The subtext of winter tonic is that winter is the best time to maintain and save all the year round. In our traditional dietary customs, there is a special word called "winter tonic". Han people take the winter solstice as the beginning to make up for winter. Generally, every household should kill chickens and ducks or buy mutton to prepare for winter, and wealthy families even add drugs such as angelica and ginseng to stew in the cooking process to increase the nourishing effect.
Because according to the Chinese lunar calendar, it has entered the cold weather since the winter solstice. At this time, it is the turning point in a year when the human body's yin is extremely abundant and the yang is born. Therefore, the theory of traditional Chinese medicine is known as "the winter solstice and the yang is born". When the solar term runs to this day, the cathode is yang, and the yang in the human body gradually grows, so it is easiest to absorb foreign nutrition and make it play a nourishing role.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the natural environment in winter is yin flourishing and yang declining, and if the human body wants to adapt to this climate environment, it must supplement the yang in the body to resist the external cold evil. Moreover, it has been proved that in winter, people's appetite is greatly increased, and the spleen and stomach are flourishing. At this time, the absorption rate of tonic is high, and the food can better play the role of tonic, with less investment and quick results.
When it comes to tonic, China's food culture is extensive and profound, and there are various ways to eat it. Han people generally have different habits such as eating glutinous rice balls, tofu, making jiaozi and drinking mutton soup. Here, I recommend a tonic diet prescription of "tiger balm": Shiquan Dabu Decoction. The reference formula is as follows:
Codonopsis pilosula10g, Radix Astragali Preparata10g, fried atractylodes10g, Radix Paeoniae Alba with wine10g, Poria10g, Cortex Cinnamomi 3g, Radix Angelicae Sinensis15g, and Radix Rehmanniae Preparata/kloc-0g.
This prescription comes from Taiping Huimin Heji Bureau Prescription, also known as Shiquan Drink. The emperor of the Song Dynasty attached great importance to health, and ordered the medical officers of the Imperial Medical Bureau to compile the Prescriptions of Taiping Huimin Heji Bureau. Many prescriptions included in this book are still in use today, and Shiquan Dabu Decoction is one of them. It is also very famous in Korea, and we can often see it in Korean dramas.
Among the prescriptions, Codonopsis pilosula and Astragalus membranaceus have the effects of invigorating the middle energizer, invigorating the spleen and benefiting the lung; Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria have the effects of invigorating spleen, benefiting qi, eliminating dampness and promoting diuresis. White peony root with wine has the effects of nourishing blood, softening liver, relieving pain, astringing yin and collecting sweat. Cinnamon can replenish Yuanyang and warm the spleen and stomach; Angelica has the functions of enriching blood and blood, regulating menstruation and relieving pain, moistening dryness and smoothing intestines; Rehmannia glutinosa nourishes blood and yin, and fills lean marrow; Chuanxiong promotes qi to relieve depression, promotes blood circulation and tonifies blood; Radix Glycyrrhizae Preparata can replenish qi and nourish yin, and activate yang and pulse.
Special attention: winter is suitable for tonic, but it does not mean that it can be supplemented at will. Excessive tonic will also have a great burden on the body, and it will not achieve the purpose of nourishing, and it will also affect the balance of yin and yang in the body, which will be counterproductive. Therefore, although it is supplemented in winter, it should be appropriate.