What are the principles of dietary supplementation for the elderly in spring?

　　spring nourishment pair healthy It is beneficial for people with strong body, but patients with long-term illness and weak constitution, damaged Qi and blood after surgery, and children with weak constitution are more in need of spring supplements. Spring supplements cannot be done haphazardly. The following principles must be followed in order to adapt to the weather and meet the needs of the body.

　　Suitable for warming and replenishing yang energy

　　Yang refers to the yang energy of the human body, and yang energy and yin essence are both opposite and unified. Yang Qi generally refers to the functions of the human body, and Yin Jing generally refers to the material basis of the human body. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "Yang Qi defends the outside and becomes solid", which means that Yang Qi plays a defensive role in the human body and can make the human body strong and protect it from the invasion of the six evil qi in nature. The so-called nourishing yang in spring diet means eating some foods that can warm and replenish the human body's yang energy, so as to enrich the body's yang energy. Only in this way can the body's resistance be enhanced and the invasion of the human body by evil spirits, mainly wind evil. Li Shizhen, a famous medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, advocated in the "Compendium of Materia Medica" that "onions, garlic, leeks, polygonum, mugwort, mustard and other spicy vegetables should be mixed and eaten."

　　Because the yang stored in the kidneys is the root of yang energy in the body, nourishing yang in diet also means nourishing kidney yang. Regarding this point, Zhang Zhicong said in "Su Wen Collection": "In spring and summer, Yang is strong outside but deficient inside; during autumn and winter, Yin is strong outside but deficient inside. Therefore, the sage nourishes Yang in spring and summer and Yin in autumn and winter, cultivating them from their roots. ”"From its roots" here means nourishing kidney yang, because kidney yang is the root of yang energy in the body. In spring and summer, the body's yang energy is abundant on the surface of the body, but the yang energy in the body is insufficient. Therefore, you should eat more things to cultivate kidney yang. This is what the proverb "there is real cold in summer and real fire in winter" means.

　　More sweet and less sour

　　Sun Simiao, the king of medicine and health expert in the Tang Dynasty, said: "In spring, it is better to reduce acidity and increase sweetness to nourish the spleen. ”It means that during the six solar terms in spring, people should eat less sour food and more sweet things. The advantage of this is that it can replenish the body's spleen and stomach. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the spleen and stomach are acquired and the source of the biochemistry of qi and blood in the human body. Strong spleen and stomach qi can prolong life. But spring is the time for liver qi, and the liver function is overactive. According to the Five Elements Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the liver belongs to wood and the spleen belongs to earth. Wood and earth are in conflict with each other. That is, a strong liver will damage the spleen and affect the digestion and absorption function of the spleen.

　　Traditional Chinese medicine also believes that the five flavors enter the five internal organs, such as sour flavor entering the liver, sweet flavor entering the spleen, and salty flavor entering the kidneys. Eating more sour foods can strengthen the function of the liver and make the already overactive liver qi more vigorous, which will greatly damage the spleen and stomach qi. In view of this, another important principle in the diet during the six solar terms in spring is to eat less sour food to prevent excessive liver qi; at the same time, eat more sweet food, which enters the spleen and can replenish the spleen, such as jujubes and yams.

　　Should be light and varied

　　Greasy food can easily make people feel full, hinder the intake of various nutrients, and cause fatigue, drowsiness, and reduced work efficiency after meals. It is one of the causes of "spring sleepiness". The diet in spring should be light and avoid eating greasy foods, such as fatty pork, fried foods, etc. Spring meals should be diversified, avoid being monotonous, and adopt scientific and reasonable combinations, such as the reasonable combination of thick and thin staple foods, dry and thin food, the combination of meat and vegetables, soup and vegetables, etc. Only in this way can we obtain more complete nutrition from a variety of foods and make people energetic.

　　Eat more fresh vegetables

　　After people go through the cold winter, they generally suffer from insufficient intake of multivitamins, inorganic salts and trace elements. For example, in winter it is common for people to suffer from stomatitis, angular stomatitis, glossitis, night blindness and certain diseases. skin disease , which is caused by eating less fresh vegetables. Therefore, you must eat more fresh vegetables during the six solar terms in spring to make up for the nutritional deficiencies caused by eating less vegetables in winter.

　　It is advisable to replenish body fluids

　　Spring is windy, and wind evil attacks can easily loosen the coxae and force body fluids to leak out, causing dry mouth, dry tongue, rough skin, dry cough, and sore throat. Therefore, it is advisable to eat more foods that can replenish body fluids in your diet. Common ones include citrus, honey, sugar cane, etc. The standard of supplementation is to not feel thirsty and should not be excessive. Because many fluid-promoting foods are sour, eating too much can easily lead to excessive liver qi.

　　Yiqing relieves heat

　　The so-called internal heat refers to the presence of stagnation heat or phlegm heat in the body. When heat is trapped inside, in spring, when the body is agitated by external winds, it will dissipate outwards, which can lead to dizziness, physical discomfort, cough , excessive phlegm, and heavy stagnation of limbs; in severe cases, febrile disease may occur and even damage internal organs.

　　The formation of stagnation in the body is due to the fact that in the long winter, in order to avoid the invasion of the severe cold, people often wear thick cotton clothes and sit next to the roaring fire; they like to eat steaming meals, hot porridge and hot soup, and some elderly people often drink wine. These seem to be necessary in winter, but they accumulate more stagnation in the human body.

　　There are many ways to clear away heat, and it is best to use some medicinal foods.

　　Avoid sticky, hard, cold, fat, sweet and thick flavors

　　Hyperactivity of liver qi in spring damages the spleen and impairs the digestion and absorption function of the spleen and stomach. Foods that are sticky, hard, raw, cold, fatty, sweet, and thick are inherently difficult to digest. Coupled with poor spleen and stomach function, they will not only produce phlegm and dampness, but will further aggravate and damage the spleen and stomach function.

　　The principles of dietary supplementation in spring are mainly based on the above seven points, but the specific application should be based on the individual's physique, age, occupation, disease , region and other different situations to deal with. For example, patients with diabetes should avoid eating sweets even in spring. People with a strong Yang constitution do not need to supplement Yang Qi, because the Yang Qi in the body is already strong. Those with yin deficiency and fire deficiency must also be cautious in replenishing yang. In short, the above dietary supplement principles are put forward based on general conditions. In application, they must be adapted to people, places and diseases, so as to be beneficial to health.