Foot bath nourishes the body in autumn and winter, you must have it to be perfect

There is a saying among the people: Soaking your feet in hot water is better than eating ginseng. Rich people take tonics, while poor people soak their feet. There is scientific basis for this statement. What can you add when soaking your feet to double the effectiveness?

The best time to soak your feet is 9 p.m.

Because this is the time when the kidney meridian's qi and blood are relatively weak, soaking your feet at this time will increase your body's heat, and your blood vessels will expand, which is beneficial for activating blood circulation, thereby promoting blood circulation in the body. At the same time, the nerves that have been tense all day and the kidneys that have been tired all day can be completely relaxed and fully regulated by soaking your feet at this time, achieving the best kidney-nourishing effect, and people will feel comfortable as a result.

There is no problem for healthy people to soak their feet or take a hot spring bath, but special groups of people should be careful. For example, patients with heart disease, heart failure, low blood pressure, and people who often feel dizzy should not soak their feet in too hot water or in hot springs for a long time.

3 things to add to your foot bath in autumn

1. Ginger dispels cold

In traditional Chinese medicine, ginger is a pungent and warm antipyretic drug that has the effect of dispelling cold and relieving exterior symptoms, and has relatively few toxic side effects. Modern medicine believes that ginger can stimulate capillaries and improve local blood circulation and metabolism. People who are afraid of cold and have cold hands and feet can soak their feet in ginger.

It should be noted that soaking your feet with ginger does not mean soaking the ginger in hot water for a while. Instead, you usually take 15-30 grams of ginger (about half a medium-sized piece of ginger), flatten it, put it in a pot, add half a pot of water, cover the pot and boil it with hot water for about 10 minutes. After cooking, pour out all the ginger water and add appropriate amount of cold water to about 40℃ (generally it is best not to feel hot). When soaking your feet, the water should cover your ankles, and it is best to rub your feet while soaking.

Many of the medicinal ingredients in ginger are small molecules, and covering the pot when cooking can prevent them from volatilizing. The amount of half a piece of ginger is the amount that can be used to fill half a basin of water in a foot bath in an ordinary household. If you use a lot of water for foot soaking or your cold symptoms are severe, you can increase the amount of ginger as appropriate. After soaking your feet in ginger water for a period of time, the symptoms of fear of cold can generally be improved to a certain extent.

2. Mugwort warms the lungs

According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, mugwort is a medicine that is warm in nature, bitter in taste and non-toxic. It has the effects of restoring yang, regulating qi and blood, expelling dampness and cold, stopping bleeding and stabilizing pregnancy, and is also often used in acupuncture, so it is also called "medicinal herb". Soaking your feet in mugwort can also improve lung function, which is very beneficial for people with chronic bronchitis and those who easily cough up white phlegm.

The method of soaking feet with mugwort is similar to that of soaking feet with ginger. Generally, 30-50 grams (a small handful) of dried mugwort is boiled in water for soaking feet. The cooking method is the same as mentioned above.

3. Cinnamon reduces swelling

Cinnamon, also known as cinnamon bark, official cinnamon or fragrant cinnamon, is a commonly used household spice along with Sichuan peppercorns. Both have the effect of warming the kidney yang. Soaking your feet in them can effectively relieve edema caused by kidney disease.

Nephrogenic edema is edema caused by problems with kidney function or disease. It usually first occurs in areas with loose tissue, such as the eyelids, face, and ankles. It is most obvious when you wake up in the morning. Pressing the skin in the edematous area with your fingers may cause depression. If renal edema occurs, you can boil 15 grams each (a handful or a small piece) of pepper and cinnamon and then soak your feet in it. The cooking method is the same as that of ginger. Continuously soaking your feet in this way can have a certain effect in reducing swelling.

If edema symptoms begin in the lower body parts (such as the legs) and gradually spread to other parts of the body, it may be cardiogenic edema caused by problems with heart function. For this type of edema, you can use the ginger boiled water mentioned above to soak your feet, which can promote blood circulation in the lower limbs and thus help reduce edema.