Lichun “Start of Spring” is the 1st solar terms among the 24 solar terms, which marks the end of winter and the beginning of the spring. Spring is the season when cold turns warm and everything grows, it is also a period when chronic diseases are prone to recurrence and high incidence, such as infectious diseases, respiratory system, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and allergic diseases.
In China, there is a saying “Spring is the best plan for a year”. From the perspective of Traditonal Chinese Medicine, you can have a healthy physical condition through following the way of nature, health preservation, diseases prevention in this season.
4 Tips for disease prevention and health care
Regulating your lifestyle to prevent chronic diseases
In Spring, the weather becomes warmer, plants start to grow again, flowers are blooming and everything is revived. The earth is full of “vitality” which is called Yang Qi in the body. Yang qi helps to attack the lesions of the body and expel the pathogenic factors. Therefore, people with insufficient yang qi are most likely to relapse in spring.
To prevent recurrence, you must change your lifestyle. The weather is warm in spring, so you should sleep and get up early, and do more outdoor activities to stretch your muscles and bones. For example, stretching can circulate blood, enhance the body’s adaptation to the weather, and improve disease resistance by adjusting functions. In addition, the elderly need to pay attention not to practice too early in the spring, to prevent asthma and bronchitis caused by the low temperature and heavy fog in the morning, and they should go out to exercise after the sun rises.
Keeping warm for preventing springtime cold
In Spring, it is still cold when beginning to warm up, which can cause vasodilation on the skin and looseness of the sweat glands. If you throw your winter clothes away too early, it is easy to let wind and cold pathogens enter the body. It can cause such respiratory diseases as bronchitis and pneumonia, and induce nephritis and myocarditis. We should change clothes for not catching the cold according to the weather, especially pay attention to keeping warm on the waist and back.
The diet should be light and less sour
Spring is the time when the liver qi is strong which can affect the spleen. Weak spleen and stomach in spring, which is one of the reasons why chronic gastritis and peptic ulcers frequently occur in spring. Eating sour food will make the liver qi excited which is not good for the body.
The diet in spring should be light, avoid greasy, cold and irritating food, and choose some foods that nourish and soothe the liver, strengthen the spleen, and regulate qi, such as burdock, Lotus roots, carrots, yams, potatoes and green vegetable. should be eaten frequently; People who are prone to colds, have a history of asthma, and are weak condition should eat more vegetables, beans and its products.
Spiritual health preservation and refraining from anger
At the beginning of spring, the weather gets warmer and Yang Qi begins rising. At this time, the liver yang, liver fire, and liver wind of the body also rise accordingly, which can easily lead to qi and blood disorder, dysfunction of the neuroendocrine system, resulting in decreased immunity, mental illness, liver disease, heart and brain disease. The human body’s qi and blood need to be stretched and unimpeded like flowing water in nature.
In terms of spiritual health, we must avoid violent anger and depression, and try to be open-minded, optimistic, and maintain a happy mood. At the same time, with the rising yang qi and thriving of the metabolism, the yang qi in spring can be released and the metabolic function can run normally through proper conditioning, and diseases can be eliminated eventually.
Secretes for staying healthy at the beginning of spring
Acupressure
- Taichong point (located on the dorsum of the foot, in the depression behind the first metatarsal space) Pressing the acupoint has the functions of soothing the liver and relieving stagnation, clearing the liver and improving eyesight;
- Ganshu point (located 1.5 inches away from the posterior midline under the spinous process of the 9th thoracic vertebra of the spine). When pressing the acupoint with the pads of the middle fingers of both hands, the strength should be even and it would reach optimal result until there is obvious senses of soreness.
In addition, tapping the Gallbladder Meridian (outer thigh) 100 times a day can promote the catharsis of the liver and gallbladder and promote the function of the spleen and stomach.
