Nursing Yang in spring will prevent children from getting sick this year

"Nei Jing": "In the third month of spring, this is called hair and aging. Heaven and earth are born, and all things are prosperous." When the Lord of Spring ascends, all things grow, and the child's body is no exception. Spring and summer are when all things are growing vigorously, and it is also a time when children are growing vigorously and need sufficient Yang Qi to support them. In addition, some children feel cold evil in autumn and winter and hide it in their bodies. They can also be eliminated from the body when Yang Qi rises in spring and summer.

Therefore, it is very necessary to nourish Yang Qi in children in spring.

1. What is Yang Qi?

Many parents don’t know much about Yang Qi, so they basically have no concept of nourishing Yang, which also makes parents unable to start.

In fact, for the human body, Yang Qi is a kind of energy that maintains life activities. When Yang is exhausted, a person will decline. If a person loses Yang Qi, he will lose his life.

The ancients believed that things that are outgoing, warm, upward, and exciting all belong to Yang, such as the sun, the south of mountains, and the north of water; stillness and coldness , falling, and night are all yin, such as the moon, the north of mountains, and the south of water.

Yang transforms into Qi, and Yin transforms into form, so Yang Qi exists in the body, but it is invisible and intangible.

For example: Think of your body as a pot with water in it and wood burning underneath. The temperature emitted by burning firewood is the Yang Qi of the body, which can warm our body fluids, internal organs and body.

2. What will happen if Yang Qi is insufficient?

Therefore, children with sufficient yang energy have strong ability to resist external evils and will not be easily invaded by external evils.

However, if in spring and summer, most parents only take their children to drink cold drinks and neglect to stick to Yang Qi, it will lead to the depletion of Yang Qi in the children's lungs and spleen. scattered. Spleen deficiency is prone to cold and dampness, which may cause diarrhea and vomiting in mild cases, stomachache and anorexia in severe cases, and even affect growth and development.

The impact on growth and development is not an exaggeration. Because children with spleen deficiency cannot digest and absorb the food they eat, the source of Yang Qi cannot be guaranteed. Yang Qi must maintain normal physiological activities, so it is allocated to growth and development. The Yang Qi will become less. In addition, if Yang Qi is insufficient, temper will also be insufficient. If the spleen is insufficient, kidney qi must be supplemented, and the kidney governs growth and development. If things go on like this, if the kidney qi is deficient, it will be difficult for the child to grow taller.

Also, especially children with asthma, rhinitis, and recurrent respiratory infections, if their yang energy is insufficient, they are more likely to feel external evils, or cold evils are internal. When the cold season of autumn and winter comes, it is the time when yin When Yang is weak, external evils can easily invade the human body, which can lead to recurring respiratory diseases such as colds, rhinitis, and asthma in children.

3. Why should we nourish Yang in this season?

This is a sentence derived from the "Nei Jing": "Nourishing yang in spring and summer", which is the basic guiding ideology of traditional Chinese medicine for health maintenance in spring and summer. The four seasons change, which are "spring birth, summer growth, autumn harvest and winter storage". Spring and summer belong to yang, autumn and winter belong to yin. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that health preservation must comply with the laws of nature, so it is necessary to "nourish yang in spring and summer".

To put it simply, it is because of the climate in spring and summer.

Spring and summer are the seasons for hair growth and growth. All things are prosperous, Yang Qi is transpiration, the pores of the human body are wide open, and sweating is normal. This is normal catharsis. If there is no sweating, it is abnormal. The process of sweating is also the process of qi, blood, energy, and Yang Qi moving out. Therefore, if the Yang Qi is not replenished, it will appear empty inside.

In addition, when the weather is hot, both adults and children like to drink cold drinks to cool down. The body is cooled, but the Yang Qi is also damaged invisibly.

In fact, a considerable part of the cold constitution is formed in summer. Cold evil does not necessarily attack immediately when it enters the body. There is an incubation period and accumulation period. It may suddenly occur at some time later. It happened.

Another point is that many people think that children have enough yang energy and do not need to nourish it, so nourishing yin is commonplace. But in fact, cold evil has a relatively high chance of damaging people's Yang Qi, and it is very powerful. Therefore, when the weather is hot, it is very important to protect Yang Qi. Once the Yang Qi is protected, cold evil cannot invade at all, even if it invades. , it can be quickly excreted through sweating and will not remain in the body.

4. How to replenish yang energy?

Many people have begun to look forward to some good prescriptions or delicious dietary treatments after seeing this, but I want to say that nourishing Yang Qi in spring does not mainly rely on food.

(1) The first step in nourishing Yang in spring and summer is exercise

Yang takes the initiative, and when it moves, Yang rises, so nourishing Yang means exercising appropriately. After the beginning of spring, the weather is getting warmer, which is very suitable for a family spring trip, which is very beneficial to the elderly and children.

