Chapter 2 All Things Grow in Spring and It’s the Right Time to Preserve Health

2.1 Date porridge with Chinese wolfberry blesses people with a ruddy face

In spring, everything in mother-nature grows by working hard to absorb nutrients, so willows turn green, flowers become red and a reviving landscape makes people relaxed and happy.

Actually in such a season, our skin also tries to absorb nutrients, so long as the skin is provided with enough Qi and blood, it can surely grow as red as flowers.

You girls at the high school are more concerned about your complexion. Influenced by many factors like genetics and climate, the skin of some girls will become fair and tender, some may be yellow and dark. Here is a jujube porridge with Chinese wolfberry (Gouqi) and frequent use of it can help to make the face ruddy and beautiful. In fact, it is quite simple to make such porridge. The ingredients include 30 grams of wolfberry fruits, 3-5 pieces of red dates (remove the core), and 60 grams of rice. 1. Soak the wolf berry and red dates in clean water and wash them; 2. add the rice with a small amount of water and boil up the rice; 3. add some more water after the rice is boiled up (based on the daily water amount of rice porridge), and drop the wolfberries and dates in turn. After the rice keeps boiling over strong fire, turn to mild fire for another 15 minutes;

4. you can enjoy it. This porridge tastes very good and some rock sugar is suggested according to your personal flavor.

Qi and blood are the foundational and decisive factors for the health of humanbeings, especially for the complexion of women. Qi propels blood to circulate, and blood carries Qi. Qi and blood breed each other . Qi deficiency leads to less blood which results in Qi deficiency. Generally, people with insufficient Qi and blood look dim and dark on the face, and the qi and blood cannot be pushed forward. Therefore, the wastes in blood vessels would easily precipitate on the face, form various spots and affect the outlook .

Therefore, only a girl with sufficient Qi and blood can a have beautiful appearance and lustrous hair.

In “Date porridge with Chinese wolfberry”, Chinese wolfberry is a good product for nourishing qi and preserving blood. Shennong’s Classic Materia Medica records Chinese wolfberry as a top-grade medicine which “can be taken for a long time, strengthen sinews and bones, and be lithe and not old”. Date tonifies blood. According to modern pharmacological studies, date can increase the oxygen content in blood and nourish cells in the whole body. It is a strong agent with mild effect. Many folk sayings like “Three dates a day keeps time away” and “A date tree in front of the door keeps the beauty forever” and so on are widely known, which shows thatthe date efficacy to preserve beauty has been accepted.

Love for beauty makes a person beautiful. All youngsters want to have both strength and beauty. And this “date porridge with Chinese wolf berry” can contribute a little bit to your beautiful youth.

2.2 Eating it, you can be taller in spring

Nowadays, two Chinese versions are quite popular, i.e. “Gao Fu Shuai”, meaning a tall, rich and handsome man and “Ai Cuo Qiong”, standing for a short, ugly and poor man. You see, height always comes first when judging a person.

In society, height is the first impression on others. Being too short is easily looked down by others. Height is always the most important factor for employers to consider when they hire employees, such as honor guards and flight attendants, because appearance is important for these jobs.

“30% of our height is determined by genes, and 70% by our efforts.” Although the height of a kid is influenced by heredity, we can change it through our own efforts.

As shown by a study by the World Health Organization,, the growth rate of children is not the same in four seasons of the year. Children grow fastest in spring, especially from March to May, with a monthly height of 7.3mm. According to Huangdi’s Internal Classic, “Three months in spring is the time for the growth of new life.” It is full of vitality everywhere, and everything seems to be thriving. Spring is the season of growing hair and height, so we had better make good use of it.

Here is the recommendation of Carrot and Yam Porridge as a simple food therapy for height growth. Specific ingredients include: 100 grams of carrots, 100 grams of yam tuber and 60 grams of rice.

The steps are as follows: First cut carrot and yam tuber into small pieces for use, then cook rice porridge, add carrot and yam after the porridge is cooked, and then stew them again. With this done, you can enjoy it.

