[Fat Bear Science] After the Dragon Boat Festival, the disease will awaken! This way of conditioning will make your body healthier

The annual Dragon Boat Festival is just a few days away.

When talking about the Dragon Boat Festival, the first thing that comes to mind is rice dumplings. Many people even jokingly call the Dragon Boat Festival the Rice Dumpling Festival.

The Dragon Boat Festival is one of China's traditional festivals. It has been formally reviewed and approved by UNESCO to be included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, becoming the first Chinese festival to be selected as a world intangible cultural heritage.

The history and culture of Dragon Boat Festival

The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival that everyone is most familiar with is probably to commemorate Qu Yuan.

In fact, there are more theories: one is to commemorate historical figures. In addition to Qu Yuan, there are also theories that it is to commemorate historical figures such as Wu Zixu, Jie Zitui, Cao E, and Chen Lin;

The second is that it originated from the Bathing Orchid Festival. It is recorded in the "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji" that "May 5th is called the Bathing Orchid Festival";

The third is the "evil day" theory, which holds that May 5th is an evil day in an evil month, and that it is necessary to exorcise plagues, drive away evil spirits, and pray for blessings, thus giving rise to the unique customs of the Dragon Boat Festival.

The fourth is the dragon totem worship theory. Wen Yiduo proposed in his "Dragon Boat Festival" that the Dragon Boat Festival is a festival for Wuyue people to worship the dragon totem.

The fifth is the Summer Solstice Theory. Liu Deqian proposed in his book Another Theory on the Origin of the Dragon Boat Festival that "the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival that can be verified in writing should be the Summer Solstice, and most of the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival are derived from the customs of the Summer Solstice." The above theories on the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival fully reflect the profound influence of this traditional Chinese festival in the history of the Chinese nation.

After the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather starts to get hot

The latent pathogens gradually awaken

The "duan" in Dragon Boat Festival means start or beginning; "wu" belongs to the fire element in the five elements and is one of the twelve Earthly Branches. Wu represents fire and yang, so the Dragon Boat Festival means the beginning of hot weather and is the dividing point from cold to hot weather.

After the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather will begin to turn from cold to hot, with increased rainfall and rising temperatures. The heat from the sky will fall to the ground, and the moisture on the ground will evaporate into the air. The interweaving of heat and humidity will cause a phenomenon of hot evaporation of moisture, which is particularly common in the southern region. This humid and hot environment provides favorable conditions for the reproduction and breeding of various organisms such as mosquitoes and flies, and many latent pathogens gradually awaken as a result.

During this solar term, many people will experience symptoms such as lack of energy, laziness, dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness and loss of appetite. Moreover, the Dragon Boat Festival is the peak period of yang energy in the year. The weather is hot and humid, and the blood circulation of the human body is not smooth, which makes people irritable, depressed, palpitating and chest tightness. Emotional changes will affect the circulation of blood, causing organ dysfunction and even psychological and mental illnesses.

TCM health care focuses on the harmony between man and nature, between man and man, and the unity of man and nature, and the harmony of body and mind. Many customs of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as eating rice dumplings, hanging wormwood and calamus, wearing sachets, drinking realgar wine and cattail wine, etc., all contain the ideas of traditional TCM health care. Combining it with TCM health care methods, the body is conditioned to clear away heat and replenish qi, and to dry dampness and raise yang with aromatics, so that the spleen, stomach, heart and lung qi are regulated, which can well improve various discomforts.

Let us introduce it from the following aspects.

Clothes—enlighten the mind, prevent diseases and repel mosquitoes

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【Wear scent sachet】

Chinese medicine sachets have a long history. Many places in my country have the custom of hanging sachets during the Dragon Boat Festival. There are records of this in the oracle bone inscriptions as early as the Shang Dynasty. Medical experimental studies have confirmed that Chinese medicine sachets have the effects of inhibiting bacteria, viruses and regulating immunity according to the different Chinese medicines selected, which explains the mechanism of disease prevention and treatment from the perspective of modern medicine. It is a Chinese medicine external treatment method for preventing infectious diseases.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, the hot and humid environment is conducive to the reproduction and breeding of various creatures such as mosquitoes and flies. At this time, you can choose Chinese herbal medicines that can repel mosquitoes and insects and make them into sachets. Children can wear the sachets on their chests or school bags, and adults can wear them around their waists or handbags. They are beautiful and charming, and can also be hung at the door, indoors or in the car. Compared with other methods of repelling mosquitoes and insects, this method is not only safe and effective, but also has a certain preventive effect on preventing infectious diseases such as influenza.

