Chiyang Daoren, Eastern Taoism
Of all the seasons, spring is one that calls for particular care in nurturing health. So what should we pay special attention to when it comes to eating well in spring?
1. In Spring, Nourish the Liver First
Spring is the season when liver qi grows strong, and strong liver qi affects the spleen, so the spleen and stomach are prone to problems in spring. Without a sensible diet, all kinds of liver-related ailments may follow. Taoism recommends eating more foods that are sweet and neutral in nature and rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals, which help dispel cold and pathogenic influences and support yang qi. Follow these points in your diet:
First, eat a moderate amount of foods that warm and tonify yang qi, such as scallions, ginger, garlic, Chinese chives, and mustard. People with weak digestion should eat less of cold-natured foods such as cucumber, water bamboo, and lotus root, so as not to hinder the rising of yang qi.
Second, favor sweet flavors and cut back on sour ones. Liver function is vigorous in spring, and sour foods make liver qi even stronger, which weakens the digestion and absorption of the spleen and stomach and harms health.
Third, eat more foods that protect the liver, such as jujubes, Chinese yam, and goji berries, to strengthen the qi of the spleen and stomach.
2. Eat Light and Eat Plenty of Vegetables
After winter, many people fall short on vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. In spring, for example, people often develop mouth ulcers, cracked lip corners, sore tongues, and certain skin problems—all signs of poor nutrition from eating too few fresh vegetables. Taoism therefore recommends eating plenty of vegetables, such as lettuce, celery, rapeseed greens, napa cabbage, Chinese toon shoots, and green beans.
You can also eat some wild greens, such as shepherd's purse, purslane, dandelion, plantain, and elm seeds. They grow in the countryside with little pollution, are simple to prepare, are highly nutritious, and have notable health benefits.
Spring soups should be based on carrot, white radish, kelp, winter melon, tomato, and spring bamboo shoots, with small amounts of chicken liver, pork liver, or shredded lean meat. Soups should be light and fresh-tasting.
3. Eat Smart to Fight Spring Fatigue
“Spring fatigue” leaves people physically tired and low in spirits. Eating more red, yellow, and dark green vegetables—such as carrots, pumpkin, tomatoes, green peppers, and celery—goes a long way toward restoring energy and clearing spring fatigue.
4. Water and Honey Ease Spring Dryness
In spring, dry weather easily drains the body of moisture, leading to irritability, “internal heat,” and other signs of spring dryness. Drinking plenty of water is therefore the first priority in spring. The Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) records that honey “clears heat, detoxifies, and moistens dryness” and calls it “a wonderful remedy for health and long life.” A large glass of warm honey water after getting up in the morning does a great deal to relieve spring dryness.
5. More Whole Grains, Fewer Refined Ones, to Protect the Blood Vessels
The incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and cerebral infarction keeps rising and has become the leading cause of death in China. Besides the traditional “three highs”—high blood lipids, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar—there is another major culprit: hyperhomocysteinemia.
Researchers have found that when a substance called homocysteine reaches too high a concentration in the blood, it causes arteriosclerosis and ultimately leads to heart attack, stroke, and dementia. Blood homocysteine rises because we eat more and more finely processed grains, so we should eat a certain amount of coarse and whole grains.
6. More Green, Less White, for a Longer Life
Nutritionists who analyzed the nutrients in various vegetables found a pattern: the nutritional value of a vegetable is related to the depth of its color. The darker the vegetable, the more vitamins and carotene it contains, and vice versa. Ranked by this pattern, the order is green vegetables, then red and yellow vegetables, then white vegetables.
Green vegetables are rich in calcium and high in folic acid and vitamin C, and they are especially rich in chlorophyll, which helps fight cancer and prevent disease. So when choosing vegetables, follow this order: green vegetables, red and yellow vegetables, white vegetables.
7. More Poultry, Less Red Meat, to Protect the Heart
Most people both love and fear meat. They love it because it is nutritious and tastes good; they fear it because it is high in fat and is easily linked to high blood lipids, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other diseases. How can this dilemma be solved? One trick is to eat more poultry and less red meat.
Compared with red meats such as pork, beef, and mutton, poultry fat is also animal fat, but its structure is different. Red-meat fat is high in saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, whereas goose, duck, and chicken are not only lower in fat (only one-quarter to one-third as much) but also contain fat whose structure is closer to olive oil, so they help protect the heart.
8. More Fresh, Less Pre-Cooked, to Cut Carcinogens
If fresh poultry and ready-cooked poultry were both in front of you, which would you choose? Ready-cooked meat products are convenient and tasty, so you might prefer them. But then you would be taking in nitrites. Nitrites are added when making cooked meat products for their preservative effect, to keep the food fresh. Once nitrites enter the body, however, they can break down into nitrosamines, which are strongly carcinogenic and seriously threaten health. So eat fresh vegetables and fruit, do not overcook certain vegetables and lose their natural nutrients, and above all eat less pickled and cured food.
9. More Antioxidant Foods, Fewer Oxidizing Ones, to Keep the Brain Active
How can we keep the brain healthy and use it more efficiently? Nutritionists advise eating more “reducing” (antioxidant) foods and fewer oxidizing foods.
Oxidizing foods are those rich in lipid peroxides, typified by fried foods, instant noodles, and hamburgers; high-calorie oily foods, fatty meat, and fruit juice also belong to this group. These foods trigger oxidation reactions in the body that damage the normal molecular structure of the blood-vessel walls in the brain, narrowing the vessels, impeding blood flow, and adversely stimulating the brain's physiological activity, which leads to sluggish thinking.
Antioxidant foods contain carotene, superoxide dismutase, and similar substances, which can stop oxidation reactions in the walls of the brain's blood vessels or “reduce” oxidation that has already occurred, keeping the vessels clear and the brain well supplied with blood so that it stays alert, active, and healthy.