Cold solar term emphasizes health preservation, nourishing yin, tonifying kidney, and warming

The Climatic Characteristics and Customs of the Great Cold in the 24 Solar Terms

As the saying goes, "Flowers and trees govern the season, and birds sing to report the agricultural season. Flowers, plants, trees, birds, beasts, and birds all move according to the season, so their regular actions are seen as important symbols to distinguish the seasonal solar terms.

Climatic characteristics of the Great Cold

In ancient China, the Great Cold was divided into three seasons: "the first season is chicken milk; the second season is characterized by bird disease; and the third season is characterized by water and strong belly." This means that during the Great Cold season, chicks can be hatched. However, birds like hawks and falcons are in a state of extremely strong hunting ability, hovering in the air searching for food to supplement their body's energy and resist the harsh cold; During the last five days of the year, the ice in the water freezes all the way to the center of the water, and is the strongest and thickest. Children can enjoy ice skating on the river (with daily average temperatures below -5 ℃ for several consecutive days, which usually occurs in areas north of the Yellow River). In addition, the floral trade winds that appear during the Great Cold are "one season of auspicious fragrance, two seasons of orchids, and three seasons of mountain alum (born in the Jiangnan region)". It can also serve as an important indicator of severe cold.

Customs in Various Regions during the Great Cold Festival - Tail Teeth Festival

According to the customs of our country, especially in rural areas, during the Great Cold Festival, people begin to busy with removing old things, making new ones, pickling New Year's dishes, and preparing New Year's goods. During the period from the Great Cold to the beginning of spring, there are many important folk customs and festivals. Sometimes, even the largest festival in China, the Spring Festival, is within this solar term, such as the Tail Tooth Festival, the Sacrifice to the Kitchen, and New Year's Eve. The Great Cold Festival is filled with an atmosphere of joy and joy, making it a joyful and relaxed season. The tail tooth originated from the custom of worshipping the land god as the "tooth".

The so-called second day of the second lunar month is the first tooth, and from now on, every second and sixteenth day of the ninth lunar month will be the "tooth". On the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, it happens to be the tail tooth. The tail teeth are served with spring cakes (called moistened cakes in the south) the same as February 2. On this day, the traders will hold a feast, and Boiled -sliced cold chicken for free is an indispensable dish on the feast. It is said that whoever faces the rooster's head indicates who the boss will fire next year. Therefore, some bosses now generally turn their chicken heads towards themselves, so that employees can enjoy delicious food with peace of mind and have a safe New Year when they return home.

Dietary customs during the Great Cold Festival

Babaofan (Rice pudding with eight-delicious ingredients): 100g glutinous rice, 100g rice, 50g red bean, 50g job's tears, 20g lotus seeds, 20g medlar, 20g longan meat, 50g jujube. Wash red beans, Job's tears, and lotus seeds with clean water, soak for 2 hours, then add glutinous rice, rice, etc., steam over high heat, and add white sugar to consume. It has the functions of strengthening the spleen, supplementing qi, nourishing blood and calming the nerves, and is suitable for people with both qi and blood deficiency such as physical weakness, fatigue, and fatigue.

Stewed Chicken with Qiqi: 1 child chicken (about 500g), 30g Huangqi, 30g goji berries, 10g Atractylodes macrocephala, with appropriate seasoning. Wash the chicken and cut it into small pieces. Add various tonifying herbs and seasonings such as scallions, ginger, garlic, salt, and wine. Simmer slowly over low heat for 1 hour, then eat meat and drink soup. It has the functions of tonifying the middle and supplementing qi, nourishing yin and yang, and enhancing the body's disease resistance. It is suitable for people with weak constitution and susceptibility to cold and wind.

Dispersed Wind Cold Soup: 1 egg, 10g coriander, 5g scallion white, 5g ginger, and an appropriate amount of seasoning such as salt and monosodium glutamate. Stir the eggs evenly, wash the coriander, scallions, and ginger, and cut into small pieces. Bring clean water to a boil in a pot, add a small amount of water starch to make the water slightly thicker, then slowly pour in the stirred eggs to make them flakes. Add seasonings such as coriander, scallions, ginger, and salt monosodium glutamate, and add a little sesame oil before cooking. It has the effects of dispelling wind, dispelling cold, sweating and relieving external symptoms, and is suitable for the early stages of mild colds.

