Let's talk about the valley

Click on the blue word above (Dr. Zhong online) to browse past articles.

Bigu is a health preserving method based on Taoist tradition, which originated in the Warring States period and was popular in the Tang Dynasty. A story is recorded in "A Happy Tour in Zhuangzi": "There are immortals and people living on the mountain. The skin is like ice and snow, like a virgin, not eating grains, sucking wind and drinking dew, traveling around the world by flying clouds and dragons ... "In recent years, as a health care method of" prolonging life ",it has become popular in society and even a fashion in some areas.

There are four ways to break the grain in Taoism, of which two are the most commonly used: taking qi to break the grain and bait (medicine). Breaking grain with gas is mainly carried out by not eating food and adjusting breath (breathing). Few people do this at present. Taking medicine to avoid the valley is to regulate the body function by taking other complementary foods (nuts, Chinese herbal medicines, etc.). , commonly used dates, walnuts, peanuts, fruits) instead of eating staple food (whole grains).

Benefits of breaking grain: in the case of eating little or no food, it reduces the metabolic level of the body, maintains the most basic metabolic activities of the body, thus reducing the consumption of heat and so on, thus achieving the function of preserving physical strength, which is a way to overcome difficulties in field survival. Whether it is beneficial to people in eutrophic state remains to be studied.

Now is not an era of lack of food and clothing, but an era of nutrition. In the era of nutrition, advocating reducing the intake of food and calories is not only saving resources, but also beneficial to health. By regularly reducing food intake, we can reduce metabolism, reduce calorie accumulation and turn fat into obesity.

In modern times, you can choose a time with less activity and reduce the food intake of a certain meal or several meals to achieve the effect of crossing the valley. For example, I often choose not to eat the main meal at noon on Thursday and Friday, but to eat a few dates or other similar nuts across the valley. From the initial experience, it really makes people feel relaxed.

To do this, friends must ensure basic nutrition and observe whether there is any uncomfortable reaction after going through the valley. If you are flustered or otherwise, you should eat in time. The following should be cautious and should not be crossed, such as severe diabetes, heart failure, severe angina pectoris, cerebrovascular disease, uremia and anemia.

Dr. Zhong, chief physician of general department of Xiyuan Hospital, Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, has been engaged in clinical work of traditional Chinese medicine for more than 30 years. Flexible use of traditional Chinese medicine decoction and ointment to treat all kinds of hypertension, hypertensive proteinuria, rehabilitation after coronary stent, sub-health fatigue, chronic gastritis and so on.

Visiting hours: Tuesday morning, Wednesday morning and Sunday morning.