During Grain Rain, you should eat more Yin-nourishing and cold foods

April 20th is the Grain Rain solar term. Guyu, which means "rain water brings forth all kinds of grains", is the sixth solar term among the 24 solar terms and also the last solar term in spring.

After Grain Rain, rainfall increases and the humidity in the air gradually increases. At this time, crops need rain and dew to nourish them. During this period, people go out frequently and engage in a lot of outdoor activities. The body's yang energy is easily generated and escapes outwards, especially for patients with yin deficiency. They often experience dry mouth, dry nose, dry eyes, tinnitus, etc. due to the disturbance of the virtual yang and the suppression of the clear orifices.

It is very beneficial to nourish the internal organs at this time . Nutrition experts point out that health preservation during Grain Rain should first nourish the kidneys and yin, nourish the kidney water and contain the liver wood; secondly, it should calm the liver yang, nourish the kidneys and soften the liver; at the same time, it should strengthen the spleen and replenish qi, and cultivate the earth to produce gold. Special attention should be paid to the maintenance of spleen earth and the nourishment of kidney yin.

Around the Grain Rain, you should eat more cold foods that nourish yin, such as watermelon, melon, banana, sugarcane, mango, loquat, apple, pear, persimmon, water chestnut, water chestnut, mulberry, tomato, cucumber, bitter melon, winter melon, white radish, loofah, lotus root, wild rice stem, bamboo shoots, arrowhead, water chestnut, purslane, celery, light black beans, seaweed, kelp, crab, etc. You can also make comprehensive adjustments based on the diet to make the internal organs correspond to the characteristics of the natural "Guyu" solar term. Experts introduced the method of making Guyu Shunan Health-preserving Soup.

Take half a pear, 5 water chestnuts, 30g lotus root or 50g sugar cane, cut into pieces, and boil with 15g fresh reed root and 15g ophiopogon in a milk pan with 1000ml water. You can add rock sugar for seasoning. Take 500ml of juice each time at 9-11 and 17-19 on the day of Grain Rain and drink it at a suitable temperature.

This recipe is a famous prescription by Wu Jutong, a famous doctor in the Qing Dynasty. Among them, fresh reed root clears away heat and relieves restlessness, promotes fluid and quenches thirst; Sichuan Ophiopogon japonicus moistens the lungs and nourishes yin, benefits the stomach and promotes fluid, clears the heart and relieves restlessness; duck pear is sweet and slightly cold in nature, and is the "king of fruits". It is a warehouse of fructose, which can clear away heat, promote fluid and moisten dryness, resolve phlegm and relieve cough. At the same time, it also has the effects of regulating blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, and promoting sleep; water chestnut is sweet and warm in nature, harmonizes the liver and the middle, benefits the five internal organs, improves eyesight and benefits the stomach; lotus root is sweet and flat in nature and astringent in taste. According to the Materia Medica, it can nourish the middle and nourish the spirit, increase qi and strength. At the same time, it can quench thirst and heat, connect the heart and kidneys, thicken the intestines and stomach, consolidate the essence and qi, and make people strong; sugarcane descends qi and harmonizes the middle, helps the spleen and stomach, benefits the large and small intestines, eliminates restlessness and thirst, and removes heart and chest heat.

On the day of Grain Rain and the day after, from 17:00 to 19:00, take "Guyu Shun'an Health-preserving Soup" No. 2 to replenish kidney Qi, seek yang from yin, nourish water and contain wood. The method is: 60 grams of angelica and 2 pig kidneys. Boil the angelica and pig kidneys together with water. When the pig kidneys are cooked, take them out and prepare and consume them according to your cooking habits.

The angelica in the formula is sweet and spicy, warm in flavor, and enters the liver, heart, and spleen meridians. Sweet, warm and moist in nature to nourish blood, pungent, warm and fragrant in nature to promote blood circulation. It is beneficial to nourish the body while moving and moving, and it is good at harmonizing the blood, making it a holy medicine for the blood. Pig kidney nourishes the kidney and replenishes qi, warms and replenishes the original yin and yang, replenishes the essence and marrow, and adds vitality.

In traditional medicine, diet, meridians and exercise are inseparable. Especially in terms of meridians, foot bathing to warm the meridians is of utmost importance and should not be ignored. During the Grain Rain solar term and the day before and after, from You to Xu time, that is, from 18:00 to 21:00, it is best to do a foot bath to warm the meridians. This is the time when the stomach meridian disease is about to be cured. The spleen and stomach are the exterior and interior of each other. The spleen is the foundation of the acquired constitution and is responsible for transportation and transformation and blood regulation. Pour boiling water into a wooden basin. When the water temperature is appropriate, put your feet in the water and warm your meridians for 5 to 10 minutes. At the same time, take 5 to 10 deep breaths. Then use your index finger or thumb to tap or press the Sanyinjiao, Yinlingquan and Xuehai points on both sides 6 times each. Open the acupoints and dredge the meridians, and through organ sensing, adjust the balance of spleen, kidney and liver meridians as well as the qi, blood, yin and yang of the internal organs.

You can do Shun'an Guyu Daoyin Gong every morning. The best time is during the Chou and Yin hours, i.e. 1-5 a.m., and sit upright. When inhaling, lift your left hand upwards and cover your left chest with your right hand; pause for a moment, then exhale and place your hands back on your legs. Pause for a while, then inhale, lift your right hand upwards and cover your right chest with your left hand, alternating between left and right 5 to 7 times. Then click your teeth, take a deep breath, and gargle and swallow saliva 3 times each. It can prevent and treat abdominal lumps and blood stasis, jaundice, rhinitis, epistaxis, swollen cheeks and chin, swelling and pain at the outer and posterior edge of the elbow and arm, and heat in the palms.