Carrot is rich in carotene which most can turn into Vitamin A after entering our body. Vitamin A is an essential substance for the normal growth, bone-development and one of the elements of body growth, which helps cell proliferation and growth.

Huai Yam is one of the “four major kinds ” produced in the city of Jiaozuo, Henan province, which has the effects of invigorating spleen and tonifying lungs, replenishing stomach and tonifying kidneys, helping five zang organs and strengthening sinew and bones. Once spleen and stomach are sound , there will surely be a good appetite , which will help us eat more and help us grow tall.

As shown by research, boys’ epiphyseal close comes up at the average age of 18 and that of girls at 16 respectively. After the epiphysis is closed, they will not grow any more in height. Therefore, they should make good use of the golden age of growth at junior high school.

2.3 Fish-head decoction with gastrodia (Tianma) brings you a happy spring

“My love for the capital for ages has gone, sudden spring rains remind me of my home.” “Helpless, flowers disappear. Familiar swallows come here”, “Spring keeps people agitated and awakened; Moon moves the shadow of flowers to the hand-rail”.

Dear students , aren’t these poems about spring very beautiful? Are they sentimental as well? When it comes to spring, ancient scholars would always associate it with grieving over, sympathizing with, retaining and sighing about spring.

Spring should be a pleasant season, but people seem to have a particularly depressed and low mood in spring. Modern research uncovers that low air pressure in spring can easily cause hormone secretion disorder, and changeable weather can lead to frequent mood changes. What’s more, people tend to have greater pressure in spring because they are likely to have good wishes after the Spring Festival. But it is hard to foretell things. Once things go against wishes, impatient people with introverted or in-confident personalities become more easily nervous, anxious, sleepless and inappetent.

Anecdotes about food-therapy

TCM holds that spring matches liver, an organ to dredge and smooth the route of channels . Human beings adjust the mood by relying on liver’s dredging and smoothing function. To get rid of the depressed mood in spring, try this “ Fish- head soup with gastrodia (Tianma)” to replenish Qi and nourish liver.

Specific preparations with ingredients include: a fish head, 50 grams of gastrodia, a little salt, green onion, ginger, garlic, cooking wine. Wash the fish head with clean water, remove the dirt in the gills and cut it into two parts. Wash and cut the gastrodia into sections, soak it in water and drain it for use. Then burn the cooker until it is hot, add oil, stir ginger slices until it smells good, add a little cooking wine, pour in the fish head, fry it to remove the fishy smell, after 1-2 minutes, take it out for use.

Then put the fish head and gastrodia into a stew pot, and add enough water to cover the ingredients. Finally, stew it in water for 1-2 hours, and finally add an appropriate amount of salt, then it is done.

Gastrodia is sweet in flavor, flat in property and goes into the liver meridian. It can tonify Qi and nourish liver. As recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica: “gastrodia is the medicine of liver meridian Qi”. The meat of the crucian carp is delicious, rich in nutrition. According to traditional Chinese medicine, crucian carp also has the therapeutic effect of invigorating spleen, appetizing, replenishing Qi, promoting water and removing dampness. Eating more crucian carps in spring can not only supplement nutrition, but also enhance the ability of fighting against diseases.

The human liver is characterized by “preference of regulating mental activity”, Regulating mental activity means mental smooth and accessible Qi, in other words, it is to let the Qi “go within its route”. If the liver Qi goes smoothly, the human body can better coordinate its mental activities. In this case, such a person can always be in a happy mood and can quickly resolve unhappiness .

As a folk saying goes: “The work for a year best begins in spring”. For you students, spring is the best time to learn. If you are unhappy in spring, you may be ruined by a bad mood for a whole year. Hence, even though this bowl of fish head soup with gastrodia looks normal, it is of great help to keep you in a good mental state.

2.4 Beautiful black hair is no longer out of reach

Dear students, have you ever heard the song named “My hand goes through your dark hair” by Luo Dayou? If not, I suggest the song for you. The melody and lyrics are wonderful. Every girl wishes to have beautiful dark hair. In fact, whether the hair is dark not only affects your appearance, but also shows the state of your health.

