The spleen and stomach need to be maintained in all seasons. What should we pay attention to in terms of diet and exercise to regulate the spleen and stomach?

Author: Li Fangjie, Chief Physician, Wangjing Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences

Reviewer: Dong Fuhui, Chief Physician, Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences

The spleen and stomach are the foundation of acquired constitution, the source of Qi and blood production, and the pivot of Qi movement. The spleen and stomach are very important organs in the human body.

Regulating the spleen and stomach is the basis of good health. Everyone is very concerned about how to regulate the spleen and stomach. Do we need to pay attention to regulating the spleen and stomach all year round? Is there any season that is more suitable for regulating the spleen and stomach?

1. Should we pay attention to nourishing our spleen and stomach in all four seasons?

There is a saying that goes "the earth is strong in all seasons and is not affected by evil." The earth here refers to the spleen. Wood, fire, earth, metal, and water are the five elements corresponding to the five internal organs, and earth corresponds to the spleen and stomach.

In fact, we need to nourish the spleen all year round. Among the four seasons, there is a season that corresponds to the spleen and stomach, which is the long summer. The long summer belongs to the spleen. What is the long summer? It is when summer and autumn intersect, that is, July and August. At that time, there is more rain, and the weather is relatively hot and humid, which is easy to cause dampness to trap the spleen.

Common people call it bitter summer, but it is actually called hot summer. When summer comes, you feel weak all over, dizzy, don't want to eat, don't want to drink water, and even feel nauseous. This is caused by dampness in the spleen. At this time, you should pay attention to regulating the spleen, strengthening the spleen and removing dampness.

In winter, we should prevent spleen cold. When the weather is cold, we should protect the spleen. Some middle-aged and elderly people will feel stomach pain when they are blown by cold wind in autumn. This is a sign of spleen deficiency.

The spleen and stomach need to be nourished all year round. Are the methods of regulating the spleen and stomach the same in all seasons?

2. What should we pay attention to when regulating the spleen and stomach in four seasons?

From the perspective of health preservation, spring is a season of growth. Trees begin to sprout, branch out and spread out. The human body's qi must also conform to nature. If you want to use medicine to regulate your body, you should take liver-soothing medicine to prevent liver depression, which actually indirectly protects the spleen and stomach.

What should we pay attention to in summer? Summer is the season of fire, which belongs to the heart. Bitterness can reduce heart fire, so you can eat some bitter melon. In summer, people especially like to eat cold things. Eating too much cold things will hurt the spleen yang. In summer, you should pay attention to protecting the spleen yang.

Some people say that we eat radish in winter and ginger in summer. Why do we need to eat ginger in summer? Ginger is warm. Yang Qi needs to be dispersed outwards in summer and converged in winter. Eating a little ginger in summer, not too much, helps Yang Qi to be dispersed outwards, so that Yang Qi can be well converged in winter. It is very good for warming the spleen and dispersing spleen dampness.

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Summer is over, and autumn has arrived. The Qi starts to converge. At this time, the Qi of the human body should not be too aggressive. The spleen governs the muscles of the limbs. In autumn, do not do too strenuous activities. Tai Chi, walking, and jogging are all OK. It is recommended to do some more soothing exercises. Eat a lighter diet, eat seasonal fruits and vegetables, follow this season, eat slightly sweet and cool foods, such as radishes, and do not eat anything too hot.

In winter, we need to nourish yang and store yang energy. We cannot eat cold food. Out-of-season food taken out of the refrigerator is the most undesirable.

3. What should you pay attention to in your diet if you have a weak spleen and stomach?

First of all, you need to have a balanced diet, eating protein, fat, sugar, vegetables and fruits in moderation.

The spleen and stomach need digestive enzymes to metabolize food, and enzymes are only active at the appropriate temperature, so the spleen and stomach should be kept warm and food that is too cold should not be eaten.

Spicy food, including alcohol, can damage the gastric mucosa, damage the spleen and stomach, and cause dampness and heat, so you should not eat too much. Drinking a little alcohol can promote blood circulation, but drinking too much alcohol will damage the stomach and liver.

In addition, the functions of the spleen and stomach are rhythmic. They have rhythms within a year and within a day, so you must eat on time, eat in moderation, and not overeat. It is not okay to skip a meal today and eat more tomorrow.

Are there any traditional Chinese medicine recipes that can regulate the spleen and stomach?

4. Does traditional Chinese medicine have any medicinal food recipes for nourishing the spleen and stomach?

There are many ingredients that can be used as medicine and food to nourish the spleen and stomach, such as yam, lotus seeds, poria cocos, etc., which can be used to make porridge.

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Poria cocos can be made into Poria cocos powder, or the juice can be extracted after being boiled. The Poria cocos juice can then be used to cook yam and lotus seed porridge. Rice or millet can be used. Millet is relatively warmer than rice. People with weak spleen and stomach can use millet to make porridge.

It is beneficial to use some medicinal food when controlling diet and eating a balanced diet. If the diet is unbalanced, it is not good to eat a lot and not digest it after using medicinal food while strengthening the spleen.

In daily life, which acupoints can be massaged to help regulate the spleen and stomach?

5. Which acupoints can be massaged daily to help regulate the spleen and stomach?

There are many acupoints, some of which may not be convenient to massage by yourself. The most convenient and classic spleen-strengthening acupoint is Zusanli, which is three inches below the knee, near the depression on one side of the fibula.

Sanyinjiao acupoint is also OK. There is a concave place on the inner ankle, which is Sanyinjiao acupoint. Although Sanyinjiao acupoint is not a direct acupoint for strengthening the spleen, it is the place where three yin meridians meet, and it can also indirectly regulate the spleen and stomach.

If your spleen is weak and cold, you can also massage the acupoints on the kidney meridian. For example, there is an acupoint on the sole of the foot called Yongquan. You can apply moxibustion to Yongquan, which is beneficial for kidney fire to warm the spleen yang.

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You can massage these three acupoints at home, which is quite convenient.