Bailu丨Bailu and Autumnal Equinox night, cooler night by night, it’s the right time to keep healthy, you should know these

If the weather is still scorching hot at the Beginning of Autumn, White Dew means the weather is slowly entering mid-autumn. The nights become a little cool and white dew begins to appear on the grass and trees, hence the beautiful name "White Dew".

Bailu is the 15th solar term in the "Twenty-Four Solar Terms" and the third solar term in autumn. "Bailu" is an important solar term that reflects the increase of coldness in nature. As the weather gradually turns cooler, coldness produces dew. The ancients matched the four seasons with the five elements. Autumn belongs to gold, and gold is white. So white was used to describe autumn dew, hence the name "Bailu".

There is also a famous line in the Book of Songs: "Reeds are lush and green, white dew turns to frost. The so-called sweetheart is on the other side of the water." The frost in "white dew turns to frost" is not the frost of the Frost Descent, but the frost caused by the sudden drop in temperature and the condensation of dew.

White Dew - Three Signs

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The first sign is the arrival of the swan geese: as the weather turns cooler, the swan geese begin to fly in formation from north to south, seeking warm places to spend the winter.

The second phase is the return of the black bird: the black bird is a swallow, it comes at the spring equinox and leaves at the autumnal equinox. At this time, the swallows also migrate south collectively and begin to look for fertile land to spend the winter.

The third phase is the flocks of birds storing food: **“Food” means delicious food. The flocks of birds that have already set up camp, sensing the chilly atmosphere of autumn, have begun to store up dried fruits and food in preparation for the winter.

White Dew Food Customs

Bailu is not only the harvest season, but also the time of year when the temperature difference between morning and evening is the largest, which is easy to induce respiratory diseases and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. This is an important health node for conditioning the body to welcome the coolness and dryness of autumn. There are many corresponding health-preserving food customs in various parts of my country, such as -

1. Eat "10 kinds of white"

Eating "10 kinds of white" during Bailu is a food custom in Wenzhou, Zhejiang. In Cangnan, Pingyang and other places, people will collect "10 kinds of white" (some say "three kinds of white") on this day to stew black chicken or old duck - the feathers must also be white, which is said to nourish the body and remove bad breath. The "10 kinds of white" refers to 10 kinds of herbs with the word "white", namely white peony, white ginseng, atractylodes, white lentil, white imperata root, white yam, lily, white poria, white sun-dried ginseng, etc., to echo "Bailu".

There is also a folk saying that "eat three white foods during the White Dew season, and an old man will turn into a child." As the saying goes, "to moisten the autumn dryness, eat 'white' foods." Traditional Chinese medicine believes that white foods can produce body fluids and moisten the lungs, such as ginkgo, snow fungus, water chestnuts, mushrooms, kudzu, oats, coix seeds, buckwheat, millet, snow pears, and yam. Just pick three of your favorite foods.

2. Drink Bailu tea

Bailu tea is tea picked during the Bailu season. It can clear away heat and reduce internal heat, moisten the lungs and remove dryness. It is especially suitable for people with hyperactivity of liver yang and liver fire attacking the stomach. It can also nourish yin and clear internal heat, prevent and treat bad breath, moisturize the skin and promote salivation. For the elderly, it is recommended to choose green tea and add lotus leaves, chrysanthemums, wolfberries, roses, etc. to nourish yin and clear internal heat.

3. Eat sweet potatoes

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It is believed that eating sweet potatoes during the White Dew season can nourish the stomach, so in the old days, farmers had the custom of eating sweet potatoes during the White Dew season. Chinese medicine believes that sweet potatoes can replenish deficiency, strengthen Qi and strengthen the spleen and stomach. Eating them regularly can relax the intestines and promote bowel movements, and replenish Qi and promote the production of body fluids. In addition to regulating the stomach during the White Dew season, sweet potatoes can also take away the heat and humidity accumulated in the body during the hot summer weather.

