There is a lot of rain in the south this year. Let’s learn how to keep warm and take supplements scientifically.

According to China Weather Network, today (January 5) marks the beginning of the Minor Cold solar term. Generally speaking, most of my country will enter the coldest period of the year at this time. Many places in the south will have more rainy days in the early stage, so precautions should be taken.

According to Min Yuqiu, a meteorological analyst at China Weather Network, the Minor Cold solar term is around the 39th day of the 9th month, and most parts of my country have entered a severe cold period, the coldest period of the year. From the perspective of the average annual temperature, most of the provincial capital cities in China are colder during the Minor Cold than the Major Cold. Among them, the average temperature during the Minor Cold in the three provincial capital cities in Northeast China, as well as Urumqi and Hohhot, dropped to below -10℃, more than 1℃ lower than the Major Cold.

At the same time, after entering the Minor Cold, there will be two rounds of precipitation from the 6th to the 7th and from the 9th to the 11th. The Central Meteorological Observatory predicts that from the 6th to the 7th, there will be light rain in Jiangnan, western South China, the Sichuan Basin and Guizhou, among which Guizhou and Hunan will have moderate rain. From the 9th to the 11th, there will be sleet or snow in the eastern part of the Northwest, the western part of Huanghuai, and the western part of Jianghan; there will be light to moderate rain in the eastern part of the Southwest, the eastern part of Jianghan, Jianghuai and most areas to the south.

Min Yuqiu reminded that there are many rainy days in many places in the south before the Minor Cold, and there is more precipitation in some parts of Guizhou and Hunan. It is necessary to take precautions to prevent the adverse effects of rainy weather on transportation and other aspects.

Source: China Weather Network

The arrival of Xiaohan marks the beginning of the coldest season of the year.

The Minor Cold season is also the coldest time of winter. As the saying goes, "It's coldest in the coldest days of winter" and "Go out on ice in the coldest days of winter". There is also a saying among the people that "The Minor Cold is better than the Great Cold". Therefore, the arrival of the Minor Cold also marks the beginning of the coldest period of the year.

During the previous solar term, "Winter Solstice", the ground receives the least amount of solar heat, but there is still some heat deep in the soil that can be dissipated upwards, so it is not the coldest time of the year. During the Lesser Cold, the heat deep in the soil dissipates to the lowest point, and although the daytime is slightly longer and the light and heat from the sun increase slightly, this is actually the period when the income is the most insufficient, making it the coldest time of the year.

The coldest days are the "nine nines" and the "three nines" calculated from the winter solstice, and they always fall within the Minor Cold solar term. In the Complete Song Poems, there is a line by an unknown poet: "During the Minor Cold, the clouds are dark at dusk and the wind is fierce in the morning" ("Looking at the Plum Blossoms"), which describes the coldness of the Minor Cold.

Since Xiaohan is colder, why did the ancients add Dahan after Xiaohan instead of arranging them in reverse order?

It turns out that traditional Chinese culture particularly emphasizes "everything will turn to its opposite when it reaches its extreme", and believes that the "natural law" of the alternation of cold and hot weather is that the cold will quickly turn to warm again. If the Great Cold comes before the Lesser Cold, there will be no feeling of "warming up" after the coldest moment. Therefore, putting the Great Cold at the end and letting the weather quickly return to the Beginning of Spring after the Great Cold is in line with the Chinese thinking habits.

Source: Xinhuanet

Compulsory Lesson in Minor Cold: Keep Warm

Keeping warm is a compulsory course for us during the Minor Cold season. In addition to paying attention to the warmth of clothing, we should also pay attention to the protection of the waist, knees, and feet. The muscles and fat tissues in these parts are weak, and the body's own ability to resist cold is poor, so when wearing clothes, we should pay more attention to the protection of these parts to prevent the invasion of cold evil and cause diseases. In addition, this winter, the weather is cold, dry, and windy, which is easy to induce a variety of respiratory diseases, and it is also easy to cause the recurrence of chronic diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. Therefore, friends with underlying diseases should pay more attention to keeping warm.

