November 8th, 2011, "winter commences", the 1st small Winter season arrives

       In 2011, the season of "winter commences" arrives on November 8th. Celestial longitude: 225 degree. For some of the seasonal information please read this article from last year.
  
      Winter is the season when Yang energy starts to sink and hide, and Yin energy starts to rise and dominate. As part of the universe, our body energy will do the same. How well do we preserve our energy determines how good will our health condition be in the following spring. So in order to merge into the universal energy, we need to follow the rule of “close” and “store” to protect the Yang energy and nourish the Yin energy, so our energy can “born” and “rise” again next spring without any problems.


       In Chinese traditional folk culture, the day of "winter commences" is the best time to “intake” or eat great stuff for a day in plain saying. People believe that to eat the best you can in this day can benefit you for the entire winter. Because when we enter the cold winter, our metabolism will slow down and our body “burn” less energy. Therefore the nourishing food can be processed into human energy and stored in our body. The extra energy we store will strengthen our fundamental energy and immune system. Also, high energy food can be balanced by the cold energy of winter thus cause less or no “fire” issue. The “winter commences” day is considered as the transitional moment between Yin and Yang energy. This is the day when our body can process and absorb easy, therefore the “winter nourishing” starts from the “winter commences” day. But in reality we need to be smart about the "intake". We often see people eat a lot of things that considered "nourishing", but get ill from them instead. Because just like everything else, there are basics “rules” for winter nourishing as well. In general, before we start the high energy food, we need to prepare our digestion system. Without the healthy digestion system, you will become a victim of a common concept as “too-weak-to-nourish”. If you have been following our seasonal health tips for a while then you should be ready. Otherwise, drink some hot soup that made of meat, and some millet soup as the “lead” of the winter nourishing process. 


According o TCM theory, there are four aspects can be nourished:

1. Qi-nourishing: This is for people who are low in Qi. Symptoms include short breath, sweat easy after simple movements, low voice, drowsiness, cannot concentrate or focus. Food remedies for these people include rice, sticky rice, peanut, Chinese yam, jujube, carrot, soy milk and chicken.
2. Blood-nourishing: This is for people who are low in blood (quality and quantity). Symptoms include dizziness, vertigo, heart-throb, insomnia, face shows yellow and earthy color, pale lips, and period issues for women. Food remedies for these people include animal liver, longan, lychee, mulberry, black wood fungus, spinach, carrot, pork, and fish.
3. Yang-nourishing: This is for people who are low in Yang energy. Symptoms include cold hands and feet (always), very low in cold tolerance, lower back soreness, getting up often during sleep to urinate, weak and low in sexual desire and functions. Food remedies for these people include lamb, shrimp, deer meat, walnut, chive, goji berry (lycii), and eel.
4. Yin-nourishing: This is for people who are low in Yin energy. Symptoms include red and warm cheeks, hot palms and sole centers, night sweat, afternoon low fever, increase of leukorrhea for women. Food remedies for these people include white and black wood fungus, pear, milk, egg, grape, napa.

      Here please be informed that the food mentioned above are just recommendations, you must choose wisely according to your own health condition. For those who are healthy and strong, excessive nourishing can cause negative effects such as dry mouth and nose bleed. For those who have cold, fever or coughing symptoms, make sure to treat these issues before even considering additional nourishing. For senior, be extra careful on foods that are high in fat, cholesterol, carbohydrate and stay with mild food. Also, for TCM, the term nourishing usually means “to add”. However, people today usually are not low in nutrients, but off balanced. Using food remedies to adjust the nutrient balance can be done all year round. So for winter nourish, the basic principle is to balance, follow the rules of “nourishing the Yin energy”, “do not disturb the Yang energy”, “add what you are low in, and warm up the body”. Make sure the “targets” are clear and you must remember, more does NOT equal to good. Before you take anything new to you, consult your doctor or dietitian to make sure the food will not cause any issues for you. 


      Besides eating enough fresh seasonal vegetables and fruits, the main directions for winter food in northern areas (cold areas) are high energy food, also known as “warm-nourishing”. The purpose is to add more Yang energy to prevent cold related symptoms. Eat food such as walnut, large jujube, longan, animal liver, eel, sea shrimp, potato, beef and lamb (lamb is my personal favor all year round, although for sure it works the best in cold season); On the other hand, in southern areas (warmer areas) it is better to take foods that are fresh, clear, mild and warm, also known as “mild nourishing”. "Mild nourishing” has two meanings, one is to use foods that are not too hot or too cold to nourish, such as brown rice, corn, fruit, vegetable, bean, napa, pork, chicken, duck and fish; It also means to use foods that nourish both Qi and Yin, or both Yang and Yin energy such as Chinese yam, honey, and goji berry. Also, another main factor in the southern area is high humidity mixed with heat. Observe your tongue fur to identify, as “yellow fur” indicates you are high in heat, and “thick white fur” indicates you are high in fluid (humidity). When seeing either of these symptoms, do NOT do food nourishing, instead go do some physical exercise to sweat the body to release the excessive heat and humidity.  For High land or mountain areas, since there is less rain and the air tends to be dryer, use “lite nourishing” food that are mild, cool, and moistening such as radish, white gourd, millet, apple, pear and rock sugar. No matter where you are , it is always safe and effective to eat foods that are grown locally.
   
  We have been talking about “intake”, now you can probably guess that what we should avoid is the opposite of it, “release” or over-use. Again, the key of winter is “storing” or “hide”, so here are some daily life tips we also need to follow:

1. Basic rule, do not make yourself too tired in any way, including working, playing and thinking,
2. Avoid heavy exercise and work, and try not to sweat too much,
3. Wear the right clothes according to day to day weather,
4. Drink (alcohol) less and reduce sexual activities,
5. Avoid detail orientated works (brain-hands works) such as typing, gaming, long driving, carving, knitting, etc. to rest the brain,
6. Follow the rule of “3-more, 3-less”, that’s more sleep, more calming, more peace, and less dysphoria, less shouting, less anger.

      Do not make your room temperature to high, if you sweat indoor, when you step out, there is a higher chance for you to catch a cold because your skin (pores) were wide open. In general this means to maintain a reasonable temperature difference between inside and outside, and do not “surprise” your body. This is especially important for seniors. Common cold and flu may not be server issues themselves, but they can lead to other fatal illness like ammonia, asthma and bronchitis. In general, use cool water to wash face and hot water to bath the feet is a method to maintain a good immune system for seniors and everyone else in the winter. Also, protect your back. TCM sees the back (Bladder meridian) as the main Yang energy section, and it is the “shield” of the body. If the back is harmed by cold, Yang energy is damage then many cold related symptoms may appear. So besides wear the right clothes to cover the back, when there is a sunny day, “bath” your back in the sun, this will help with strengthening our Yang energy and keep us warm and healthy in the cold days.