The Four Major Nutrient Elements for Winter Protection

Foods rich in vitamins: Low temperatures can accelerate the metabolism of vitamins in the body, and should be supplemented in a timely manner in the diet. Vitamin A can enhance the body's cold tolerance; B vitamins are beneficial for normal metabolism; Vitamin C can improve the body's ability to adapt to cold; Vitamin E can smooth blood circulation and regulate hormone balance in the body. Therefore, it can increase the intake of vitamin A rich foods such as animal liver, carrots, and pumpkins, fresh rice noodles, coarse grains, and other foods rich in B vitamins, fresh vegetables, fruits, and other foods rich in vitamin C, sunflower seeds, walnuts, black sesame seeds, and seafood, bean products, and other foods rich in vitamin E.

Foods rich in minerals: Fear of cold is related to a lack of minerals in the diet. Carrots, yams, green vegetables, Chinese cabbage, lotus roots, cauliflower, scallions, potatoes and other root vegetables contain a large amount of minerals, which can be mixed with meat and cold resistant foods for consumption; You can eat more milk, bean products, shrimp skin, oysters, sardine, shrimp and other calcium rich foods. Regular consumption is also helpful to enhance the cold resistance of the human body.

Eat more of the four warm and nourishing foods during the severe cold season

Lamb: It has a sweet and warm taste, rich in fat, protein, carbohydrates, inorganic salts, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other nutrients. It has the effects of warming the middle and tonifying deficiency, appetizing and strengthening the spleen, tonifying the kidney and liver, and preventing cold and dampness. It has always been used as a good product for winter cold and nourishing yang. Eating regularly in winter can also protect the gastrointestinal mucosa, increase the secretion of digestive enzymes, and promote digestion and absorption.

Chili peppers: They can stimulate appetite, enhance digestion, accelerate heartbeat, dilate peripheral capillaries, and increase blood flow to the body surface. Therefore, eating some chili peppers in winter can resist cold and prevent joint pain, lower back and leg pain, and stomach deficiency cold caused by dampness.

Walnut: contains 40%~50% fat, mainly unsaturated fat acid, which can reduce cholesterol, prevent arteriosclerosis and hypertension. Walnut kernels are also rich in phospholipids and vitamin E, which can enhance cell activity, promote hematopoietic function, and enhance appetite. Walnuts are rich in carbohydrates and produce high amounts of heat. Eating them in winter can increase body heat and keep you warm.

Shrimp: Contains protein, carbohydrates, fats, and nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, and iron. It has the effects of tonifying the kidney and strengthening yang, nourishing yin and stomach, and unblocking blood vessels. It can treat kidney deficiency, erectile dysfunction, chills, fatigue, and soreness in the waist and knees. It is most suitable for correcting chills caused by kidney deficiency in winter.

Iodine rich foods: Iodine is an important raw material for synthesizing thyroxine. Thyroxine can promote the conversion of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in the body into energy, thereby generating heat energy and resisting cold. If there is a long-term iodine deficiency in the body and the raw materials for synthesizing thyroxine are insufficient, the body's ability to resist the cold will be reduced. Therefore, it is advisable to eat more iodine rich foods such as seaweed, seaweed, seaweed, jellyfish, and shellfish. In addition, foods rich in amino acids such as black sesame, sunflower seeds, dairy products, and leafy vegetables can also help improve the body's ability to resist cold.

Foods rich in iron: Iron is an important raw material involved in hematopoiesis, and red blood cells in the blood bear the heavy responsibility of transporting and metabolizing oxygen in the body. To convert proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into calories, sufficient oxygen is needed to "burn" them. If the body lacks iron, it is easy to suffer from iron deficiency anemia; The lack of "tools" for transporting oxygen ultimately results in insufficient heat production and a tendency to feel cold. Many young women are particularly afraid of the cold. In winter, even in rooms with heating, their hands and feet are often cold, and insufficient iron intake is one of the important reasons. Therefore, women who are afraid of the cold should eat foods rich in iron in winter, such as animal liver, beef, fish, eggs, black fungus, dates, dairy products, soy products, etc., which can improve their resistance to cold.

(Intern Editor: Huang Junda)