General

We are now in the Bai Lu (白露) solar term, which is the 15th solar term of a year. Bai Lu starts on 7 September and ends on 21 September this year (2024). In the Bai Lu solar term, the weather will start to turn cooler (the intensity depends on which part of the world you are living in). This also means that the difference in day and night temperatures will start to widen. During this time, sudden temperature changes are likely to trigger sinus issues and headaches in more people. People are also more likely to catch the flu if they do not consciously keep themselves warm, especially at night. Here are some simple diet and wellness tips that you can consider to help boost your body’s resistance to flu and maintain a healthy body during this period: Diet Recommendation In Fuzhou, China, there is a tradition of eating longan during the Bai Lu solar term. It is believed that consuming longan during this period provides a stronger tonic effect than drinking herbal soups. Based on the records of the TCM herbs and foods, longan can boost blood and Qi in the body, and hence, it is a good food for boosting immunity. You can read more about the benefits of longan in this separate post (which includes a recipe for longan porridge). Having said that, longan may not be suitable for certain individuals. For example, people who are having a sore throat, fever or flu should avoid consuming longan. If you find longan too heaty for your body constitution, you can add some lily bulb (百合) to your longan drink. Lily bulb is cooling in nature so it can help to neutralize the heaty effect of longan. Additionally, lily bulb helps to nourish the lungs, calm the mind, and promote better sleep, thus making it ideal for evening consumption. You can purchase fresh lily bulb from supermarkets or the dried form from TCM retail shops. If you are using dried lily bulb, make sure you soak it in warm water for 60 minutes before you cook it (cook for 15 to 20 minutes is enough).   General Well-Being Recommendation As the day and night temperature gap widens, we need to take care to keep ourselves warm, especially at night. While sleeping, ensure that your chest and stomach area are covered. Leaving the stomach exposed during sleep may result in diarrhea/sticky stools for some people with weak spleen.  Having said that, it is also not ideal to keep yourself overly warm during this period as there is a saying, 春捂秋冻. Following this principle, it is important to ‘train’ your body to be resistant to the upcoming cooler weather as well. Thus, wearing just enough not to feel too cool is the recommended approach.  Exercising is also good for improving your resistance to cooler weather ahead. Do consider this! I hope you find this post useful!

We are into the Da Xue (大雪) solar terms (节气) starting from the 07 Dec to 21 Dec 2023. Da Xue is the 21st Solar Term out of the entire 24. The weather will be colder (cooler for tropical countries like Singapore) than in the previous solar term (Xiao Xue, 小雪). As the saying goes, 小雪腌菜，大雪腌肉. It means that the previous solar term is when people start to make preserved vegetables and in this solar term, people start to make preserved meat to prepare for the new year. Besides making preserved meat, this solar term is also a good time to consume tonic to boost our immunity. There’s also a saying 冬令进补，春天打虎. This means that if a person were to consume tonic during these periods, the body would have resources (essence stored in the kidneys) and have the energy to fight a tiger when the new year comes! (This is just an analogy, please don’t try!) Having said this, I do not recommend most people to consume heavy tonic foods because not everyone is suitable to eat strong tonic herbs. Instead, I would like to recommend the following gentle and warm kidney qi-boosting foods that almost everyone can eat safely and still have the immunity-boosting effect. During these few solar terms, we need to eat foods to strengthen our kidneys. And in the TCM five elements (中医五行), the kidney aligns with the color, black. Thus, we can increase our intake on the following black-colored foods: 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 Rice – Black rice is also known as 药米 (medicinal rice). Besides strengthening the kidneys, black rice can also strengthen the spleen and stomach. Thus, it is suitable for people with poor digestion and weak spleen. You can simply add some black rice together with white/brown rice in your next meal. 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. Black Fungus – Although black fungus does not have direct benefits on the kidneys, it has great benefits for the lungs and liver. During this cooler weather, it is important to keep our lungs moisturized (润肺) to prevent coughing. Also, black fungus can also help to reduce blood pressure and has anti-cancer properties. Thus, it is an excellent food to add to your dishes these few weeks. General Wellness Recommendation Getting enough sleep during this solar term is important. So make sure you go to bed earlier and wake up a bit later (if possible). Do avoid heading out too early (before the sun rises) to exercise as it will increase the chance of your lungs being exposed to cold air. If the morning sky is still dark, you can do some light exercise indoors instead. One well-being tip that you can do is to massage the acupoint YongQuan (涌泉) which is located on the base of your foot. YongQuan acupoint is very effective in warming up your body as it helps to boost your kidney qi. You can make it a habit of massaging the points when you are watching videos or listening to music. Here is one resource I found online that details the effect of YongQuan. Hope you find this post useful!

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) I like to use a thermal pot to cook porridge as it saves a lot of gas. 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). Bring the mixed grains with water to boil then put in fresh Chinese yam (in chunks or slices) and walnuts. 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!