The hair relies on the nourishment of Qi and blood to grow. Now students are often under great pressure and overuse their brains. If the area of the scalp is not fertile, hair cannot thrive. Meanwhile, spring is the right season for all things to grow, and everything is vigorous. If we irrigate the land like hard-working farmers , we will certainly harvest.

Black bean decoction for hair growth is a good choice. Choose 30 grams of black sesame, 30 grams of black bean, 12 grams of Chinese wolf-berries, 20 grams of white sugar. After boiling in water for about 30 minutes, take the soup with medicine. Once a day for 60 continuous days.

According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, black sesame can tonify the liver and kidneys, moisten five internal organs, replenish Qi, grow muscles and fill the brain. It is known to all for its efficacy in dark hair and beauty. The Compendium of Materia Medica quoted baopuzi as a saying: “Taking black sesame for 100 days can remove all pain and diseases; take it for a year, the body and face become lustrous; for two years, gray hair can turn dark; for three years, the falling teeth will grow again.”

Black sesame has the functions of strengthening the stomach, protecting liver and stimulating the growth of red blood cells. It also has a magical effect on darkening and preserving hair and can be found in many modern shampoos.

Anecdotes about food-therapy

Black beans are called “King of beans” with high nutritional value. Modern research shows that black beans are rich in antioxidants and Vitamin E, which can remove free radicals in the body, reduce skin wrinkles and help to keep people beautiful and young. Li Shizhen once told a story in his Compendium of Materia Medica: A man named Li Shouyu had a habit of swallowing 14 black beans every morning, as a result, he didn’t look old at all even when he got old. So that is why we say black beans can prolong our life.

Moreover, according to the theory of “Tonifying the shape by shape”, ancients believed that black beans were the valley of kidneys which are bean-like in shape and black goes into kidneys, so they can tonify kidney Qi, which has been proved to be true in practice. Kidneys take charge of the hair. If kidney Qi is enough, hair will be thick and glossy. If kidney Qi is weak, hair will fall out. Therefore, black beans are a good source of growing dark hair.

Chinese wolfberry can also tonify kidney Qi and stimulate the production of blood. We can have enough Qi and blood by taking the decoction boiled with such berries and black beans and black sesame. In such a case, we don’t need to worry about a harvest in the fields. I hope you students can often drink this soup, because it can not only make your hair dark, but also invigorate your brain, hence killing two birds with one stone.

2.5 Date soup with astragalus and polygonatum helps you expel the spring sleepiness

In spring dawn , I found myself o’ersleep; here and there birds twitter or cheep. Last night wind slashed and rain fell on; how many blooms have fallen down?

This is from Meng Haoran’s “Spring Dawn”, which shows a beautiful picture of deep sleep in the spring night without realizing the advent of the dawn.

In early spring, lots of people become particularly sleepy and still feel tired after waking up in the morning, this is what we call the spring sleepiness. Spring sleepiness, also known as spring fatigue, is a physiological reaction of the human body to seasonal changes. It is often embodied by exhaustion and drowsiness.

Some students may say it’s very easy to solve this problem: just sleep a little longer. This is a wonderful dream. Firstly, study time is too limited; secondly, it is enough to sleep for about 8 hours a day because the sleep of more than 8 hours will change the normal cycle of sleep and awakening, leading to the biological clock disorder of the human body. If the brain is in a state of inhibition for a long time, it will also make the brain cells mainly responsible for sleep tired, make people more drowsy. Finally, people are more likely to enter the vicious cycle of “the more sleep, the more drowsy” by feeling dizzy and uncomfortable.

In traditional Chinese medicine, date soup with astragalus and polygonatum is a good choice to remove spring sleepiness. Choose 15 grams of astragalus, 10 grams of polygonatum and 6 grams of date. Boil them in water and take one dose a day.

Astragalus is sweet in flavor, warm in property and good for spleen and stomach.

