Modern people have a fast-paced lifestyle, and when people eat, they often eat in a hurry or indulge in excessive eating. Their lifestyle and eating habits are extremely irregular. This irregular lifestyle can cause great harm to our physical health, especially for women who not only have to work but also take care of the household. They often neglect their diet, which can easily lead to blood and Qi deficiency. Therefore, in order to prevent blood and Qi deficiency, we need to follow some dietary principles.
1. Eat until 80% full at each meal
Don't eat until you are completely full at each meal, being 80% full is sufficient. Because the stomach's digestion function also consumes blood and Qi energy. Overeating will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, anything that cannot be fully absorbed by the body will be stored and converted into fat, which is detrimental to the body's health.
2. Chewing and swallowing slowly is key
It is important to know that the food we eat needs to be digested into a paste-like consistency in the stomach before the body can absorb it. Eating cold, hot, spicy, hard, or large pieces of food will rely on the stomach's peristalsis to break down and absorb. Since the stomach does not have teeth, it is easy to imagine the stimulation that these large pieces of food would have on the gastric mucosa. Moreover, when eating in a hurry, the stomach does not have time to send the feeling of fullness to the brain. Therefore, people often eat until they are 70-80% full. Excess food that the body cannot absorb will turn into fat and accumulate in the body, resulting in a potbelly.
If we change our approach and tear the food with our teeth, mix it with our tongue, and salivate until the food becomes finer, smaller, and softer before swallowing, it will be easier for the spleen and stomach to digest. This slow and thorough chewing and swallowing not only reduces the burden on the spleen and stomach but also allows the food to be fully absorbed and converted into Qi and blood to nourish the body.
3. Pay attention to the harmful effects of cold drinks and spicy foods on blood and Qi
In the hot summer, a bottle of chilled drink or an ice cream can make people feel extremely refreshing. It is almost unbearable to live without cold drinks. However, consuming a large amount of beverages lower than body temperature will cause intense constriction of the blood vessels in your stomach, leading to stagnation of Qi and blood in the spleen and stomach. This is what Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to as "cold congeals." When Qi and blood stagnate, pain can occur. Therefore, frequent consumption of cold drinks can lead to symptoms such as intestinal rumbling, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. So, what is the best drink for summer? It is warm water. Warm water not only relieves thirst better than cold drinks but also promotes sweating and dissipation of heat. It also helps the spleen and stomach transform water and grains into Qi and blood.
In addition, spicy foods directly stimulate the gastrointestinal mucosa and hinder the biochemistry of Qi and blood in the spleen and stomach. Moreover, the nature of dry heat is difficult to dissipate and it remains in the body, causing dry heat stagnation. This can lead to frequent symptoms of internal heat, such as stomach and duodenal ulcers, enteritis, gastric ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding, hemorrhoids, gallbladder inflammation, gallstones, pharyngitis, and abscesses. Therefore, it is best to consume less or avoid spicy foods.
