Zhonglibaren-Keeping healthy in winter starts with avoiding the cold

“Birds grow taller because of migration, and animals grow stronger because of hibernation.” Winter is the season for all things to rest and recuperate, and it is also the best time for our bodies to store energy. While we are blowing our hands and stamping our feet in the cold wind and playing in the snow, our hearts are as warm as spring. Because we are always moved by the great love of heaven, and even more delighted by this emotion.

The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine says: "The three months of winter are called hibernation", "Go to bed early and get up late, and wait for the sunlight", "Get rid of the cold and seek warmth, without damaging the skin" , "Go against this and you will hurt your kidneys". The living conditions of the ancients were poor. There was no heating equipment like today in winter, and they could not get enough calories at all times. Therefore, the main way to avoid the cold was to obtain energy from the sun and reduce the consumption of heat in the body. So in winter, they had to go to bed as soon as it got dark and get up when the sun came out. Such a health-preserving method is not popular today, because everyone has to go to work early in the morning and get off work very late. They also have to watch TV, surf the Internet, and have a rich nightlife. This is the lifestyle of modern people, and no one wants to change this habit. But the health-preserving methods of the ancients are indeed a magic weapon for living a stable life, so how should we choose? If you carefully analyze the text of "winter health preservation" in "The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine", you will find that what it actually reminds us is two words - "avoid the cold."

"Go to bed early and get up late" is to "prevent cold", "wait for sunlight" is to "dispel cold", "get rid of cold and seek warmth" is to "drive away cold", and "keep skin dry" is to "keep away cold".

The word "avoid the cold" is not difficult to understand. It can be easily done with modern living conditions. In addition, there are many effective methods to help you drive away the cold that accidentally enters your body. Why do we have to drive away the cold? Because cold is the direct cause of many diseases. The coldness of the body can cause stagnation in the flow of Qi and blood in the meridians, which can cause pain. The contracting nature of cold can cause the tendons and veins to contract and twitch, and make it difficult for the joints to flex and extend. In Lingshu Tiannian, Emperor Huangdi asked the great physician Qibo why some people died before reaching old age. Qi Bo replied: "Thin pulses and little blood, the flesh is not solid, and he is often struck by wind and cold...so he dies in middle age." Among them, "frequently struck by wind and cold" is an important cause of early death. Therefore, if we want to be healthy and live longer, we must be good at “avoiding the cold”.

There are many fashionable women who wear thick clothes on the upper body and only a skirt on the lower body in winter. Although this outfit is beautiful and freezing , it is also harmful. As the saying goes, "Wind enters from behind the neck and cold comes from the soles of the feet." Although the blood is always hot, many people have weak qi and blood, or insufficient yang energy, and fresh blood is difficult to circulate to the feet. Without the resistance of hot blood, the cold will take advantage of the opportunity to invade from the feet. So for your health, please wear cotton shoes, thick socks and warm pants.

Some people's feet are always cold in winter, and they cannot keep warm all night even if they are covered with a thick quilt. Soaking feet in salt water every night is not only effective in warming the feet, but also very helpful in preventing and treating frostbite. In fact, if your workplace is not too far away, walking to and from get off work every day is the best way to keep fit in winter. We don't have to walk too fast, but we must feel the ground under our feet. Some people don’t actually know how to walk. They just drag their steps with their legs but cannot lift their feet, resulting in their heels being worn out of alignment. Friends with similar conditions should try to use the inside of their feet when walking. This will not only enhance the function of the liver and spleen, but also prevent the heels from being worn.

What should we eat to nourish our body in winter ? Friends who are afraid of cold can eat more warm foods such as mutton, shrimp, ginger, garlic, pepper, curry, etc. Lamb, coriander and radish soup has the strongest nourishing power and is delicious, so you can eat it often. If you eat too much meat, don't forget to take some hawthorn pills. The "Inner Canon of Medicine" says: "Nourish yin in autumn and winter." This sentence is most suitable for people who have heat in the five hearts, yin deficiency and excessive fire, dry mouth and like to drink. Black chicken, duck meat, turtle, white fungus, lily, lotus root, etc. are all the best products for nourishing yin . In addition, the traditional Chinese medicine Liuwei Dihuang Pills is the best medicine for nourishing yin. The key to taking supplements is to look at your physical condition. If you have a cold-fearing constitution, you should supplement your yang, while if you have a deficiency of fire constitution, you should nourish your yin.

For some people, whose yin and yang are balanced and who are in good health, but still want to make themselves stronger in the winter, I suggest that you can use moxibustion on the Guanyuan point under the navel , and the Zusanli point on the stomach meridian, moxibustion each point for 15 minutes a day, for the entire winter. It is said that this method is the secret recipe for longevity of many centenarians.

“Birds grow taller because of migration, and animals grow stronger because of hibernation.” Winter is the season for all things to rest and recuperate, and it is also the best time for our bodies to store energy. While we are blowing our hands and stamping our feet in the cold wind and playing in the snow, our hearts are as warm as spring. Because we are always moved by the great love of heaven, and even more delighted by this emotion.