Life is easy to grow old, but it is difficult for the sky to grow old. The Double Ninth Festival, also known as the Seniors' Day, falls on October 16th (the 9th day of the 9th lunar month). Traditionally, the Chinese people worship their ancestors and carry out activities to honor the elderly on this day. With the autumn wind blowing and the weather turning cooler, in order to better take care of the elderly, here are some dietary considerations for the autumn season.
Dietary Principles: Moistening in Autumn
The overall principle for elderly people's diet in autumn is to moisten. First, according to the principle of "nourishing yin in autumn and winter" put forward in the "Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon," it is necessary to eat more foods that nourish yin and moisten the body to prevent dryness in autumn from damaging the yin. For example, consume foods such as tremella, sugarcane, pear, sesame, bird's nest, lotus root, glutinous rice, japonica rice, honey, loquat, and dairy products that are gentle and moisturizing to nourish the stomach and generate body fluids. Second, the diet in autumn should be "less pungent and more sour." "Less pungent" means consuming less pungent foods. This is because the lungs belong to the element of metal and are associated with autumn. The lung qi tends to be excessive in autumn. Consuming less pungent foods helps to prevent excessive lung qi. According to traditional Chinese medicine, metal restrains wood, and excessive lung qi can damage the liver's function. Therefore, in autumn, it is necessary to "increase sourness" to enhance the liver's function and resist excessive lung qi. Based on this principle of Chinese medicine nutrition, it is important to consume less pungent foods such as onions, ginger, garlic, leeks, and pepper in autumn, and consume more sour fruits and vegetables such as apples, grapes, hawthorn, pineapple, pomelo, and lemon. In autumn, dryness easily harms the body. In addition to supplementing with proper vitamins, for those who have signs of yin deficiency, such as dry mouth, dry throat, and dry cough, they can take appropriate amounts of herbs such as sand ginseng, dwarf lilyturf, lily, almond, and tuckahoe, which are effective in relieving autumn dryness in the elderly.
Here are two dietary recommendations that are easy for the elderly to follow:
Chinese Yam, Lily, and Jujube Porridge
[Ingredients] 90g Chinese yam, 40g lily, 15 jujubes, 30g coix seed, and suitable amount of rice.
[Method] Wash the Chinese yam, lily, jujubes, coix seed, and rice, and cook them into porridge. Take it twice a day.
[Benefits] Chinese yam strengthens the spleen and stomach; lily clears heat and moistens dryness; jujubes and coix seed invigorate the spleen and stomach. When used together, they nourish yin and nourish the stomach.
Stewed Pig's Elbow with Polygonatum Rhizome
[Ingredients] 9g polygonatum rhizome, 9g codonopsis root, 5 jujubes, 750g pig's elbow, 15g ginger, and suitable amount of spring onion.
[Method] Slice the polygonatum rhizome and cut the codonopsis root into short sections. Place them in a gauze bag and tie it. Wash the jujubes. Scrape and wash the pig's elbow and blanch it in boiling water to remove the blood. Remove it from the water. Wash and crush the ginger and spring onion. Put all the ingredients in a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil, skim off the foam, then simmer over low heat until the sauce thickens and the elbow is sticky.
[Benefits] It strengthens the spleen and moistens the lungs. It is suitable for those with weak spleen and stomach, poor appetite, and lung weakness with cough.