Food-medicine and food have the same origin, strengthening the body and preventing diseases

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【Zongzi】

Zongzi is a must-eat food during the Dragon Boat Festival. Strictly speaking, it is also a kind of medicinal food. The production varies from place to place across the country, and the materials used to wrap zongzi are also different. My family is in the north, and I remember that most of them were wrapped with bamboo leaves. Other options such as reed leaves and lotus leaves are also acceptable. They are all good medicines for clearing heat and relieving summer heat. Bamboo leaves can clear heat and relieve restlessness, and promote diuresis; reed leaves can clear heat and promote fluid production, relieve restlessness and quench thirst; lotus leaves can clear heat and promote dampness, and soothe the stomach and calm the mind; there are many types of zongzi now, the most common ones are wrapped with dates, red beans, meat, seafood, etc., but mainly with glutinous rice, which has the effect of invigorating qi and promoting fluid production. Before and after the Dragon Boat Festival, eating zongzi often can clear heat and relieve restlessness, which can be said to be a good "medicine" for relieving summer heat with the same origin of medicine and food. However, although zongzi is delicious and beneficial, it is not recommended to eat more, especially for the elderly, children and people with weak spleen and stomach. If you eat too much, it is very easy to cause symptoms such as indigestion.

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【Ai Gao】

Speaking of mugwort cake, we have to mention the magical mugwort leaf (also called mugwort), which is a traditional Chinese medicine for aromatic turbidity removal and is also the raw material of moxibustion, one of the most common conditioning methods of traditional Chinese medicine. According to ancient Chinese medical books, mugwort leaves are bitter and pungent, warm in nature and belong to the liver, spleen and kidney meridians, and have the effects of clearing away heat and detoxification, removing dampness and relieving itching. The tender mugwort before the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is both soft and fragrant. Eating mugwort cake with the tender mugwort at this time can not only satisfy your appetite, but also eliminate summer heat, strengthen the spleen and eliminate dampness, and prevent miscellaneous diseases.

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【Realgar wine】

Speaking of realgar wine, as people born in the 1980s, it is easy for everyone to think of "The Legend of the New White Snake", which mentioned drinking realgar wine on the Dragon Boat Festival. Now people in some areas still like to dissolve realgar in wine and drink it on the Dragon Boat Festival. People believe that drinking realgar wine has the effects of expelling filth, sterilizing, killing insects, and preventing diseases, but it is not recommended for everyone to drink it now. Realgar is poisonous, and it also has the effect of inhibiting fungi, tuberculosis bacteria and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It has a killing and inhibitory effect on bacteria that cause skin diseases such as poisonous sores and scabies. Therefore, realgar can be used as a surgical medicine in traditional Chinese medicine. You can also sprinkle realgar wine on the foot of the wall on the Dragon Boat Festival to kill insects, expel filth, and avoid plague.

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【Salted duck eggs】

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that salted duck eggs are salty and slightly cold, can nourish yin, clear the lungs, and can treat summer coughs, sore throats, toothaches, diarrhea and other symptoms. They are a good summer food supplement and side dish, but patients with hypertension should be careful to eat in moderation.

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【Red bean porridge】

Red beans are also known as adzuki beans. Using them to make food is also a kind of medicinal food. "Shennong's Herbal Classic" says that "adzuki beans can eliminate edema." "Famous Doctors' Records" says that red beans "cure diarrhea and promote urination." Eating them around the Dragon Boat Festival is to help relieve summer heat and dampness.

Live - Chinese herbal medicine to avoid poison and eliminate evil

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【Insert moxa】

A folk proverb says: "Plant willows during Qingming Festival, and plant mugwort during Dragon Boat Festival." This means that during the Dragon Boat Festival, in addition to eating young mugwort leaves, every household will insert mugwort leaves on the door lintel and hang them in the hall. Modern medical research shows that hanging mugwort sticks and burning mugwort leaves do have the effect of sterilizing and preventing the spread of plague, and burning mugwort leaves is also very effective in repelling mosquitoes. The air is humid during the Dragon Boat Festival, and the fragrance of mugwort leaves can remove poisonous gases, remove dirt, and purify the air.

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【Hanging calamus】

A calamus sword can ward off evil and purify the mind! During the Dragon Boat Festival, people often use calamus as a sword and mugwort as a tiger, and hang them on the door to ward off evil spirits. A folk proverb says: "On the fifth day of the fifth month, the Heavenly Master rides on a mugwort tiger, holding a calamus sword, and snakes and insects return to the underworld." Calamus is a perennial aquatic wetland plant. Because of its growing season and appearance, it is believed to be able to sense the yin energy. Its leaves are in the shape of a sword, symbolizing a sword that can remove bad luck. It is inserted at the door to ward off evil spirits. People usually call it "calamus sword", which means that it can cut off thousands of evil spirits. The stems and leaves of fresh calamus have a unique spicy aroma. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, it has the effects of awakening the mind, aromatically removing dampness, calming the mind and improving intelligence, and has the effects of refreshing the mind, clearing the mind, and strengthening the stomach.

Daily life - noon nap to nourish yang energy

Traditional Chinese medicine talks about keeping in good health. People should follow the four seasons. In summer, the days are long and the nights are short, so people should go to bed late and get up early. The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine mentions "sleep late and get up early, and never get tired of the day."

