Fitness & Wellbeing

Xiao Xue (小雪) Solar Terms – Diet and General Wellness Guidelines

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Xiao Xue Solar Term

We are into the Xiao Xue (小雪) solar terms (节气) starting from the 22 Nov to 06 Dec 2023. Xiao Xue is the 20th Solar Term out of the entire 24.

The weather will be turning colder (cooler for tropical countries like Singapore) and many people under this solar term will be more prone to reduction in 肾阳 (the yang energy in kidney).

Thus, we can eat foods that increase the yang energy in the kidneys such as walnuts, cashew nuts, chinese chestnuts (栗子), chinese yam (山药).

Having said this, we must also have a balanced intake of vegetables like radishes and fruits.

The direction for taking care of ourselves in this solar term is 益肺气，潜肾气 (in simpler terms, to strengthen both our lungs and kidneys’ qi).

A food that is very helpful in strengthening qi in our lungs and kidneys is the Chinese Yam (山药).

Chinese yam not only has great benefits for the lungs and kidneys, it can also strengthen the spleen to help absorption of nutrients better in our body. 

The following is a recommended porridge reciepe for most people to try in this solar term:

Ingredients (for 1 pax):

  • Fresh Chinese yam (30g)
  • Walnuts (10 to 20g)
  • Rice (preferably can use mixed grains, 50g)

Chinese Yam walnut porridge

I like to use a thermal pot to cook porridge as it saves a lot of gas.

  1. How it works is that you put the mixed grains into the pot with lots of water (5 to 7 times the amount of water compared to cooking rice).
  2. Bring the mixed grains with water to boil then put in fresh Chinese yam (in chunks or slices) and walnuts.
  3. Let it boil for 4 to 5 minutes and remove from heat and place inside the thermal pot. The porridge will be ready to serve in an hour!

General Wellness Recommendation

Do take note that during this solar term, some people will have a higher risk of cardiovascular attacks so some foods that these people can eat are hawthorn, black fungus, and SanQi (三七 – this is a Chinese herb that is very strong in dispersing blood clots). These foods and herbs help to disperse clots in the bloodstream.

Getting enough sleep during Xiao Xue solar term is also important. So make sure you go to bed earlier and wake up a bit later (if possible).

Another thing to watch out for is not to exercise vigorously, especially during the early morning. Do your best to exercise only when the morning sun is out. If the morning sky is still dark, you can choose to do some light exercise indoors instead.

Hope you find this post useful!

Li Dong (立冬) Solar Terms – Diet and General Wellness Guidelines

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li dong

We are into the Li Dong (立冬) solar terms (节气) starting from the 08 Nov to 21 Nov 2023. Li Dong is the 19th Solar Term out of the entire 24.

As the saying goes, “立冬补冬”. It means this is the time of the year to strengthen your immune system to prepare for the cold (or cooler) year-end (depending on where you live).

I remember when I was little, my mom would tell us that today is 补冬 so we must eat/drink some herbal stuff/soup. Many people believe that when they eat tonic on this day, they will not need to take any tonic for the rest of the year.

In this post, I will share what kind of tonic you can consider and some general well-being tips to take care of yourself and your loved ones during this Li Dong solar term.

In this solar term, the main direction of consuming tonic should be – 填肾精，固根本. It means to strengthen your kidneys and fill it with good essence so that your immune will be strong.

From the TCM perspective, if the kidney is deficient, it will affect bone density, immunity, and ear listening ability. Thus, this is a good time for us to build our immunity and give our kidneys a good treat!

Having said the above, it doesn’t mean everyone to start going out and buying ingredients for ShiQuan soup (十全大补汤) or Ginseng/Cordeceps soup. These heavy Qi-boosting tonic might not be suitable for everyone.

Thus, I want to recommend the following gentle kidney Qi/essence-boosting foods that you can consider eating during this solar term (which is suitable for most people):

Walnuts – Helps to boost kidney Qi. It can also help to relieve back pain and knee pain. Walnuts are easily available and can be consumed as snacks.

Chinese Chestnuts – Known as 栗子. It not only strengthens kidney Qi, but it also helps to strengthen the spleen. Nowadays there are Chinese chestnut snacks available that you can eat immediately after opening the packaging.

