As autumn sets in, the weather becomes progressively cold and dry. Many people start to experience symptoms like coughing, phlegm, eczema flare-ups, or nasal allergies. How can we utilize the traditional Chinese knowledge of seasonal rhythms for better health during this time? Guo Dawei, the director of Fu Yuan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Taiwan, offers six essential wellness techniques and dietary remedies for the fall.
Understanding the 24 solar terms
Chinese culture divides the year into 24 solar terms, reflecting the changes in seasons and weather. Every season has six solar terms. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) believes that both physiological and pathological conditions are influenced by nature. Aligning your self-care with these solar terms can significantly benefit your overall health.
Common health challenges in autumn
With its dry climate, autumn is a peak season for eczema. Many suffer from dry-induced conditions like coughs, phlegm, dry skin, and dryness in the mouth and throat. The dryness can harm the lungs. Hence, moisturizing the lungs and reducing phlegm become vital. Drinking plenty of water, consuming moistening foods, and avoiding excessive sweating during midday can prevent lung damage.
Moreover, autumn often brings feelings of melancholy. Those with mental health issues or women in menopause might experience mood swings, increasing their risk of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, individuals with anxiety or depression may suffer from sleep disturbances, which can lead to recurrent colds and immune system imbalances.
6 key techniques for autumn wellness
Guo Dawei explains how to align wellness practices with the autumn solar terms:
- Beginning of autumn (Li Qiu): Though it feels like autumn, traces of summer heat remain. Avoid spicy foods, which can deplete lung energy. Instead, consume lung-moisturizing foods like honey, luo han guo, and hydrating glutinous rice.
- End of heat (Chu Shu): With a cooler feel, foods like lotus root (which clears lung heat), honey, and pear juice can be beneficial. White fungus can also be a good remedy to prevent dryness.
- White dew (Bai Lu): Marked by the year’s most significant day-night temperature difference. To support children’s growth, increase the intake of white fungus, lotus seed, lily, and goji berries, as well as white radish and legumes.
- Autumn equinox (Qiu Fen): As it becomes cooler, focus on warm and moisturizing foods like sesame, walnuts, apples, grapes, and sugarcane. Ensure adequate hydration, aiming for at least 2 liters of water daily.
- Cold dew (Han Lu): Those prone to anxiety might experience sleep disturbances. Sun exposure and physical activity can help. Increase intake of tryptophan-rich foods such as nuts and dairy products.
- Frost’s descent (Shuang Jiang): At the boundary of autumn and winter, focus on lung-moisturizing foods like radish soup, yam soup, lotus root juice, chestnuts, and persimmons. Millet and barley porridge are also recommended.
Autumn daily routine and diet
For daily care, Guo Dawei suggests three key principles:
- Moisturize and hydrate: Opt for white foods like yam, lily, white radish, pear, lotus root, and shashen. Avoid overly spicy, grilled, fried, or cold foods. If consuming raw foods, balance them with cooked foods like boiled eggs.
- Nourish yin and moisturize: Adopt an early-to-bed, early-to-rise routine. Practice deep breathing exercises to balance the autonomic nervous system.
- Maintain bowel health: This can prevent cardiovascular issues.
For individuals with a dry mouth and tongue, it is recommended to increase the consumption of ingredients that nourish yin and moisten dryness, such as shashen, maidong, prince ginseng, pears, and horse’s hoof fungus. Those with blood clotting disorders should consume foods that improve blood circulation, like carrots, tomatoes, pumpkin, spinach, broccoli, animal liver, milk, and egg yolk.
In terms of beverages, wolfberry red date tea and honey lemon juice are recommended. Warm honey water can moisten the lungs. Grapes can prevent colds and boost immunity.
It is important to note that each person’s body constitution is different, and therefore, the corresponding treatment methods may vary. It is advisable to consult with a professional physician for specific treatment plans.
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