Christy Winter is the season for replenishing your body. In this season, you should replenish your Qi more, which is beneficial to keeping your body warm and healthy. So what are the best foods to replenish qi? Traditional Chinese medicine recommends several traditional Chinese medicines for replenishing qi. Let’s take a look.
It is the cold season of winter, and many people have begun to reduce exercise. The body's metabolism has also slowed down due to the cold weather. This season is the season for replenishing vitality, so what should we do? Traditional Chinese medicine has six major Chinese medicines that are indispensable for health maintenance. The editor below will introduce them in detail to you:
Qi-tonifying Chinese medicine
1. Atractylodes
It can replenish qi and strengthen the spleen, remove dampness, diuresis, antiperspirant and prevent pregnancy. It can be used for symptoms of weak spleen such as less food, loose stools, tiredness and lack of gas, spontaneous sweating; phlegm retention and edema due to stagnation of water and dampness; pregnancy due to spleen deficiency and weak qi, restless fetal gas, and swollen feet.
It is suitable to be used raw to dilute water and reduce swelling, strengthen the surface and stop sweating, remove dampness and treat paralysis; it is suitable to be used stir-fried to strengthen the spleen and stomach; it is suitable to be stir-fried to strengthen the spleen and relieve diarrhea. For those with insufficient spleen, thin body, yellow face, no desire to eat, abdominal distension, and loose stools, it can be combined with ginseng, poria, and licorice to strengthen the spleen and replenish qi. If the phlegm is stopped internally, and the symptoms include fullness of the chest and hypochondrium branches, dizziness, palpitations, cough and shortness of breath, it can be combined with cinnamon twig, poria, and licorice to strengthen the spleen and warm yang to transform the drink. Symptoms of spontaneous sweating due to superficial deficiency include sweating, bad wind, and easy cold, especially when sweating is aggravated by slight exertion. It can be taken as a decoction alone or ground into powder; it can also be combined with astragalus and windfeng to stabilize the surface and stop sweating.
2. Astragalus
It nourishes qi and raises yang, replenishes essence and consolidates the surface, diuresis and reduces swelling. It is suitable for spontaneous sweating, night sweats, edema, internal injury and fatigue, spleen deficiency, diarrhea, prolapse and all diseases of qi and blood deficiency. However, it should not be used by those with severe fever symptoms such as high fever, severe thirst, and constipation.
There is a popular saying among the people that "frequently drink astragalus soup to prevent diseases and maintain health", which means that often drinking astragalus in water as tea has good disease prevention and health care effects. Astragalus tea can replenish qi in the middle part of the body without being greasy. It can improve qi deficiency and anemia, strengthen physical fitness, and prolong life. If it is brewed with wolfberry, dangshen, poria and other medicinal materials, the effect will be better.
3. American ginseng
It nourishes qi and nourishes yin, clears fire and promotes fluid production. It is suitable for diseases such as lung deficiency, chronic cough, wheezing cough, hemoptysis, and aphonia. It is suitable for those who are tired, fatigued and exhausted from sweating after strenuous activities.
American ginseng nourishes qi and has a cool nature, so it will not cause internal heat after taking it. It is especially suitable for people with both qi and yin deficiency. People with qi deficiency mainly show symptoms of fatigue, lack of energy, laziness to speak, shortness of breath, sweating when moving, low voice, etc. People with yin deficiency will show signs of deficiency and heat, such as red tongue, dry mouth, dry eyes, warm palms, etc. The easiest way for these people to take American ginseng is to cut it into slices, or go to the drugstore to buy some ready-made American ginseng slices. Take two slices every day and hold them in your mouth until the ginseng slices soften, then spit them out or swallow them.
4. Radix Pseudostellariae
It nourishes the lungs and strengthens the spleen, replenishes qi and promotes body fluids. It can be used for diseases such as poor eating, fatigue, and thinness in children with weak spleen; cough due to lung deficiency, spontaneous sweating and palpitations, thirst due to insufficient body fluids, and deficiency of both qi and yin after illness.
