What are the ways to nourish the kidneys in winter?

The kidney is a very important organ for us. It is the main part of maintaining the body's metabolism and electrolyte balance, and it also affects sexual function. In winter, the weather is cold and we need to pay attention to maintenance. Here we will introduce how to nourish the kidneys in winter.

1. Choose the right time

The winter solstice marks the turning point in the three months of winter in the lunar calendar. After the winter solstice, the yin energy in nature begins to subside and the yang energy gradually rises, turning the winter's hibernation into lively vitality. If you take supplements at this time, the body's absorption and utilization rate of nutrients is high, and they are easier to accumulate and exert their effects. It is the best time for patients with weak constitution to nourish the kidneys and prolong life, so it has the reputation of "taking supplements in winter and fighting the tiger in spring".

2Dietary supplements should be differentiated

Diet adjustment is also very important for nourishing the kidneys and preventing cold. In winter, it is advisable to eat foods such as mutton, dog meat, and sparrow meat that warm the kidneys, strengthen yang, and produce high heat. This is especially beneficial for people with weak constitutions. You can also eat some foods that have the function of nourishing the kidneys, such as walnuts, chestnuts, longans, etc. Black foods can enter the kidneys and strengthen them, so they are also suitable for eating, such as black rice, black beans, black sesame seeds, black fungus, black-bone chicken, etc. In winter, it is advisable to eat various warm porridges regularly. If the above-mentioned foods are put into the porridge and cooked, it can not only dispel the cold, but also nourish the body and cure diseases.

Because everyone has different physiques and ages, there are also do’s and don’ts in dietary supplements, and you should be flexible in your approach. For those who have kidney yang deficiency, it is advisable to warm and nourish the kidney yang in the diet. You can choose to eat mutton, dog meat, etc. Mutton and dog meat are warm in nature and have the effect of warming and nourishing the kidney yang. For those who tend to have insufficient kidney yin essence, it is advisable to mainly eat duck meat and goose meat as food supplements. Zhang Jingyue, a famous doctor in the Ming Dynasty in my country, has a famous saying: "Those who are good at replenishing yang must seek yang in yin; those who are good at replenishing yin must seek yin in yang." For middle-aged and elderly people whose kidney yin essence is gradually declining, they can eat turtle, tortoise, wolfberry, yam, fungus and other yin-protecting foods in winter. In winter, food should not be too salty, because salty taste enters the kidneys, causing the kidney water to become colder and disturbing the heart yang. Also avoid cold food, so as not to "add insult to injury" and damage the Yuan Yang. For the elderly and weak, food supplements are also the best, so there is often a saying that "medicine supplements are not as good as food supplements."

3. Take supplements as directed by your doctor

Medicinal supplements for kidney health must follow the TCM principle of "replenishing the deficiency". They are generally suitable for various kidney deficiency syndromes, such as congenital deficiency, acquired disorder, long-term illness, old age, women after childbirth, postoperative patients and various chronic disease patients, etc., which have imbalance of kidney qi, kidney essence, kidney yin and kidney yang. You should take relevant tonic medicines under the guidance of a doctor and not take medicines on your own. Because doctors have certain professional knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine and skills in syndrome differentiation, and have certain experience in prescribing medicine for patients' conditions, they can avoid the phenomenon of taking the wrong medicine on their own.

4. Keep warm and exercise is important

Keeping away cold is also to better maintain kidney energy. After entering winter, "going to bed early and getting up late to wait for the sunlight" is an important aspect of health preservation. This means that people must go to bed early and get up late in the cold winter. Go to bed early to nourish the body's yang energy and keep the body warm. The best time to get up is after the sun comes out. At this time, the body's yang energy rises rapidly. If you get up at this time, your mind will be clear and your wit will be sharp. But it may be difficult for office workers to "wake up late", so they should try to "go to bed early" and not stay up late. Life is regular and the mood is relatively calm. In this way, the body and mind will be restored and conditioned. In winter, do not close doors and windows tightly, and the room temperature should not be too high or too low. This is because too low room temperature can easily damage the human body's yang energy, while too high a room temperature will result in a large temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, making it easy to catch a cold when going out. Therefore, it is better to keep the room temperature between 18℃ and 22℃.