Chiyang Daoren, Eastern Taoism
The Collected Explanations of the Seventy-Two Pentads of the Monthly Ordinances (Yueling Qishier Hou Jijie) says: “The solar term of the eleventh month. Da means abundant; by now the snow is abundant.” (The eleventh month here refers to the Chinese lunar calendar.) This is how the ancients explained Major Snow (Daxue).
The solar term Major Snow usually arrives around December 7 in the Gregorian calendar. At this time snow gradually begins to lie on the ground along the Yellow River basin in China, and the north presents the enchanting scene of snow drifting across ten thousand li. A farmers' saying goes: “At Major Snow and the Winter Solstice the snowflakes fly; tend your sidelines and gather more manure.” People hope to see the good omen of “timely snow foretells a bumper year” during Major Snow, which shows that the arrival of Major Snow is taken to foretell whether the coming year's harvest will be abundant or not.
From the standpoint of Chinese medical wellness, Major Snow has arrived at the prime season for “taking tonics.” When it comes to tonics, many people understand them only in a narrow sense, thinking that “tonifying” just means eating some highly nutritious food and taking some yang-strengthening tonic medicines. In fact this is only one aspect of taking tonics, and taking tonics is itself only one branch of the study of nurturing life.
When speaking of nurturing life (yangsheng), we should first know what “nurturing” is and what “life” is. “Nurturing” means maintaining, regulating, cultivating, replenishing, and protecting; “life” means living, surviving, and growing. Concretely, it means reaching the goals of a strong body, good health, and long life through comprehensive care: nourishing the spirit, regulating diet, training the body, being prudent in sexual activity, and adapting to warmth and cold.
In the specific methods of nurturing life, we should pay attention to two points:
First, Nurture in Moderation
Moderation means getting it just right—neither too much nor too little. If one is overcautious, one's self-care loses its measure and one does not know what to do. Fearing that the slightest labor will consume qi and harm the spirit, staying shut indoors at the slightest change of cold or heat, dieting and eating little for fear that food is too rich, sweet, or greasy—in such states one is constrained by nurturing too much. This not only harms health but makes the goal of health and longevity unreachable.
Second, Do Not Nurture One-Sidedly
Comprehensive care should be balanced. Some people take “tonifying” to be nurturing, so their diet stresses nutrition and every meal must be a tonic; their daily life stresses ease, with quiet rest as the only thing; and they add tonic medicines as a supplement. Although dietary tonics, medicinal tonics, and quiet rest all fall within the scope of nurturing life, overusing them actually harms health. For example, some people who overdo dietary tonics end up overnourished; those who rest too much, with ease and no labor, end up with an imbalance of movement and stillness; and overuse of medicinal tonics causes yin or yang to become excessive or deficient, throwing the body's metabolism out of order and producing the opposite of what was intended. So in caring for health one should combine movement with stillness, work with rest, tonifying with draining, and nourish body and spirit together.
Third, Do Not Stay Shut Up at Home
Do not stay shut up at home and never go out just because the weather is cold. On the contrary, pay attention to exercise, such as walking, jogging, and tai chi, to nourish the sinews and strengthen the bones, relax the sinews and open the collaterals, keep the blood vessels flowing, and strengthen your own resistance. Be sure to choose good weather before going out to exercise, and warm up thoroughly with kidney-strengthening activities such as jogging, rubbing the face, “bathing” the nose, tapping the teeth, turning the waist, and kneading the kidney area.
Fourth, Regulate Before Taking Tonics
Before taking tonics, the spleen and stomach must be brought into the best condition for receiving them. Besides going to a Chinese medicine doctor at the hospital for treatment, we should first take some nutritious and easily digested foods to strengthen the function of the spleen and stomach, and only then take tonics. Eat plenty of dairy products, beans, and fresh vegetables and fruit. Eating more Chinese yam tonifies the spleen and strengthens the stomach. In addition, water caltrops and chestnuts are also excellent for regulating the stomach.
Fifth, a Little Salt Water in the Morning and a Little Honey Water in the Evening
The ancient sages' saying “salt water every morning, honey drink every evening” was aimed at autumn dryness. It means that drinking a little salt water in the morning and a little honey water in the evening replenishes lost fluids and is a fine dietary prescription for taking tonics, nurturing health, and resisting aging in autumn and winter. At the same time it prevents constipation caused by autumn dryness—three benefits at once.
Sixth, Stay Up Late Less and Sleep More
Chinese medical wellness particularly stresses a regular schedule and a steady daily routine. Nurturing life places great importance on caring for both body and spirit and holds that “diet and sleep are the two essential tasks of nurturing life.” Good sleep replenishes energy and restores vigor and has the effect of “nourishing yin and cultivating the original qi.” To accord with “winter storage,” one should sleep somewhat longer at this time. Go to bed early and rise late, sleeping a little more—ideally until the sun is up—so as to conserve essence and build up energy.
Seventh, Eat More Vegetables and Root Foods
Winter is dry, and the skin often becomes dehydrated. The dry, cold air carries away most of the moisture in our skin, and sensitivity, roughness, and dullness become unavoidable. Areas such as the lips need especially careful care. Besides dry, cracked lips, the corners of the mouth are also prone to angular cheilitis and similar problems, so take care to eat foods rich in riboflavin, such as soybean, adzuki bean, and other bean products, or animal liver; tomatoes, spinach, and radishes also contain a good deal of riboflavin. At the same time eat more root foods. Root vegetables rich in dietary fiber, such as Chinese yam, radish, and lotus root, are in season in winter, give a feeling of fullness, and are the representative ingredients of winter storage.
Eighth, Know the Hot or Cold Nature and the Nutritional Properties of Foods
1. Foods by Hot or Cold Nature
Chinese medicine holds that mutton, longan, Chinese chives, walnuts, millet, and similar foods warm yang and benefit qi, and eating a little more of them improves resistance to cold. On the other hand, it is best to eat less of cool or cold foods such as duck, crab, bananas, cucumbers, pears, mung beans, watermelon, and rock sugar.
2. Foods Containing Methionine
Low temperatures increase the amount of creatine excreted in the urine and speed up fat metabolism. Both the synthesis of creatine and the metabolism of fat require methyl groups, which can be supplied by methionine. Methionine is one of the eight amino acids essential to the human body, and foods rich in amino acids include sesame, sunflower seeds, and leafy vegetables. Older people might eat more pig's blood: its amino acid proportions are very close to those of the human body, it is easily absorbed, and it suits older people whose digestion has weakened.
3. Foods Containing Calcium
Medical research shows that sensitivity to cold is related to a lack of minerals in the diet, especially calcium, a lack of which affects the contractility and excitability of the heart muscle, blood vessels, and muscles. So in winter it is good to eat more calcium-rich foods such as milk, soy products, and dried small shrimp. In addition, root vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, lotus root, scallions, and potatoes contain large amounts of minerals, and eating them regularly also strengthens the body's resistance to cold.