The key to nourishing food in autumn is based on the person and the cause of the disease.

The Chinese nation has always attached great importance to nourishing the body. Correct nourishing can replenish the nutrients needed by the body, improve physical fitness, regulate the functions of internal organs, delay aging, beautify the skin, etc. Therefore, it has played a very important role in the reproduction and prosperity of the Chinese nation for thousands of years.

It depends on the person

Due to differences in gender, age, physiological condition, body shape and personal living habits, people have different requirements for diet. Therefore, the choice of health food cannot be the same for everyone. The same supplement may be very effective for one type of person, but may have the opposite effect for another.

For example, milk is an ideal nutritious food for most people, but a small number of people lack lactase in their bodies, and will experience abdominal bloating or even diarrhea after eating it; some people can sleep well after eating the same dose of longan meat, while others will get insomnia due to getting a sore throat.

When providing dietary supplements to the elderly with weak constitutions, it is important to first distinguish whether it is yang deficiency or yin deficiency. For yang deficiency, it is appropriate to choose more mutton, dog meat and other tonics, while for yin deficiency, it is appropriate to eat tortoise meat, turtle meat, duck meat, clam meat and other yin-nourishing foods.

Varies depending on the disease

Regardless of whether it is drug therapy or diet therapy, Chinese medicine has a basic principle of corresponding treatment, that is, "replenishing the deficiency and reducing the excess". According to Chinese medicine theory, the principle of "warming the cold, cooling the heat, replenishing the deficiency, and purging the excess" should be followed during diet therapy. As for diseases, we should follow the principle of "treating the symptoms in an urgent case and treating the root cause in a non-urgent case" according to their severity and urgency. "Symptoms" refer to the clinical manifestations and symptoms of the disease, and "root" refers to the mechanism and pathogenesis of the disease. Generally, chronic diseases are often treated by treating the root cause, while acute diseases are often treated by treating the symptoms first and then the root cause, or treating both the symptoms and the root cause.

Therefore, for different diseases, there should be different dietary supplement principles. For example, the diet of diabetic patients is mainly based on invigorating qi and nourishing yin, and the main ingredients for dietary therapy are yam, ophiopogon japonicus, and wolfberry. Patients with kidney disease can take Poria peel, black beans, etc.

The climate changes with the seasons, from warm spring to hot summer to cool autumn and cold winter, which will have a certain impact on the physiological functions of the human body. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that eating in accordance with the changes of the four seasons can maintain the body's yin and yang, qi and blood. "Yinshi Zhengyao" says: "In spring, when the air is warm, it is appropriate to eat wheat to cool it down; in summer, when the air is hot, it is appropriate to eat beans to cool it down; in autumn, when the air is dry, it is appropriate to eat hemp to moisten it; in winter, when the air is cold, it is appropriate to eat millet with its hot nature to treat the cold."

Spring belongs to wood, which corresponds to the liver. The liver is hyperactive in spring. Excessive liver wood can restrain spleen earth. Because sour taste belongs to wood, so "reduce sourness and increase sweetness to nourish spleen qi". It is advocated to eat less sour, astringent and greasy food to enhance the spleen and stomach function and protect the tender yang energy.

The five elements of summer belong to fire, which tastes bitter and is the heart. The heart is hot and can overcome the lungs. Therefore, the taste of food in summer should be less bitter and more spicy to nourish the lungs. In summer, the heart is strong and the kidneys are weak. Although the weather is hot, you should not eat too much cold food to avoid cold in the abdomen. There is a saying among the people, "Eat radishes in winter and ginger in summer." Avoid eating fatty, greasy, difficult to digest, and rotten and spoiled food to avoid illness.

In autumn, the lung qi is strong and the climate is cool, but dry weather is prone to occur. Therefore, the diet and health care in autumn should focus on preventing dryness and protecting yin, nourishing the kidneys and moistening the lungs. The diet should pay attention to "less spicy and more sour" to nourish the liver qi. Specifically, you should eat less spicy foods such as pepper, onion, scallion, garlic, etc., and eat more soft foods such as sesame, glutinous rice, honey, sugarcane, spinach, white fungus, pear, dairy products, etc., to adapt to the sinking air of autumn and take appropriate tonic foods. There is a saying among the people that "put on weight in autumn".

Winter is cold, and cold is a yin evil that can easily damage kidney yang. Therefore, the principle of winter diet is to preserve Yin and suppress Yang. You should eat hot food and give meals that warm and replenish Yang. You can choose warm and replenishing foods such as beef and mutton. You should also pay attention to eating more fresh vegetables such as spinach and bean sprouts. Do not eat raw or cold food. Winter belongs to water, which corresponds to the kidney. Kidney water is at its peak in winter. Salty belongs to water, and the heart belongs to fire. Eating too much salty food can easily help water overcome fire, causing the heart to become sick. Bitterness belongs to the heart, so eat more bitter foods to maintain the connection between the heart and the kidney. In winter, yang energy gathers inside the body, and it is easy to get angry. At this time, you should not eat bitter and cold foods to reduce fire. You should follow the principle of using cold to stay away from cold. Eating more radishes in winter can help reduce fire.

In addition, it is also necessary to pay attention to choosing different tonic methods according to the region and the corresponding climate and environment. I will not go into details here.