, quenches thirst, fortifies the kidneys, and nourishes essence.
As autumn progresses, the weather grows increasingly cool and the air drier, posing greater challenges to lung health.Traditional Chinese medicine holds that autumn's dryness ascends to cause coughing, often manifesting as weakness and fainting. Therefore, after mid-autumn, nourishment should prioritize moisturizing yin and lubricating the lungs. In the Yuan Dynasty, Wusi Hui stated in Essentials of Dietary Therapy: "Autumn's dryness calls for consuming sesame to moisten it." Sesame seeds possess the ability to nourish yin and alleviate dryness, and moistening dryness is precisely the fundamental principle of autumn nourishment.
Autumn tonification requires caution, prioritizing light and balanced nourishment. How can one achieve this?
Light tonification primarily means nourishing without heaviness. Appropriately consuming foods or herbs that strengthen the spleen, clear heat, and drain dampness serves two purposes: first, expelling internal damp-heat pathogens through urination to eliminate lingering effects of summer's intense heat; second, regulating spleen-stomach function to lay a foundation for mid-autumn, late-autumn, and winter tonification.At this time, it is advisable to increase intake of foods like mung bean porridge, lotus leaf porridge, red bean porridge, red date and lotus seed porridge, and Chinese yam porridge.
For those with weak spleen and stomach or poor digestion, it is crucial to avoid greasy, yin-nourishing ingredients like deer antler gelatin or donkey-hide gelatin during this period. Otherwise, symptoms like loss of appetite and indigestion may worsen. Individuals with weak spleen and stomach may benefit from consuming more spleen-strengthening and dampness-draining congees like coix seed congee or mung bean congee.
Early autumn often brings the "Indian summer" heatwave.During the Mid-Autumn Festival season, when high temperatures, clear skies with little rain, prolonged drought, and dry air persist, warm dryness can arise spontaneously. This often damages bodily fluids, leading to symptoms such as dry skin, a red tongue with little coating, dry hair, constipation, dryness in the mouth, nose, and throat, chest pain, dry cough, and scant phlegm. In late autumn, cool dryness injures the lungs, causing cough with thin phlegm, dry throat and lips, and nasal congestion.However, whether it's warm dryness or cool dryness, the hallmark is always dry skin and a lack of bodily fluids. To prevent autumn dryness, during mid-to-late autumn, consume mild-natured herbs or foods that nourish yin, moisten dryness, nourish the lungs, and generate fluids. Examples include stewing white or black fungus with rock sugar; simmering yuzhu (Polygonatum) and sand ginseng with duck for soup; or roasting black sesame seeds, grinding them into powder, and mixing with honey.Additionally, increase fruit intake, prioritizing pears and sugarcane, followed by water chestnuts, bananas, and loquats—all excellent for moisturizing dryness. However, those with spleen deficiency and dampness causing diarrhea, or lung cold with sticky phlegm, should avoid excessive consumption.
Autumn tonics should prioritize mild and balanced nourishment. Except for those with yang deficiency constitutions, avoid excessive consumption of warming foods or herbs like lamb, dog meat, ginseng, deer antler, or cinnamon, as these may exacerbate autumn dryness. Additionally, autumn tonics should be tailored to individual conditions. Those with chronic illnesses or physical weakness should seek personalized guidance from a physician.
Autumn-appropriate foods
1. What to eat after the Start of Autumn
After the Start of Autumn, increase sour foods and reduce pungent foods to support liver qi.Consume foods that nourish the liver and lungs, such as lily bulbs, lotus root, potatoes, radishes, wood ear mushrooms, Chinese yam, lentils, goji berries, white fungus, pork, duck, chicken, rabbit meat, peanuts, eel, crucian carp, yellow croaker, pomelo, pears, and apples.
Autumn is an ideal season for nourishing the body, but choose mildly nourishing foods that prevent dryness without being greasy, such as pumpkin, lotus seeds, longan, black sesame seeds, red dates, and walnuts.
Limit pungent foods like scallions, ginger, garlic, leeks, and peppers. Avoid excessive consumption of melons and fruits to prevent damaging the spleen and stomach.
2. Eating Nuts at the Start of Autumn Prevents Malaria
Malaria, also known as cold-heat disease, is a common childhood infectious disease during summer and autumn. It is transmitted by mosquito bites carrying malaria parasites, causing symptoms like chills and high fever. The best prevention is mosquito control and avoiding bites.