Speaking of "hair", I think of a story of the Ming Dynasty: In the eighteenth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Xu Da, who was supporting the elderly in his hometown of Fengyang, lost his hair and was in great pain. After Zhu Yuanzhang heard about it, he specially sent a steamed fat goose to show his "care". People who send it back are most taboo to eat steamed geese, otherwise they will worry about their lives. Xu Da certainly knew that Mao wanted his life, but the sacred life is hard to break. Xu Da sighed, ate steamed goose with tears in his eyes, and died a few days later. The steamed geese here are the chief culprit of Xu Da's disease. This food that can induce diseases is called "hair".
The word "hair" first appeared in Puji Fang, which mainly recorded mutton, peach, plum, sparrow meat, blood and other hairs. Later, doctors gradually expanded the concept of hair. "Hair" here refers to inducing or stimulating, that is, it may induce or aggravate certain diseases or symptoms. Specifically, foods that can lead to the occurrence of certain diseases or the recurrence or aggravation of old diseases after eating can be called hair products. When it comes to "hair", we usually associate it with "taboo". Doctors often tell patients "no-no" when they drink soup or receive acupuncture treatment. The taboo here is usually to avoid "hair"
Why does "hair" induce or aggravate diseases? First of all, food is cold, hot, warm and cool, and sour, bitter, sweet, bitter and salty, so it should be appropriate in diet. Improper consumption can cause or aggravate diseases; Secondly, excitable foods, such as onions, garlic, wine, spicy food, etc., often aggravate the inflammatory reaction of the body, which becomes "hair"; Exogenous proteins contained in some foods can become allergens, causing or aggravating many "allergic diseases", such as allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis, urticaria, eczema and other diseases.
Everything grows in spring, the climate is changeable, and the human body's yang also conforms to natural changes, and the yang rises upward and outward. At this time, the balance of yin and yang inside and outside the human body is easily disturbed, and the operation of qi and blood fluctuates greatly. If you accidentally eat improper "hair", it is more likely to cause or aggravate diseases, especially cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, digestive and respiratory diseases, such as coronary heart disease, cerebral hemorrhage, bronchial asthma, skin diseases and so on.
"Hair products" have a wide range, covering many foods. As long as we know the relevant theories of Chinese medicine, the nature of hair products and reasonable diet according to our own situation, we can ensure our health. The meaning of "hair" will only appear under special circumstances, so it should be treated according to special circumstances. "Hair" only brings bad consequences to people with special constitutions, and people with other constitutions should not be completely excluded from the diet. We generally divide "hair products" into six categories. Here are some examples to illustrate the taboos of six categories of hair products:
1. fever
Common fever things are: onion, garlic, leek, pepper, pepper, mutton, dog meat, beef and so on. This kind of food can make a fire and consume body fluids. It is not recommended for people who are thirsty, feverish, flushed, dry stool, upset and insomnia.
Not suitable for people: people with yang-heat constitution, yin deficiency and fire flourishing, and people with inflammation or tuberculosis are not suitable for eating. Because hot things are easy to help yang get angry, and the sun is strong in summer, it is generally not suitable for eating in summer.
Suitable crowd: people with cold constitution often have the performance of being afraid of cold, and eating hot things properly helps to drive away the cold in the body. Therefore, people with cold constitution, especially those with deficiency of spleen and stomach, are suitable for eating in winter, so the same heat is an excellent food for warming and nourishing yang in winter.
2. Things that make wind
Common things that blow are: fish (especially hairtail, yellow croaker, etc. ), shrimp, crab and other seafood, geese, Toona sinensis buds, eggplant, fungus, bamboo shoots and so on. These foods have the effects of promoting hair growth and regulating qi.
Unsuitable people: allergic patients (such as asthma, urticaria, eczema, skin diseases) and gout and cold patients.
Suitable for people: For people without allergic symptoms or weak constitution, the above foods belong to the source of high-quality protein.
3. Hot and humid things
Common damp and hot things are: caramel, pork, fat, taro, fermented grains, wine and other fatty products.
Not suitable for people: patients with spleen and stomach weakness and phlegm-dampness constitution. People with phlegm-dampness constitution are generally obese, prone to drowsiness, and their tongue coating is white and greasy. Damp-heat hair is not suitable for most people to eat more, because these foods are sticky and difficult to digest, and eating more can easily cause dryness and dampness of the spleen and stomach. In addition, it is not recommended for patients with cholecystitis, gallstones, acute liver disease, pneumonia, dysentery and other acute infectious diseases.
Suitable for people: people with insufficient middle qi can eat it, people with insufficient middle qi can eat this kind of food, especially maltose and glutinous rice, and taro can also regulate middle qi.
4. Cold accumulation
Common cold products are: watermelon, persimmon, wax gourd, pear, lettuce and other cold and slippery products.
Not suitable for people: people with cold constitution, spleen and stomach deficiency, cold diarrhea and cold stomachache generally should not eat more of these cold foods.
Suitable for the crowd: for those with yin deficiency and internal heat and those with excess heat constitution, cold food is a good recipe for reducing fire, especially in summer, and those with excess heat constitution can eat more appropriately.
5. Something that promotes blood circulation
Common things that promote blood circulation are: sea pepper, arrowhead, pepper, pepper, dog meat, rooster and so on.
Not suitable for people: patients with various hemorrhagic diseases, such as hematuria, hematochezia, hemorrhoid bleeding, gastric bleeding, subcutaneous bleeding, metrorrhagia, menorrhagia, hematemesis, hemoptysis, nosebleeds, etc. And patients with yin deficiency and internal heat, ulcers and tumors are not suitable for eating.
Suitable crowd: The above foods have certain effects of promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, dredging channels and activating collaterals, so people with blood stasis constitution such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, headache due to blood stasis, scapulohumeral periarthritis due to blood stasis and rheumatism can eat them properly.
6. Depression
Common qi stagnation includes beans such as soybean, taro, sweet potato, lotus seed, Euryale ferox, mutton and so on. Qi stagnation is a food that hinders the rise and fall of qi and the operation of qi.
Not suitable for the crowd: patients with spleen and stomach weakness can easily lead to indigestion, abdominal pain, abdominal distension, food retention, loss of appetite and other symptoms if they eat too much.
Suitable for people: most of these foods have the effects of strengthening kidney, astringent essence, nourishing soil and stopping diarrhea. For example, people with diarrhea due to spleen deficiency or premature ejaculation due to kidney deficiency can eat it properly. In addition, although lotus seeds are sluggish, moderate consumption can also nourish weakness, which is suitable for all ages, especially the elderly, postpartum and the elderly.
To sum up, we can't generalize "hair", we should distinguish it according to different physique and disease stages, and we need to treat it according to syndrome differentiation like drugs. If excessive contraindications are not distinguished, it is not conducive to the recovery of patients' condition and may also lead to nutritional imbalance. For example, some cancer patients are too strict and avoid eating a lot of food, such as beef and fish, which leads to a decrease in the intake of high-quality protein, resulting in malnutrition, which is not conducive to the rehabilitation of diseases and even induces new diseases.
References:
[1] Gu Yuan. "Hair" has advantages and disadvantages, and eating right is the key [J]. Everyone is healthy, 2021(15):1.
[2] Claire Kuo, Bian Jianghong. "hair" causes disease, but also cures diseases, and it is taboo [J]. Family Science, 2018 (11):1.