As the saying goes, "Practice in the hottest days of summer and the coldest days of winter". We don't necessarily practice any exercises in the cold winter, but winter sports are indeed indispensable. Proper exercise can improve the body's immunity, increase heat energy, and improve the body's tolerance to cold. For example, walking, jogging, playing ball, doing exercises, practicing boxing and sword dancing, etc. are all suitable for winter exercise. Pay attention to the choice of time when exercising in winter. Outdoor exercise should be done after the sun rises and before the sun sets. Do not do outdoor activities in windy, snowy, foggy and haze weather. In addition, the weather is cold in winter, the blood flow rate is slow, and the flexibility of muscles and joints is reduced. Before exercise, you must warm up to prevent sports injuries. During exercise, wear appropriate sportswear. After the warm-up preparation is done, you can take off the thick clothes and pants to exercise. After the exercise, add clothes in time to prevent colds caused by wind and cold.

Source: Xinhuanet

When it comes to the Minor Cold, it is basically the twelfth lunar month. People have to prepare for the Spring Festival one after another. The first thing to do to prepare for the Spring Festival is to eat well. What's more, there is a saying: "If you nourish yourself in the 39th day of the lunar year, you will be free of illness in the next year." Therefore, the Minor Cold season is not only the best time to nourish yourself in winter, but also the time when the ingredients for winter nourishment are the most abundant. Mutton, beef, chestnuts, walnuts, yam, etc. are all regular foods and good winter nourishments. There are also various paste prescriptions with different functions. Because they are easy to take, they are also a health-preserving method loved by the public. However, since the weather is too dry in winter, when nourishing yourself, you should pay attention to avoid excessive intake of too warm and dry foods, and pay attention to eating sweet and cool foods that nourish yin, nourish yin, and are rich in protein, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables with high fiber and vitamins, such as glutinous rice, sesame, pork, duck, squid, pears, oranges, sleeves, sugarcane, bananas, honey, eggs, straw mushrooms, yam, American ginseng, etc. In addition, it is also important to know that in the cold and dry season, moisturizing is worse than nourishing. Appropriately cooking some Tremella and Lily Soup, Dendrobium and Old Duck Soup, and Reed Root and Water Chestnut Soup are good choices to moisten the lungs and nourish yin, and improve dry skin, nasal cavity, and eye symptoms.

Xiaohan is also the busiest time for Chinese medicine pharmacies

The Minor Cold season is also the busiest time for traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and Chinese medicine pharmacies. Generally, the pastes prepared at the beginning of winter are almost used up. At this time, some families will prepare a little more to eat until around the Spring Festival.

Although the Minor Cold is the best time to "tonic", it does not mean eating a lot of tonics, but must be targeted. According to traditional Chinese medicine theory, tonics are divided into four categories, namely, tonic qi, tonic blood, tonic yin, and tonic yang.

Source: Xinhuanet

1. Qi tonification is mainly for people with qi deficiency

If you suffer from sweating after exercise, mental fatigue, uterine prolapse in women, etc., you should use red ginseng, red dates, white atractylodes, northern astragalus, Chinese yam and schisandra chinensis.

2. Blood supplementation is mainly for blood deficiency constitution

If you experience dizziness, palpitations, insomnia, sallow complexion, pale lips, and scanty and light-colored menstruation in women, use Angelica sinensis, Rehmannia glutinosa, white peony root, donkey-hide gelatin, and Polygonum multiflorum.

3. Yin-tonifying for Yin-deficient constitution

If there are signs such as night sweats, low fever in the afternoon, flushed cheeks, hot palms and soles, and increased vaginal discharge in women, it is advisable to use Cordyceps sinensis, white ginseng, adenophora, asparagus, turtle shell, tortoise shell, white fungus, etc.

4. Tonifying Yang for Yang deficiency

If you have symptoms such as cold hands and feet, fear of cold, backache, low sexual function, you can choose pilose antler, eucommia, cistanche deserticola, euphorbia officinalis, etc. For the constitution of yin deficiency and yang excess, it is more appropriate to choose cordyceps, dendrobium, adenophora, polygonatum, and euryale, and use them with meat and poultry stews and soups for tonic.

Comprehensive sources: People's Daily Online, Xinhua News Agency, Beijing Daily, China Weather Network, etc.