Spring Health Soup (Food and Life)

Author: Zhang Hude, edited by Ma Lieguang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: When spring arrives, people should eat less sour foods and more sweet foods, as this can nourish the spleen and stomach qi in the body. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) holds that the spleen and stomach are the foundation of postnatal health and the source of qi and blood generation in the body. When the spleen and stomach qi is strong, a person can live a longer and healthier life. However, in spring, the liver qi dominates, and its function tends to be overly active. TCM suggests that dietary habits in spring should focus on nurturing yang, meaning consuming foods that have a warming effect to enhance the body's resistance and protect against invasions by pathogenic factors, such as wind. For example, scallions, garlic, and chives are excellent vegetables and medicinal foods for nurturing yang. The saying "The kidneys store yang, which is the root of the body's yang" implies that nurturing yang in diet also includes nurturing kidney yang. Since in spring and summer, the body's yang is abundant on the surface while the internal yang is relatively insufficient, it is advisable to consume more foods that nourish kidney yang. As the proverb goes, "Summer has true cold, winter has true fire," which reflects this principle.