"Henan Health" 24 Solar Terms丨After the beginning of winter, spend some time to recuperate and build up your energy

"The roots of my teeth are floating, and I sigh for my old age; I roast chestnuts to slake my night hunger." This line of poetry was written by Lu You, a poet in the Song Dynasty, describing himself frying chestnuts under an oil lamp at night, enjoying the fragrant aroma.

It is said that some memories of winter are awakened by the sweet smell of roasted sweet potatoes and sugar-fried chestnuts. "Chestnuts not only have the smell of fireworks, but also warm." "Yesterday I was wearing short sleeves, today I'm wearing a coat." "I just want to eat some hot food." With the arrival of the first solar term of winter, Lidong, many netizens clearly feel the rapid drop in temperature.

"Eating chestnuts has many benefits, such as strengthening the spleen, nourishing the stomach, and nourishing the kidneys." As the temperature gets lower and lower, people need to pay more attention to their kidneys. Nourishing the kidneys is not only a healthy lifestyle, but also a secret to preventing diseases and maintaining vitality in winter. On November 7, the reporter specially invited Liang He, a doctor and associate professor at Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, to give netizens some advice on how to nourish the "essence" in the beginning of winter.

Storing Energy

Maintain a better state of life to welcome spring

People often say that we plough in spring, weed in summer, harvest in autumn and store in winter. In different seasons, changes in the external environment will have an impact on individual organisms in nature. "So, in winter, when everything hides, we should also store energy, conserve our strength, and wait for a better life in the spring of next year," said Liang He.

According to the TCM health theory that "the kidneys are connected to winter and have hibernation characteristics", after the beginning of winter, the kidneys' storage nature can be better exerted. Liang He believes that this is a good time for people to take supplements and store energy. "But the meaning of taking supplements is very broad, including food supplements, medicine supplements, exercise, adequate sleep and so on." Liang He told reporters that only when you pay full attention to all aspects and give the body sufficient supplies, the kidneys' essence will be more full, and the transformed yin and yang will better complete their tasks.

Complement each other

Kidney is the foundation of internal organs

"Frequent back pain is related to kidney deficiency." Liang He told reporters that the kidney essence plays an important physiological role in the formation of congenital organs and the functions of acquired organs, and is the foundation of all organs. "The congenital essence stored in the kidney is continuously supplemented by the acquired essence. Only when the two are integrated can they provide a source of power for human life activities."

When kidney essence is insufficient, it will affect many organs of the human body and cause various symptoms. For example, the kidney is connected to the heart, and insufficient kidney essence may affect the mind and cause symptoms such as restless sleep. Kidney essence and liver blood are of the same origin and are transformed into each other. When essence and blood are insufficient, symptoms such as dizziness, tinnitus, deafness, and weakness in the waist and knees may occur. Liang He also mentioned that the kidney and bladder are exterior and interior to each other, and insufficient kidney essence may also affect the function of the bladder, causing symptoms such as frequent urination and urgency. When kidney essence is deficient, adults may have low fertility, and for children, it will affect development.

Kidney Yin deficiency or kidney Yang deficiency?

Experts teach you how to distinguish

"My mother has back pain, cold waist, and lower limbs are afraid of cold, so she needs to nourish her kidneys. My uncle is usually upset, has many dreams, and has hot flashes all over his body, so he also asked him to nourish his kidneys. Are these two nourishments the same thing?" The netizen "the other party" was full of doubts. Liang He told reporters that all of the above symptoms may be manifestations of kidney deficiency, but the essence of the kidney can be divided into kidney yin and kidney yang, so kidney deficiency can also be divided into kidney yin deficiency and kidney yang deficiency.

How to judge whether an individual has kidney yin deficiency or kidney yang deficiency through these symptoms? Liang He gave the answer. Specifically, kidney yang is the basis of the yang energy of the internal organs, and has the functions of promoting, warming, and invigorating. "Lack of energy, soreness of waist and knees, fear of cold and cold limbs, clear urine and loose stools, impotence and premature ejaculation in men, and infertility in women due to uterine coldness are manifestations of kidney yang deficiency." On the other hand, kidney yin is the basis of the yin fluid of the internal organs, and has the functions of tranquility, moisturizing and nourishing. "When we have deficiency-heat symptoms such as mental agitation, fever in the five hearts, hot flashes and night sweats, dry mouth and thin body, it is a manifestation of kidney yin deficiency."

