Two great treasures for health preservation that both men and women need

As the saying goes, "Men rely on food and women rely on sleep." Men's energy is often believed to be due to diet, while women need to get a good "beauty sleep" if they want to be beautiful.

In fact, from the perspective of health preservation, healthy diet and quality sleep are the two "magic weapons" of health preservation, which are equally important for men and women. However, there are differences between men and women after all, and health preservation also requires attention to gender differences. The reporter interviewed experts from the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Department of Nutrition respectively. Although the theories of Chinese and Western medicine are different, they all agreed that due to different physiological structures, men and women should have different focuses in health preservation.

Diet

Men: "Sperm production" and "anti-oxidation" work together

"Traditional Chinese medicine theory divides people into two groups based on yin and yang and the five elements. Men are yang and women are yin. Movement generates yang, while stillness nourishes yin. From this perspective, men's 'masculinity' mainly relies on the intake of 'water and grain essence' in food, which is then transformed into qi and blood, which can help keep people energetic." Professor Zhang Shijun of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University introduced that this kind of "using essence for use" concept is also used to guide the clinical treatment of various male patients with kidney deficiency and physical weakness with traditional Chinese medicine. He said that the main purpose of men's tonic is to maintain yang energy, because men bear greater social pressure and are easily depleted of yang energy due to fatigue from running around. It is recommended to choose appropriate "Yang-replenishing" diet therapy based on individual constitution.

He said that a major focus of men's diet should be on "nourishing kidney essence". "Because the kidneys are responsible for storing yang energy, the body's yang energy comes from the kidneys, and the kidneys provide the motive force for life activities. Therefore, we should eat more foods that nourish the kidneys and produce sperm." According to reports, foods such as wolfberry, yam, chestnuts, black sesame, and lotus seeds all have kidney-tonifying effects.

"A big difference between men and women is that men have a larger proportion of muscle in their bodies, while women have more fat." Zeng Jing, director of the Nutrition Department of the Guangdong General Hospital of the Armed Police Force, said that from a nutritional point of view, men should focus on adequate intake of high-quality protein because muscles need protein to provide energy. At the same time, protein can also help sperm production and improve fertility. In addition, experts also recommend that men should ensure daily supplementation of trace elements such as zinc and selenium.

Zeng Jing said that men have far more risk factors that are harmful to their health in life than women, such as smoking and drinking, so "anti-oxidation" should be another major focus of men's diet therapy. Men can take appropriate antioxidant supplements. At the same time, some natural antioxidant foods are just as effective as nutritional supplements. Foods such as grapes, tomatoes, mustard and broccoli, as well as hawthorn, garlic, vitamin C and vitamin E contain natural antioxidants.

Women: It is important to supplement iron lost during menstruation

For women, although eating may be second to sleeping in importance, eating well is also beneficial to health and beauty. "It is well known that blood tonic is important, but one thing to note is that you should not do it during menstruation. The best effect is to do it after menstruation," said Professor Zhang Shijun. There are many food and medicinal materials that can replenish blood and nourish yin, such as astragalus, ginseng, codonopsis, angelica, white peony, rehmannia, salvia miltiorrhiza, Polygonum multiflorum, Millettia reticulata, wolfberry, donkey-hide gelatin, jujube, longan meat, black chicken, etc. are all excellent nourishing products.

"Iron and vitamin supplementation is also very important for women. Menstrual blood can lead to iron loss; and women generally do not spend as much time outdoors as men, which may lead to insufficient vitamins synthesized by sunlight," said Director Zeng Jing.

She introduced that women can eat more nutritious foods rich in high-quality protein, essential trace elements (especially iron), folic acid and vitamin B12, such as soy products, animal liver and kidney, animal blood, fish, shrimp, chicken, eggs, dates, brown sugar, black fungus, mulberries, peanuts (better when eaten raw with the red skin), black sesame, walnut kernels and various fresh vegetables and fruits.

Sleep

Women: Sleep "recharges" the body and replenishes the blood

"Sleep is as important to women as any health-preserving and beauty-enhancing products. When some female patients with insomnia walk into the clinic, you can tell they have sleep disorders without them saying a word, because they have varying degrees of haggard complexion, dull eyes, and lack of qi and blood." Professor Zhang Shijun introduced that nighttime sleep is the best opportunity for a woman's body to "recharge" its yin blood. Traditional Chinese medicine advocates "quietly nourishing yin", and women need to rely on sleep to maintain a quiet state. "In addition, women's health care also emphasizes 'using blood'. As long as the quality of sleep is high, the qi and blood will be full, which will be reflected in the radiant face. Therefore, the saying of 'Sleeping Beauty' is very scientific." He said.

"Western medicine also believes that sleep is particularly important for women, because women are greatly affected by their endocrine system, and their endocrine levels will fluctuate greatly many times throughout their lives, such as during menstruation, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and after menopause. If the endocrine system is disrupted, women will experience various physical discomforts and their complexion will not be good." Zeng Jing said that sleep is the best time to adjust the endocrine system. "High quality sleep and sufficient sleep time mean that regular rest can be guaranteed. Over time, endocrine levels will tend to be constant and regular, which of course is very beneficial for women's health and beauty," she said. In addition, women can increase their sleep time appropriately to resist fatigue due to excessive blood loss during menstruation.

Men: "Noon nap" is good for the harmony of yin and yang

Although men do not rely on sleep to maintain their beauty like women, their sleep is also important. "Sleep is beneficial to the balance of yin and yang, recuperation, and nourishing the kidneys, which is very important for men," Zhang Shijun introduced. He said that busy men can follow the advice of the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine and take a "noon nap." "The so-called Ziwu is the time period between 1pm and 3pm. Sleeping for half an hour to an hour is just enough to 'nourish Yang'; falling asleep between 9pm and 11pm is the time to start 'nourish Yin', and this time is the best time to fall asleep."

From a Western medicine perspective, Director Zeng Jing also said that sleep is extremely important for men who are constantly on the move and consume a lot of physical labor in cities. If the sleep time is insufficient or the quality is poor, it will have adverse effects on the brain. If brain fatigue is difficult to recover from for a long time, it may affect brain function in severe cases.