Woman is afraid of cold and has cold hands and feet

Women's physical constitution tends to be colder, so they are more afraid of cold than men. Moreover, if women are in a cold state for a long time, it is likely to cause uterine cold problems, which can directly lead to dysmenorrhea or even infertility. Therefore, in winter, female friends must pay attention to keeping their bodies warm and improve the condition of cold hands and feet in time to ensure the health of the body. This is also a kind of maintenance for their own uterus.

The reasons why women have cold hands and feet in the eyes of traditional Chinese medicine

1. Insufficient Yang Energy: This situation is more common in women with poor physical constitution. They themselves have insufficient qi, blood and yang energy, and excess yin energy in their bodies, the so-called "excessive yin leads to cold", and yang deficiency leads to internal cold, so their hands and feet are naturally prone to coldness. Coupled with insufficient Qi and blood, nutrients and calories cannot reach the extremities of the body to nourish the limbs, so the hands and feet are cold in all seasons.

2. Deficiency of Qi and blood: The "Qi and blood" mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine are the carriers of all substances in the human body. Sufficient and smooth flow of Qi and blood are vital to the human body. However, women are prone to qi and blood deficiency due to menstruation, pregnancy and other reasons. Or many girls go on a diet to lose weight, which can cause malnutrition and lead to insufficient qi and blood.

3. External attack of cold evil: Many young girls do not pay attention to keeping warm, refuse to wear coats in winter, or insist on wearing short skirts and shorts. This is wrong. In addition, excessive exposure to wind and cold, eating raw and cold food, and wading in the rain can all lead to the invasion of cold evil. If you catch a cold, the meridians in your body will be like small rivers frozen in winter. If the meridians are blocked, Qi and blood will not flow, which will naturally cause illness.

4. Deficient and cold constitution: Girls who are thin and have a deficient and cold constitution are most likely to have cold hands and feet, because this type of people has poor peripheral blood circulation, which can easily disrupt the body temperature regulation mechanism. Cold hands and feet are caused by the poor regulation of the autonomic nervous system and the thinning of blood vessels. Moreover, toes, knees, shoulders, fingers and other parts are joint areas with more movement, and because there are relatively fewer fat and blood vessels, heat is easily lost.

5. Liver Qi stagnation: We should have had this experience in our daily lives: when we are nervous, uneasy or depressed, our hands and feet will become cold and sweaty, and in severe cases, our faces may even turn pale and our lips may turn white. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, long-term depression or excessive stress can cause liver qi to be suppressed in the body, preventing qi from being released to the outside, resulting in chest tightness, abdominal distension, pain in the ribs, and cold hands and feet.

How to treat cold hands and feet for women

1. Do more exercise and keep warm

Getting your body moving helps speed up metabolism and blood circulation. Simple movements such as climbing stairs, jumping on the spot, etc. can help speed up the release of heat in the body. When the weather is cold, put on more clothes and cover yourself with a blanket when you sleep. Women should pay special attention to keeping their feet warm, because cold air can easily invade through the feet. The feet are farthest from the heart, have less blood supply, and the fat layer in the feet is thinner, making them more susceptible to cold stimulation.

2. Take a bath before going to bed

Soaking your hands and feet in hot water before going to bed can not only promote circulation in the blood vessels, but also help you sleep. You may fill a bucket with hot water, rice wine and ginger slices (the ratio of hot water to rice wine is 1:1) and use it to soak your feet, which can help improve women's fear of cold. However, after soaking and drying, you should immediately put on cotton socks to keep warm, and you can also wear them when sleeping.

3. Massage acupoints

(1) Press and knead the Xinshu point (between the shoulder blades, the spine, and the large tendons on both sides) 36 times, rotating left and right 18 times each.

(2) Massage the Shenshu points (i.e. the points on both sides of the waist) 36 times on each side, turning left and right 18 times on each side. This is very beneficial for promoting blood circulation in the legs.

(3) Rub the Yongquan acupoint until you feel warmth, then rub your toes.

(4) Especially the area on the second section of the big toe where there are a few hairs, called the "Sanmao Point", should be rubbed more and then pinched with a little force 3 to 5 times.

4. Diet adjustment

1. Meat: Dog meat, mutton, beef and venison are better for keeping out the cold. They are high in protein, carbohydrates and fat, and have the effects of benefiting the kidneys and strengthening yang, warming the middle and lower body, and replenishing qi and activating blood circulation. Eating these meats can speed up the metabolism of people with yang deficiency and enhance endocrine function, thus achieving the effect of keeping out the cold.

2. Root vegetables: Medical researchers have found that people’s fear of cold is related to the lack of inorganic salts in the body. Lotus root, carrot, lily, sweet potato, green vegetables, cabbage, etc. are rich in inorganic salts. These foods may be mixed with other foods for consumption.

3. Iodine-containing foods: kelp, seaweed, sea salt, hair algae, jellyfish, clams, cabbage, spinach, corn and other iodine-containing foods can promote the secretion of thyroid hormones in the human body. Thyroid hormone has a thermogenic effect. It can accelerate the oxidation process of most tissue cells in the body (except the brain, glands, and uterus), increase heat production, increase the basal metabolic rate, enhance skin blood circulation, and resist cold. Especially dried shrimp, the content of protein, calcium, phosphorus and iron in dried shrimp are higher than those in meat, eggs and milk. It has the functions of warming the kidney and invigorating yang, nourishing the spleen and stomach, and unblocking blood vessels. It is most suitable for winter consumption for patients with spleen and kidney yang deficiency, impotence and low back pain.

4. Iron-containing foods: Researchers at Pennsylvania State University in the United States found that people are also afraid of cold when their blood lacks iron. The body temperature of women with anemia is 0.7℃ lower than that of women with normal hemoglobin, and their heat production is 13% less. When their iron intake is increased, their ability to withstand cold is significantly enhanced. Therefore, women who are afraid of cold can consciously increase their intake of foods high in iron, such as animal liver, lean meat, spinach, egg yolks, etc.

In addition, walnut kernels, red dates, animal blood, glutinous rice wine, and cherries produce high calories, which can increase the body's heat and keep out the cold.