When traveling in spring, you can feel the warm sunshine of spring on the one hand, and on the other hand, you can also feel the rising energy of nature, feel the vitality of all things sprouting, and sweep away the sadness of autumn and winter. The chilling wind is very suitable for children who do not like to exercise, are depressed, and have chronic liver qi. And there are many ways to exercise, such as mountain climbing, flying kites, and older children can ride bicycles. They are all good ways for children to exercise.

(2) "Spring cover" and "back basking"

Secondly, "spring cover" is needed to nourish the sun in spring and summer. As the saying goes, spring covers and autumn freezes. This spring cover is mainly about covering up the yang energy. In early spring, the weather changes greatly. Parents should not immediately put on less clothes for their children as soon as the weather warms up. It is very likely that the weather will turn cloudy soon or the indoor temperature will be low, which may cause the children to lose their yang energy and catch colds. Therefore, proper spring covering can prevent colds, and can also cover up the yang energy of early spring, but don't cover it too much like in winter. Parents have to control this themselves.

In fact, another way to nourish the sun is to bask in the sun. Because the back is yang and is passed by the Du Vessel, basking on the back can warm and unblock the Du Vessel, strengthen physical fitness, and strengthen cardiopulmonary function. If you have allergic rhinitis, you can try basking on the back. Generally, you can feel it after being exposed to the sun for a while. Symptoms relieved.

For children, basking on the back is also applicable, but it should be noted that it is best to choose 9 to 10 o'clock in the morning or 4 to 5 o'clock in the evening when the sun is not very strong, and try to control the basking time to 10 minutes. about.

(3) Sleep supplements and food supplements

Also, for children, food supplements are not as good as sleep supplements. As long as the child sleeps well, even if he does not No matter how you eat the diet to help you grow taller, your height and weight will not be too bad. In spring, parents should not only let their children go to bed early and get up early to ensure sleep time, but more importantly, let their children take a good nap. Noon every day is the time when Yang Qi is at its strongest. Taking a nap at this time can allow Yang Qi to rest, and the effect of nourishing Yang is the best.

Okay, finally, let’s talk about dietary supplements. Although dietary supplements are not as important as the previous items, it is still a relatively easy method to implement. After all, modern parents and children are very busy, so they may just take advantage of the meal to supplement their bodies.

If I were to say what is the most nutritious, it would be the ingredients that are abundant in season, which is what we often call "eating in season." The nutritional concept of traditional Chinese medicine does not lie in the ingredients, but in the foods that grow naturally in each season. These things are the most nourishing for physical and mental health.

(4) Leeks

So we have to eat some foods that help Yang rise, and the seemingly ordinary leeks are the first choice. Leek is warm in nature, sweet and pungent in taste, and enters the liver, kidney, and stomach meridians. It has the functions of nourishing the kidneys and supporting yang, warming the middle and appetizing, clearing the stomach and intestines, promoting qi and dispersing blood stasis.

"Compendium of Materia Medica" mentioned: "Leek warms the middle and lowers the qi, replenishes deficiency, and harmonizes the internal organs... Among dishes, this is the most warming and beneficial to people, so it should be eaten regularly. "The liver qi of the human body tends to be strong in spring, and health care focuses on nourishing the liver." Leeks are in line with the health-preserving concept of traditional Chinese medicine of "supporting spring yang and nourishing liver wood". In addition, eating more leeks can dispel yin and cold, and enhance the body's spleen and stomach energy, so it is most suitable for consumption in spring. As for how to eat it, I don’t need to teach you. The only thing is not to add too much seasoning or make it too greasy.

In spring and summer, it is advisable to eat pungent, sweet and lukewarm foods in moderation. This is also true as the saying goes, "Eat radish in winter and ginger in summer." Parents can add appropriate amounts of ginger to dishes and let their children eat warm foods such as mustard greens, pumpkins, and lotus seeds. They can also add spleen-strengthening ingredients such as tangerine peel, poria, white lentils, peanuts, yams, and carrots to their daily diet. Drinking warm water when thirsty can help maintain the yang energy in the body, help dispel cold and dampness in the body, promote the transportation and transformation functions of the spleen and stomach, enhance appetite, and thus promote growth and development.

But be careful not to eat too much warm food, nor too much spicy and warm food, such as chili, pepper, mutton, etc., to prevent the child's Yang Qi from rising and dissipating. If it is too much, it will "get angry", resulting in mouth sores, nosebleeds, tonsillitis, etc.

About the author: Shan Haijun, director and associate professor of the Department of Children's Encephalopathy Rehabilitation, Henan Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (The Second Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine), and master's tutor. Specialized in treating neurological diseases, respiratory diseases and common diseases in children, such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, tics, cough, asthma, anorexia, stagnation, diarrhea, constipation, recurrent aphtha, enuresis, etc.