Post Date December, 03 2023
Chinese medicine believes that tonifying the kidney in winter is best, but can it also be done in summer?
First of all, why is it best to tonify the kidney in winter?
China has always had a tradition of tonifying the kidney in winter. Why is it best to tonify the kidney only in winter?
The process of life is a cyclic process of birth, growth, recovery, and concealment. The embodiment of this process in the four seasons is spring birth, summer growth, autumn harvest, and winter storage. The corresponding relationship between this process and the five internal organs of the human body is that the liver governs growth, the heart governs growth, the lungs govern collection, and the kidneys govern storage.
Winter is the stage when natural organisms undergo spring birth, summer growth, autumn harvest, and finally enter Tibet. In natural winter, there is no apparent vitality, trees wither, and animals hibernate. In fact, vitality is hidden. The aboveground parts of trees wither, but the underground roots are full of vitality. Animals hibernate to reduce energy consumption and preserve living materials. Therefore, the characteristic of winter is "hiding".
The decrease in ground temperature in winter is due to the downward and latent movement trend of the natural yang qi. In winter, the yang qi of the human body also keeps consistent with the movement trend of the natural yang qi, making the yang qi of the human body introverted and decreased, hidden in the kidney. In the five zang organs, the kidney governs the world's storage, and the processes of storage in the life process are dominated by the kidney. Winter is the season of storage in the life process, and the storage of the kidney is dominated in winter. Therefore, winter is the season of storage and the season of tonifying the kidney.
In winter, tonifying the kidney conforms to the trend of declining and hidden yang in nature and the human body, and substances for tonifying the kidney can be smoothly stored in the kidney. If the kidney is replenished in spring, the substances that replenish the human body move towards the liver and are not easily hidden in the kidney. Therefore, different viscera should be replenished in different seasons to achieve good results. Four seasons of health preservation include nourishing the liver in spring, nourishing the heart in summer, nourishing the lungs in autumn, and nourishing the kidneys in winter. As long as the kidney is well replenished in winter and the essence and qi in the kidney are sufficient, it can ensure the health of the body in the next year.
According to the above statement, can't you tonify the kidney in summer? Of course not, it's just that the effect of tonifying the kidney in summer is definitely not as good as in winter. If there is no obvious manifestation of kidney deficiency, just to strengthen the body, then you can wait until winter to replenish the kidney, and the effect will be better. If there are obvious symptoms of kidney deficiency, it is still necessary to timely tonify the kidney, so in clinical practice, the treatment of tonifying the kidney in any season is commonly used. Tonifying the kidney in winter is aimed at maintaining health, while treating diseases cannot all wait for winter.
