Healthy eating is a profound knowledge. The diet of the four seasons alone is full of mysterious changes. It is clearly stated in the Book of Rites that you should eat more sour food in spring, bitter food in summer, spicy food in autumn and salty food in winter. This kind of bitterness and bitterness actually corresponds to the wood fire and gold water in the five elements of heaven and earth, which conforms to the changes of the four seasons of heaven and earth and is very helpful for self-cultivation. But at the same time, remember that the four seasons should be regulated by sweetness, just as fire, water and civil works in Jin Mu built the foundation of everything.
The reason why diet changes with the changes of the four seasons is mainly because of the changes of external conditions such as temperature and humidity in the four seasons, and diet is a complex and difficult knowledge, which is not bound by unchangeable laws. Therefore, Sun Simiao, the drug king, said, "Eat less sour and more sweet in spring, less bitter and more spicy in summer, less spicy and sour in autumn and less sweet and more bitter in winter, but generally you need to eat less sweet and more salty all year round."
The difference between the diet theory in Book of Rites and Sun Simiao's viewpoint is not contradictory in TCM theory. On the contrary, they are similar viewpoints based on the same theory, but with different starting points. The original intention of The Book of Rites is to make the strong body stronger, while Sun Simiao's purpose is to care for and help the weak. However, whether it is the viewpoint of the Book of Rites or the viewpoint of the drug king, the most important thing for the elderly to maintain their health in the four seasons is that the diet in the four seasons should be based on taste, but the five flavors should not be too much.
Physical health is a balanced system, and everything related to health should follow the principle of moderation, so should diet. Mr. Cao quoted Bao Puzi as saying: "Too much sour hurts the spleen, too much bitter hurts the lungs, too much spicy hurts the liver, and too much salty hurts kidney is not good." The damage to the five internal organs caused by diet may not be particularly obvious at that time, but it will be manifested in other diseases after long-term accumulation. Therefore, the four seasons health care of the elderly should be prevented from being too long, and should change accordingly due to seasonal changes.
The real art of keeping in good health is often an art without skill, that is, following certain secrets of keeping in good health in a seemingly chaotic diet, while the method of keeping in good health in four seasons is also an art without skill, that is, balancing the diet in a seemingly chaotic diet. The practice is as follows:
Eat more sour food in spring, such as foods containing vitamin C, fruits containing organic acids, sweet and sour, spicy vegetables and so on. Scientific research has found that these sour foods contain certain substances, which can double the absorption rate of inorganic salts such as calcium, iron and zinc.
Bitter foods, such as bitter gourd and oil wheat vegetables, have the effect of clearing away heat and reducing fire, and moderate intake of such foods is beneficial to health.
It is the right time to nourish the lungs in autumn when the climate is dry and the weather turns cold. You can add spicy food, such as ginger and garlic, to your diet, which can not only improve your immunity, but also enhance your blood circulation.
Tonifying the kidney in winter is a good time to tonify the kidney, because it belongs to water and governs the kidney meridian. Therefore, we should eat more black food with heavy taste, such as fungus, black beans and sesame seeds.