Reasonable Match

The beginning of winter is the right time to replenish kidney deficiency

Winter belongs to water in the five elements, and the kidney governs water. It is the right time to replenish "kidney deficiency". Can it be regulated by food supplements? Is the more black food you eat, the better for your kidneys? These are questions that many people are concerned about.

"In fact, the ancients have already answered these questions for us." The "Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic" said, "The three months of winter are called hibernation. The water is frozen and the ground is cracked. Do not disturb the yang. Go to bed early and get up late, and wait for the sunlight. Make the mind hidden and concealed, as if having private thoughts or having achieved something. Get rid of the cold and seek warmth, do not leak the skin, or the qi will be deprived quickly. This is the response of the winter qi, and the way to nourish and store." Liang He said that the overall principle of nourishing the kidneys in winter is to follow nature. The specific methods involve all aspects of life. You can use methods such as food nourishment, medicine nourishment, exercise, and adequate sleep.

"Properly warming yang and nourishing yin, reducing salt and increasing bitterness are the principles of winter diet." Liang He analyzed from a nutritional perspective that winter diet can appropriately increase foods rich in protein and vitamins, avoid overeating spicy and hot foods, especially for people with kidney yang deficiency, they can eat more foods that warm and nourish kidney yang. The angelica and ginger mutton soup mentioned in "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases" is suitable for yang deficiency and blood stasis, and the chicken cubes stewed with ginger mentioned in "Essentials of Diet and Food" is suitable for yang deficiency, especially for those with cold constitution in the middle jiao, and the pork tripe stewed with white pepper are all good choices.

"Black foods are believed to have a kidney-tonifying effect." According to traditional Chinese medicine, black is good for the kidneys. Liang He suggests that people can choose black rice, black beans, black sesame, black fungus and other black foods as kidney-tonifying ingredients. However, Liang He also emphasized that "when eating, you should pay attention to the reasonable combination according to your personal constitution."

Treat the symptoms

Stimulating acupoints can nourish the kidneys

Nowadays, with the arrival of early winter, many people have put kidney-tonifying and qi-replenishing on their agenda. "Can regular acupressure on the Shenshu acupoints replenish my vitality?" Netizen "时光浅甜" has seen many kidney-tonifying techniques that stimulate acupoints on the Internet.

"Shenshu acupoint is the acupoint where the kidney qi is infused into the back. For people with insufficient kidney essence, they can massage it frequently all year round." Liang He said that pressing the Shenshu acupoint is a very simple and practical health care method that can promote the normal functioning of the kidney. "This acupoint is 1.5 inches below the spinous process of the second lumbar vertebra, one on each side." In daily life, Liang He suggested that everyone add some simple small steps to enhance the effect of massage, such as rubbing hands to warm them up, or soaking a towel in hot water and covering the acupoint. During the massage, you can also coordinate with breathing, such as pressing your hands down when inhaling and lifting your hands up when exhaling.

In addition, Liang He said that there are other acupuncture points in the human body that can also protect and strengthen the kidneys through different stimulations. For example, the Mingmen acupoint can help regulate the body's yang energy and enhance the body's resistance. Another example is the Yongquan acupoint. Regular massage can make people have sufficient kidney essence and abundant energy. Taixi acupoint, located in the depression between the inner ankle and the Achilles tendon, is an acupuncture point where the vital energy of the foot Shaoyin kidney meridian gathers. Regularly pressing it has a regulating and replenishing effect on patients with kidney deficiency such as dizziness, tinnitus, insomnia, and fear of cold. In addition, Liang He reminded netizens that they should pay attention to the intensity and time of acupuncture point massage, and it cannot replace drug treatment. If you need Chinese medicine to regulate kidney deficiency, you need to seek the help of professional doctors.

Protecting the kidneys can make our lives more vibrant. From the beginning of winter, let us synchronize with nature and give our kidneys more care and nourishment!