The weather is getting cooler during Bailu, so prevent lung diseases and stay healthy

Expert of this issue: Wei Guo, Department of Nutrition, Oriental Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine

With the arrival of the White Dew solar term, Beijing has recently begun to feel a bit cooler, and the temperature difference between day and night has gradually increased. White Dew is an important solar term that reflects the changes in external temperature. It represents the end of the hot and humid summer, and the weather begins to gradually cool, becoming refreshing and dry. The autumn breeze is blowing, and the climate is cool and dry. Although autumn is more comfortable than the hot and humid summer, we should also pay attention to the fact that the dry climate may damage the human body's yin fluid and cause lung diseases.

The lungs are located in the chest cavity of the human body, one on each side. They are the highest in the human body's internal organs and are called "Huagai". The lungs open to the nose, and the liquid is mucus. The mucus here refers to nasal mucus. When the lungs are cold, it is easy to have a runny nose, and when the lungs are affected by dryness, the nose becomes dry. The lungs belong to gold in the five elements, corresponding to autumn. The common dryness in autumn can also easily lead to lung dysfunction and discomfort. The most common is runny nose caused by cold in autumn, or dryness and itching of the nose caused by dryness. If it is not maintained, then over time, it will damage the lungs, leading to problems such as coughing and asthma. Therefore, in autumn, to nourish the lungs and prevent dryness, we must pay attention to it from the White Dew.

Treat Yang deficiency with Yupingfeng powder

The autumn climate is characterized by the introverted Yang Qi, so for people with a history of Yang deficiency, it is easy to cause insufficient Yang Qi on the body surface and weak Wei Qi, which makes them susceptible to external cold evil Qi, resulting in a runny nose. In order to prevent this from happening, such people can take some Yupingfeng Powder in their daily lives to achieve the purpose of replenishing Qi and consolidating the surface.

Jade Screen Powder

From: Danxi's Heart Method

Drug composition: Fangfeng 2g, Astragalus 2g, Atractylodes 4g

Usage: Put the above four herbs into a cup, brew with boiling water and drink.

Explanation of the prescription: This prescription was originally intended to treat symptoms of superficial deficiency caused by exogenous wind evil. However, for people with daily yang deficiency, drinking this prescription as a tea at the beginning of the White Dew season can play a certain role in replenishing qi and strengthening the exterior. Among them, Astragalus is mainly used to replenish qi and strengthen the exterior, while Atractylodes is used to strengthen the spleen and replenish qi. With Saposhnikovia divaricata, which can dispel wind and dispel cold, and ginger, which can dispel cold and relieve exterior symptoms, it can play a role in resisting external wind evil and prevent the lungs from being hurt by wind and cold evil.

If you have been affected by wind and cold and have a runny nose, you can still drink this tea in the early stages, but you need to add 3 slices of ginger to enhance the effect of dispelling cold and relieving exterior symptoms.

Warm and dryness can damage body fluids with Sangxingli Decoction

In autumn, dryness is the season, and we are in early autumn. The main dryness is warm dryness. If you do not pay attention to nourishing yin and moistening dryness, you will easily experience dry nose, itching, and dry skin. Therefore, in the White Dew season, healthy people can properly steam and boil pear water to achieve the purpose of nourishing yin and moistening dryness. However, for people who have already felt warm dryness and have uncomfortable symptoms such as cough, dry nose, and itching, you can use mulberry and apricot to boil pears to achieve the purpose of clearing warm dryness.

Mulberry, apricot and pear soup

From: Treatise on Febrile Diseases

Drug composition: 3g mulberry leaf, 4g almond, 6g adenophora, 3g fritillaria, 3g fermented black beans, 3g gardenia peel, 3g pear peel

Usage: Put the above medicines and foods into a cup, brew with boiling water and drink.

Explanation of the prescription: This prescription was originally used to treat exogenous warm and dryness, and the symptoms of evil in the lung defense. It is also a common prescription for treating mild warm and dryness attacking the lung. Here it is used as a health-preserving prescription for the White Dew season, and as a tea prescription for people with the above-mentioned discomfort symptoms, to achieve the purpose of dissipating warm and dryness. Among them, mulberry leaves and fermented black beans can dissipate the lungs and dissipate evil; almonds can dissipate the lungs and benefit the qi; Adenophora, Fritillaria, and pear peel can moisten the lungs and relieve coughs; Gardenia can clear away heat, and together they can achieve the purpose of clearing and dispersing warm and dryness, moistening the lungs and relieving coughs. However, if the warm and dry evil is not so obvious, you can remove the gardenia, fermented black beans, and almonds, leaving only the mulberry leaves, Adenophora, Fritillaria, and pear peels. These four flavors are all Chinese medicinal materials that are both medicinal and edible, and are more suitable for long-term drinking. However, when using it, you need to pay attention to the fact that this tea recipe needs to be drunk as soon as it is brewed, and avoid long-term boiling and soaking to avoid damaging the efficacy.