Spring has three months, beginning with the first day of spring and ending with the day before summer. The period includes the six festivals of spring, rain, stirring, vernal equinox, clearing, and rainy. The ancient book “Qunfang Shu” explains the understanding of Lichun as follows: “Lichun is also the beginning of the establishment. The spring energy starts and establishes.” During Lichun, the temperature, sunshine and rainfall, begin to tend to rise. Since the Qin Dynasty, China has been using Lichun as the beginning of spring, and even as the beginning of the New Year. We invited Dr. Liu Yan, chief physician of the Department of Internal Medicine of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, to explain those things about health care after the beginning of spring.
Spring health theory
The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine (HUANG DI Nei Jing), which integrates the four seasons of health care theory, puts forward the important idea of “nourishing Yang in spring and summer, and nourishing Yin in autumn and winter”, and sums up the principles of “nourishing life” in spring, “nourishing longevity” in summer, “nourishing harvest” in autumn, and “nourishing the body” in winter. “It summarizes the four rules of health care in spring, summer, autumn and winter. For the spring health “Suwen – four qi tune Shen Da Lun” for people to get up and sleep, exercise, emotional regulation put forward valuable advice: the so-called “spring in March, this is called hair Chen, heaven and earth are born, all things to glory, sleep at night and get up early, wide walk in the court …… spring gas should be, the way to nourish life. If you go against it, it hurts your liver.” We are instructed to follow the nature of heaven and man and to follow the nature.
Spring health regimen
Spiritual regimen
According to the properties of nature, spring is wood, which corresponds to the liver. According to the theory of Chinese medicine, the liver collects blood and is the master of drainage, and in the will is anger. In the spring, we should refrain from anger and depression, and keep a happy state of mind. Ming Dynasty
Hu Wenhuan, a health practitioner, mentioned in his “The Essentials of Cultivation”: “Abstain from anger and violence to nourish your life, think less to nourish your spirit, save your words to nourish your qi, and stop thinking about yourself to nourish your heart.
Diet regimen
Winter and spring is a good time for gastrointestinal diseases, the temperature is suddenly warm and cool, easy to cause spasm of the gastrointestinal tract and pain, diarrhea and other symptoms; and many people greedy cold drinking cold, but also easy to cause such diseases. In terms of diet, we should “reduce acid and prefer sweet to nourish the spleen” to prevent the liver wood from overpowering the spleen earth. In the relationship between the five organs and the five tastes, the sour taste into the liver, with astringent nature, is not conducive to the development of Yang Qi and liver Qi drainage, so the warmth, calm, sweet-tasting diet is the main, can eat a little spicy products, such as onions, ginger, shrimp, should not eat the taste of acid collection. In winter, the amount of tonic according to personal constitution, in line with the principle of winter health, but after the spring, whether it is food or medicine, the amount of tonic should be gradually reduced, so as to gradually adapt to the upcoming spring Shu Shu, rise, strip up the seasonal characteristics. At the same time, salt intake should be controlled because salty taste enters the kidneys and excessive salt intake is easy to hurt kidney qi, which is not conducive to maintaining yang qi.
Take care of your living
Spring is the transition season from winter cold to summer heat, the climate is characterized by the gradual birth of Yang Qi, Yin cold is not yet finished, the weather is variable, and the temperature difference between day and night is large. Therefore, ancient and modern health scientists have placed great emphasis on the “spring cover”, that is, do not prematurely reduce clothing. Sun Simiao, a famous medical doctor of the Tang Dynasty, said: “Spring is not thin clothing, (otherwise) people have typhoid, cholera, food, headache. The ancients advocated that in spring
Dress should be “thick on the thin”, “old old constant” also cloud: “spring freezing half pam, the lower body rather than too warm, the upper body without harm slightly reduced, so nourish the Yang of the angry”.
Spring health also pay attention to the elimination of “spring sleepy”. The temperature rises, the air is humid, so that the pores of the skin gradually stretch, the circulatory system strengthens, the blood supply to the body surface increases, the blood flow to the brain is relatively reduced, the central nervous system produces a sedative, hypnotic effect, so that the body is drowsy, drowsy sleepy, folk call “spring sleepy”. To overcome “spring sleepiness”, the best way is to comply with the natural changes in the human body, early to bed and early to rise, especially at the time of the son (11:00 pm to 3:00 am), is the best time to protect the liver and liver. In the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, it is written that “when a person sleeps, blood returns to the liver”. Modern medical research confirms that the blood flow to the liver is seven times higher during sleep than when standing. The increase in blood flow through the liver helps to enhance the function of liver cells and improve detoxification.