Sleeping at night: Go to bed before 10:30 p.m. and be in deep sleep at 11 p.m. This is beneficial to nourishing the body's yang energy.

Get up early: I don’t know if you have noticed that the sun rises very early in the morning now, around 6 o’clock. You can get up at this time. At this time, our minds are clearer, and we can quickly engage in activities that require higher attention. We are not prone to drowsiness and have more energy.

Nap: The key to health preservation during the Dragon Boat Festival is to "nourish the heart", and a nap at noon is the best way to nourish the heart. Noon is the time when the human body "combines yang", and resting at this time is also conducive to the transformation of yin and yang in the human body.

Exercise - Traditional exercise regulates Qi and blood

Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, large-scale folk dragon boat racing activities will take place across China, which is one of the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. There are many theories about the origin of the custom of dragon boat racing. Among them, the most widely accepted one is that the tradition of dragon boat racing originated from the legend of Qu Yuan, which has patriotic feelings, feelings and praises the national thought of loyal patriotism.

The weather is hot and humid during the Dragon Boat Festival, which can cause poor blood circulation in the human body, making people irritable, depressed, and have palpitations and chest tightness. At this time, we should carry out appropriate sports activities to stretch our muscles and bones and circulate blood. Dragon boat racing is an indispensable activity during the Dragon Boat Festival. If we cannot participate in the activities, we can also choose other ways to regulate our bodies.

Since the dampness starts to increase from the "Grain in Ear" period, you can do some upper limb lifting and lower limb heel lifting movements to regulate the Qi of the upper, middle and lower three burners and activate the Qi of the three Yin meridians of the hands and feet. This is the significance of the exercise. The Eight-Section Brocade Qigong exercise is a good choice. Regular practice can make the Qi and blood of the whole body flow smoothly, enhance the cardiopulmonary function, and improve the spleen and stomach function, thereby playing a role in regulating Qi and blood and relieving boredom.

Emotions - Regulating the mind, soothing the emotions and nourishing the nature

The Dragon Boat Festival is the time of the year when the Yang energy is at its peak. The weather is rather dull and people tend to be irritable and depressed. Emotional changes will directly affect the functions of the internal organs, such as joy hurts the heart, anger hurts the liver, and sadness hurts the spleen. On the one hand, we should promptly discover our emotional changes and adjust them in time; on the other hand, we can choose activities such as painting, calligraphy, music, chess, flower planting, fishing, and travel, which can cultivate emotions, regulate the mind, and keep fit.

Why do we say "ankang" instead of "happiness" on Dragon Boat Festival?

The Dragon Boat Festival is the beginning of summer (the month of Wu). The fifth month of the lunar calendar is hot and humid with many viruses and epidemics. It has always been considered an "evil month" by the ancients. The ancients described it as "the five poisons are all out" during this period, snakes and insects multiply, easily bite people, people are prone to illness, and plagues are also prone to spread. Therefore, various folk customs during the Dragon Boat Festival have the meaning of expelling disasters and plagues and praying for peace and health. In addition, the Dragon Boat Festival was also an important node for disease prevention in ancient times.

The Dragon Boat Festival is here, I wish you a happy Dragon Boat Festival!

Expert introduction

Wang Wei

Director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Oncology Treatment Center of the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Chongqing University, postdoctoral and master's supervisor, young Qiyan scholar of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine's "Hundreds of Thousands" Talent Project for the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine, and Chongqing Talent and Innovation Leader.

He is good at using the "six-in-one" method of traditional Chinese medicine to treat advanced malignant tumors; using traditional Chinese medicine to assist in the rehabilitation and recurrence prevention of tumor patients after surgery and radiotherapy and chemotherapy; using traditional Chinese medicine to treat leukopenia, low immune function, nausea, vomiting, hair loss, fever, sweating, poor appetite, dry mouth, weakness, insomnia, cancer pain, cancer-related pleural effusion, etc. He has a high level of attainment in the use of traditional Chinese medicine for health preservation, cancer prevention and treatment of precancerous lesions.

Clinic Hours

All day Monday (TCM Special Clinic)

Tuesday morning, Wednesday morning (specialist clinic)

Clinic Location

Clinic 311, National Medical Hall, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Chongqing University

Gao Rui

Head nurse of Traditional Chinese Medicine Oncology Treatment Center, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Chongqing University.

He has published several papers in national, provincial and municipal statistical source journals. He participated in the compilation of the "Six-in-One" Integrated Model of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He is good at combining traditional Chinese and western medicine for tumor rehabilitation nursing, traditional Chinese medicine nursing technology, and traditional Chinese medicine sub-health and chronic disease management.

Text/Fat Bear

Member of China Medical We-Media Alliance

Science Popularization China Co-construction Base

Chongqing Science Popularization Base/Chongqing Health Promotion Hospital

Chongqing Science and Technology Communication and Popularization Project

Chongqing Grassroots Science Popularization Action Plan Project

National Health Commission National Basic Public Health Service Health Literacy Project