However, it is worth reminding that in autumn, the disease resistance of the gastrointestinal tract begins to weaken. People with weak spleen and stomach should prevent gastrointestinal diseases. Eating too much crude fiber food can easily stimulate the secretion of gastric acid, so they should eat less. Sweet potatoes, taro and other foods have high starch content and are difficult to digest. People with dampness blocking the spleen and stomach, qi stagnation and food accumulation should be careful when eating sweet potatoes.

4. Eat longan

In Fuzhou, people have the custom of eating longan on Bailu. There is also a saying that "eating longan on Bailu is worth a chicken", which means that eating longan on Bailu can greatly replenish qi and blood. Indeed, longan before Bailu is big and sweet, which is the season for delicious food. And eating longan is indeed very nourishing - "Compendium of Materia Medica" records: "Lychee is the most expensive food, and longan is the best for nourishing." Chinese medicine believes that longan can stimulate appetite, nourish blood and spleen, nourish the heart and calm the mind, and replenish deficiency and increase wisdom.

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White Dew Health Preservation

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01 Daily life: Go to bed early and get up early

People often say "White Dew and Autumn Wind Night, cooler nights". In the four seasons of the year, White Dew is the solar term with the largest temperature difference between day and night. Although there is still a trace of heat during the day, we can feel a slight coolness at night. At this time, the Yang Qi of nature gradually converges, and the Yin Qi will become more and more strong. From the perspective of TCM health preservation, people's daily life should also conform to this Yin-Yang change in nature, try to go to bed early and get up early, and do some appropriate activities after getting up at dawn, which is conducive to the release of lung Qi and the rise of Yang Qi in the body.

02 Dress and keep warm

"One autumn rain brings a chill, and one white dew brings a frost." White Dew is the solar term with the largest temperature difference between day and night in a year. At this time, cold air activities are frequent, and the autumn wind comes unexpectedly, and the temperature gets colder every night. After the White Dew, people are prone to symptoms such as dry mouth, dry throat, and dry skin. This is a typical "autumn dryness". It is advisable to drink more water to keep the respiratory tract and lungs moist. The proverb says: "Don't expose your body during the White Dew, and don't expose your feet during the Cold Dew." It reminds everyone that after the White Dew, you should add clothes and pay attention to keeping warm. You can also soak your feet in warm water at night to nourish the kidney qi, drive away the cold, promote metabolism, and facilitate sleep.

03 Sports: Combination of movement and stillness

After Bailu, the amount and intensity of exercise can be increased appropriately compared with summer. You can choose to walk, practice Tai Chi, Ba Duan Jin, gymnastics, table tennis, badminton, etc., and sweat slightly but not tired. This is conducive to regulating the blood and qi in the body, but it is not advisable to do excessive and aggressive exercise. Before going to bed or getting up in the morning, lie flat on the bed and do abdominal breathing, take a deep breath, then exhale, repeat 20-30 times, and be sure to do it slowly, which helps to exercise the physiological function of the lungs.

04 Diet: Nourishing the Lungs and Relieving Dryness

During the Bailu season, dryness attacks the lungs, and the diet should focus on strengthening the spleen and moistening dryness. In terms of adjusting diet, you should choose light, nutritious, less or non-irritating foods, avoid eating raw and cold foods, and ensure an appropriate amount of fresh vegetables, such as pears, white fungus, honey, lily, wolfberry, radish, soy products, etc. You can also eat more orange-yellow vegetables, such as pumpkin and carrot. People are more likely to have symptoms of weak spleen and stomach and poor digestion, and should eat more porridge that is easy to absorb and has a nourishing effect. If the symptoms of autumn dryness are severe, you can also use ginseng, American ginseng, almonds, Sichuan Fritillaria and other Chinese medicines that have lung-clearing, phlegm-resolving, yin-nourishing and qi-invigorating conditioning under the guidance of a doctor. In addition, the tea leaves during the Bailu period are neither as fresh and tender as spring tea, nor as dry and bitter as summer tea, but have a unique sweet and mellow fragrance, which is especially loved by old tea drinkers. Drinking Bailu tea regularly can also remove autumn dryness.

Source: Chongqing Tianji Network Co., Ltd.

This article is compiled from the official platform of China Food News, People's Publishing House Reading Club, Zhenjiang Road Street Online

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