Black Beans – Black beans are an ideal food for people with weak kidneys and spleen. They have the additional benefits of dispersing blood clots and improving blood circulation. It can be added to rice and cooked together or added to any soup (especially soups that enhance blood circulation).

Black Sesame – Black sesame can also be used for relieving constipation on top of its kidney and liver-strengthening properties. An easy way of eating black sesame is to apply the black sesame paste to the bread for breakfast.

Goji Berries – Similar to black sesame, goji berries have great benefits to the eyes and ears because it has liver and kidney-strengthening properties. Goji berries are very flexible when it comes to including them in your diet. You can add them to your drink, tea, or soup!

People Who Are Not Suitable To Eat Tonics During This Period

Not everyone is suitable to consume tonic during this solar term. If a person is having flu or feels uncomfortable when the wind blows on him/her or is feeling under the weather, then eating a tonic at this time will make things worse. It is better to fully recover from the flu before consuming tonic foods/soups.

General Well-Being Tips

Besides eating tonic, another very effective way to boost your immunity during this period is to get enough sleep.

Li Dong is one of the solar terms that is suitable for sleeping early and waking up a bit late (not waking up at lunchtime!).

Getting enough sleep during this Li Dong solar term is sometimes even more important than eating tonic. So make sure you go to bed earlier and wake up a bit later (if possible).

Another thing to watch out for is not to exercise vigorously, especially during the early morning. Do your best to exercise only when the morning sun is out. If the morning sky is still dark, you can choose to do some light exercise indoors instead.

I hope you find this post useful!

Shuang Jiang (霜降) Solar Terms – Diet and General Wellness Guidelines

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We are into the Shuang Jiang (霜降) solar terms (节气) starting from the 24 Oct to 07 Nov 2023. Shuang Jiang is the 18th Solar Term out of the entire 24.

Shuang Jiang is the last solar term in Autumn. After Shuang Jiang, we will be going into the winter season and solar terms.

During this Shuang Jiang solar term, the focus is still on moisturizing the lungs (润肺), nourishing lung-yin (滋肺阴), and building up our immunity to prepare for the cold weather (or cooler weather, depending on where you live) ahead.

There is a saying “一年补透透，不如补霜降”. It means that rather than eating tonic foods and herbs all year round, it is better to consume such tonics in the Shuang Jiang solar term!

From the above phrase, it already tells us how important it is to boost our immunity in this solar term.

Diet Recommendations

1) Persimmon

persimmonsThe first food (fruit) I recommend to eat during Shuang Jiang solar term is the persimmon. The harvesting period of persimmon is around this period too. And hence, it is known as the fruit/food of the season (应季食材).

The reason why persimmon is the perfect fruit to eat in this period is because it has the properties of moisturizing the lungs, quenching thirst, and protecting the heart. And it is also used for treating cough (heat-type), mouth ulcers and sore throat.

There is a saying that 霜降吃了柿,不会流鼻涕. It means if a person were to eat persimmon in this solar term, then he/she will not catch a cold during the winter/cooler season at year-end.

However, there are a few things to take note of when eating persimmon. First, people with constipation should avoid eating it because it has a property of (涩肠), which means restricting bowel movement.

Second, do not eat persimmon together with foods that have high iron (animal organs etc) and high protein (crab meat) as it will cause stomach upset.

2) Ginkgo Nuts

ginkgo nutsAnother food to eat during this solar term is ginkgo nuts. Ginkgo nuts have great benefits to the lungs (moisturizes lungs and dissolves phlegm to stop cough) and kidneys (relieves frequent urination) so it is ideal to eat during this Shuang Jiang solar term.

Although ginkgo nuts have good benefits to health but it is dangerous to over-eat it. For adults, please do not eat more than 10 ginkgo nuts a day. For children, limit the consumption to less than 5. And for children below 5 years old, it is best not to eat ginkgo nuts.

There is a recipe called the ginkgo radish porridge that you can try to make at home.