Generally, it can be used by patients with symptoms of qi and yin deficiency such as dry mouth, irritability, palpitations, insomnia, fatigue, less food, and heat in the palms and soles. It can be combined with other medicines, and can also be decoctioned in water and taken warmly. The usual dosage is 10 to 30 grams, and the amount can be increased or decreased according to the condition of the disease. Those who are chronically ill or weak have injured spleen and stomach, and have symptoms such as reduced diet, fatigue, spontaneous sweating, etc., they can be combined with yam, lentils, grain sprouts and other medicines that can strengthen the spleen and digestion, or take 15 grams of Pseudostellariae and 20 grams of lotus seeds, add water to a pot and cook until the lotus meat is thoroughly cooked, eat the lotus meat, and drink the soup.
5. Codonopsis pilosula
It can replenish qi, generate body fluids and nourish blood. It is often used for fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, less food, loose stools, thirst due to damage to both qi and body fluid due to qi deficiency; chlorosis, dizziness and other symptoms due to qi and blood deficiency, as well as physical weakness and malnutrition after illness.
The combination of Codonopsis pilosula and Astragalus membranaceus is derived from Buzhong Yiqi Decoction in "Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach". It is used to treat symptoms such as body heat and sweating, dry mouth and thirst, preference for hot drinks, headache, aversion to cold, lack of breath and laziness, tasteless food, weak limbs, tender and pale tongue, weak and large pulse caused by deficiency of spleen and stomach qi, or prolapse of the anus, uterine prolapse, chronic dysentery, and chronic malaria caused by insufficient middle qi and sunken clear yang.
6. Ginseng
It can replenish vitality, strengthen the body, and resist aging. It is suitable for chronic illness, physical weakness, palpitations, cold limbs, shortness of breath, collapse, heart failure, neurasthenia, etc. It can improve immune function and promote recovery from diseases.
There are many records about how to eat ginseng in the "Qing Palace Archives", such as "cut it into slices, hold it in your mouth until it softens, then chew it and swallow it..." This is a way to take ginseng, that is, "take it bucally." In addition, it is to soak in wine. Take one or two ginseng roots, mix them with some yin-nourishing medicine, such as wolfberry berries, soak them in wine, and drink a small amount every day to nourish qi and yin.
Recommend several common Qi-tonifying foods
Foods to replenish Qi 1. Millet
Millet can strengthen the spleen and stomach, and is especially suitable for people with weak spleen and stomach. According to research, the vitamin B1 and inorganic salt content in millet is significantly higher than that in rice. After the millet porridge is cooked and left for a while, a film-like substance will condense on the top layer of the porridge, which is "porridge oil", which can protect the gastric mucosa and prevent gastroduodenal ulcers.
Qi-boosting foods 2. Yams
Yam has the effect of nourishing the lungs, spleen and kidneys, and is suitable for people with various physical constitutions. It is neither hot nor dry, and has a mild nature and flavor. If you eat it, you don’t have to worry about bloating, constipation and other problems.
Qi-boosting foods 3. Chestnuts
Chestnuts can strengthen the spleen and qi, nourish the kidneys, strengthen muscles, and resist aging. Chestnuts contain polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber, which can reduce the risk of hypertension and coronary heart disease.
Qi-boosting foods 4. Peanuts
Peanuts can replenish qi, as well as the spleen and lungs. This is more suitable for people with qi deficiency and lung deficiency or spleen deficiency. Boiled peanuts are best.
Qi-boosting foods 5. Tomatoes
Tomato is one of the top ten foods that nourish qi and blood. Tomatoes contain "tomatotin", which can inhibit bacteria. It is rich in provitamin A, which is converted into vitamin A in the human body, which can promote bone growth and prevent and treat rickets, xerophthalmia, and night blindness.