Sexual regimen
Sexual intercourse, that is, sex life, is also referred to as “room”, “Yin and Yang” and so on. Mencius – the “teller” day: “food, sex, sex also”. The Book of Rites – Rites of Passage says: “Food and sex are the great desires of man.” That is to say, sex is the natural nature of human beings, but sex should not be excessive, otherwise it will certainly damage health. With the spring yang, everything revives, the human desire also with the arrival of spring and glow, but the room regimen is still very important. Spring room regimen, one to do with the time, the second to do with the degree. The so-called time, refers to the room should be in line with the spring seasonal characteristics of Yang Qi, in line with the natural and human Yin and Yang of the law of motion. The so-called degree, refers to the spring room should be restrained, not indulge in excessive desire.
Common diseases and their prevention
Spring climate is often unpredictable, some people call it the “sprouting of a hundred grasses, a hundred diseases” season. Every spring, the outpatient departments of major hospitals are often full of people, rhinitis, influenza, pneumonia, measles, heart disease, mental illness, etc., all at once, some people therefore call spring “the spring of many diseases”. The reasons are as follows.
According to Chinese medicine, spring diseases are caused by the wind and warmth of the evil depressed in the muscle surface, and the lung qi is not clear. The infectious diseases prevalent in spring are mostly contracted through the respiratory tract. Such as rhinitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, etc.; those with severe systemic symptoms include influenza, pneumonia, various infectious diseases, etc., with influenza being the most common.
Due to the increase of exogenous allergens, spring is also prone to allergic diseases, the most common being various pollens and dust mites, which are very likely to cause bronchial asthma in people with allergies.
Spring is windy and rainy for a long time, and the wind and dampness are in the same phase, making people prone to rheumatism.
The spring energy should be internalized by liver wood, and the liver energy should be drained and regulated, but the spring is windy, and it is easy to move the liver wind, so the liver yang and liver fire will rise with the spring energy, or the emotional illness will occur, or the spleen will be violated, which will affect the function of the spleen and stomach.
What are the most common diseases in spring?
Gastrointestinal disorders are easy for the liver to cross the spleen and stomach, and the temperature in spring is variable, so gastrointestinal disorders are easy to attack in spring, with symptoms such as stuffiness, pain, frequent belching, acid reflux, loss of appetite or diarrhea in the upper abdomen.
Chronic liver disease spring is the best time to treat liver disease exacerbation and also liver disease. When liver wood is in spring, the liver wood energy is strong, and effective treatment at this time can achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Chinese medicine believes that the onset of hypertension is closely related to the rise of liver qi and liver yang. In spring, people with hyperactive liver yang are especially prone to headaches and dizziness. Therefore, we remind all hypertensive patients that once they feel dizziness and headache, in addition to repeatedly monitoring their blood pressure and adjusting their antihypertensive medication in a timely manner under the guidance of a doctor, they should also pay attention to a light diet, control the intake of salt, cholesterol and fat, and strictly stop smoking and limit alcohol.
Mental illnesses spring is a time when the human body is hyperactive in the liver and Yang, and emotions are prone to impatience, so it is important to strictly supervise psychiatric patients in the spring to comply with medical advice and carry out regular treatment, and not to interrupt medication without authorization.
The “five words” of spring health
The actual fact is that you will be able to get a lot more than just a couple of days after the spring. Food to warm, flat, sweet diet is the main, can eat a little spicy products, should not eat the taste of acid collection.
Live more open windows to keep the air fresh: in view of the impact of haze, it is recommended to open the windows at about 12 noon to ventilate. In addition, the living room should also open the windows at least after the nap and before going to bed at night to ventilate. Walk more in the countryside to breathe fresh air and regulate the mood of body and mind. Prevent restlessness and pay attention to mental health care.
Warmly remind the middle-aged and elderly spring health four “no” principle.
One is not “acid”: spring diet should be “save acid and increase sweet” to soften the liver, care for the spleen and stomach.
Two not “static”: the key to nourishing Yang is to “move”, do not “static”. But the elderly should not be too early in the spring, to prevent the morning low temperature, fog and suffer from cold or asthma, chronic bronchitis, should go out to exercise after the sun rises. In addition, spring training can not be fasting. At the same time, the movement should be soothing, the elderly morning muscle relaxation, joint ligament stiffness, exercise before the first gentle activity of the body joints, to prevent accidents induced by sudden exercise.
Three not “anger”: spring is a time of hyperactive liver and Yang, emotional impatience, to achieve open-mindedness, physical and mental harmony.
Four do not “delusion”: the elderly originally Yang is relatively insufficient, and spring is a good time to nourish Yang, such as lust delusion and more frequent intercourse, will consume gas and hurt the essence, further damage Yang, so the elderly in the spring should be appropriate abstinence.