Ingredients:

  • Ginkgo nuts (6 pieces)
  • Radish (300g)
  • Rice/Mixed grains (100g)
  • Sugar (according to personal preference, if need be)

Steps:

  1. Wash radish and cut it to slices.
  2. Put the radish into boiling water for about a minute then take out for later use.
  3. Wash the ginkgo nuts and cook it with the grains.
  4. Depending on the types of grains you use, it may take about 15 to 25 minutes for it to be cooked.
  5. Finally, add the sliced radish to the porridge and serve.

This ginkgo radish porridge has a strong property of dissolving phlegm and it is very good for treating cough and dissolving phlegm. It can also nourish and moisturize the lungs.

3) Duck Meat

If you are non-vegetarian, and you also have a yin-deficient body constitution, then eating duck meat during this period is very beneficial to your body.

Duck meat has the strong property of nourishing the yin of a person.

You can prepare the Shi Quan Duck Soup, which is a very popular soup that nourishes the body’s yin. This soup is also suitable for almost everyone (except people who is having the flu).

You can purchase the Shi Quan soup base in any supermarket or TCM medical store. The following video shows briefly how the soup is cooked.

General Wellness Recommendations

During Shuang Jiang period, the temperature difference will continue to widen between day and night. Thus, remember to keep warm during sleep especially if you are sleeping near a window in a non-aircon room.

Remember to wear socks to keep your feet warm if you often wake up feeling cold during this period.

This is still a good time to exercise to build up your immune to prepare for the year-end weather! Just make sure to stay hydrated and exercise moderately!

Hope you find this post useful!

Things To Know Before You Take Tonic Herbs Or Supplement This Season

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Traditionally, end of year (Dec) and beginning of year (Jan / early Feb) is one the best times to take tonic herbs and supplements because of the cooler weather we are having. If you are planning to take any herbal supplements or herbs such as cordyceps (冬虫夏草), ginseng (参类) or other tonic products, do take note of the following points so that the products you consume will give you the most nourishing benefits.

Avoid Taking Tonic If You Have Cold/Flu Symptoms

I believe this is the most obvious thing that many people know. But you may not know what are the symptoms to look our for. As long as you are afraid of cold / wind, you should not take tonic until your body recovers. You should also avoid taking tonic if you have fever, sore throat or body ache due to cold/flu.

The reason why a person should not take tonic when he/she has these symptoms is because when a person develops such symptom, it means that person has 邪气 (bad qi) inside the body. If you take tonic now, then it will become the situation “闭门留寇”. It means you are shutting the exits in your body with the bad qi inside. If one has bad qi, the right approach is to either get rid of the bad qi or strengthen your good qi (depends on your body constitute) to overcome the bad qi. Only after you fully recovers, then you are more suitable to take the tonic.

Do Not Take Tonic Together With Radish!

You may have heard this from the elderly that don’t eat ginseng with radish as it will destroy the nourish effects. It is true because tonic products such as ginseng mainly helps to 补气 (supplement good qi) but radish has a property of 破气 (break qi). Hence, if you take tonic products with radish, there won’t be any beneficial effects due the the clashing of the properties.

On a side note, some people say do not take radish with ANY TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) but this is not true. You can consume radish with other TCM herbs as long as the herbs do not have any 补 (tonic) property. For example, you can still drink chrysanthemum and most cooling tea because these herbs only have cooling effects (清热) rather than tonic (补气 ) effect.

You Can Supplement Tonic With 理气药 (Herbs That Harmonize Qi) For Greater Effects

mandarin orange peel

In TCM, your body will absorb the most of the tonic when you have a good spleen (脾) and digestion. If your spleen is weak, most of the tonic won’t be absorbed. On top of that, it is easier for the qi to stagnate in your body if your spleen is weak. Hence, to minimize this from happening, you can take some mandarin orange peel (陈皮) after taking tonic. Dried orange peel can be easily purchased at any local TCM store such as Hock Hua tonic stores (Singapore).

The main property of mandarin orange peel is 理气 (harmonize qi), and this will make any stagnate qi in your body to flow and thus, making the tonic effect work for your body.

These are some of the things I learn in my Chinese Dietitian course over the past 1.5 years. I will be sharing more tips in future in my blog. Do let me know if there’s something you want to ask or find out and I’ll help to clarify them (with the help of my teachers if need be)!

Have a great 2018!

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