It is an important medicine for tonifying middle and replenishing Qi. Modern research shows that it also has the effect of anti-fatigue. Polygonatum, sweet and neutral, can nourish Qi and preserve yin , invigorate spleen and replenish kidneys, also as a tonic medicine . Date tonifies blood and Qi. There is such a saying: “Three dates a day retains the youth.” Winter is the season featured by storage, while Qi and blood also flow slowly. This leads to the failure of quick adaption of Qi and blood to the state of the body when winter comes. So, at this time, drinking a liquid decoction mixed with date, astragalus and ploygonatum can help to tonify Qi and blood to move actively and stay away from the "dormant" state.

In addition, scientific diet also has a positive effect on dealing with spring sleepiness. In spring, it is better to have a light, fresh and easily digestive diet. Foods like vegetables, carrots, kalimeris (Malan head) celery, cabbage, water chestnuts and so

Anecdotes about food-therapy on are the best choices. Try to eat less greasy meat , so that it is easier to be absorbed by intestinal tracts. More pungent foods like onion, ginger, garlic are good, for they help to remove dampness, dispel filthy turbidity, promote blood circulation and stimulate central brain.

The most important thing is to conform to the weather, go out for more exercises, and stretch the body to shake off the laziness in winter and welcome the new year with a positive mood.

Spring is the time for the weather to be warm and everything to revive. It also provides a breeding ground for all kinds of viruses and bacteria. Moreover, the more the outdoor activities of people are, the easier it is for the disease to spread among them, so spring is a particularly popular season for flu. That is why many people are free from symptoms of cold in the cold winter but in warm spring.

With a flu, you might feel hot, sore and tired all over the body and have no mood of learning. And the most important thing is that flu is transmitted through the air. That is why once one of your classmates has a flu, many of your classmates and friends are also infected .

In fact, there is an effective way to deal with flu by means of traditional Chinese food therapy. A cup of ginger-tea decoction a day is good enough. Soak 10 grams of ginger and 7 grams of green tea with hot water and drink it while it is hot.

Ginger is an ingredient of daily diet. As believed by TCM, ginger serves to enhance yang . Dry ginger can warm the middle and disperse cold, invigorate the stomach and activate blood circulation, so it has been known as “ Ginger is a must for a long time ” since ancient times. As a saying goes:“There will be no evil if there is sufficient healthy Qi in the body.” With enough yang Qi in the body, you can resist the invasion of foreign virAs discovered by scientific research, raw ginger plays a key role in killing bacteria and fighting against viruses.

Originated in China, tea is known as one of the three major beverages in the world. Green tea generally refers to Longjing tea, Biluochun tea, Xinyang Maojian tea and so on. Tea contains some medicinal substances beneficial for health, like catechin, cholesterone, caffeine, inositol, folic acid, pantothenic acid and so on. Its antioxidants help to enhance human immune function and resist the invasion of viruses and bacteria.

As shown by a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nutrition, experimenters taking a special green tea capsule reduced their risk of common cold and flu by 23%, shortened the course of their disease and produced more immune cells that could fight bacteria and viruses. Such cells can help to prevent the cold.

For students fond of drinking tea, ginger tea is a good drink to prevent flu in spring. Moreover, drinking tea frequently can excite the central nervous system, help people keep up their spirits, enhance their thinking, remove fatigue and improve their learning efficiency.

What’s more, because the temperature in spring is still changeable, you students had better keep the following suggestions in mind: do not follow the fashion like “elegance comes before warmth ”; do not add or take off clothes at will , especially in the morning and evening; put on more clothes to keep warm. With sneezing or coughing, cover the mouth and nose with a handkerchief or paper towel to prevent droplets from infecting others. In the high incidence period of flu, stay away from crowded and polluted places. When you have to go, wear a mask. All of the above details are the precautions against flu.

2.7 Spring bamboo shoots fried with shrimp meats tastes good and makes one slim

As remarked in Huangdi’s Internal Classic : “The sages in ancient times who knew how to cultivate health followed the rules of yin and yang and adjusted their ways to cultivate health. They were moderate in eating and drinking, regular in their work and rest, trying avoid any exhaustion. That’s why they could keep desirable harmony between the mind and the body, enjoying good health and a long life.”

Ancient sages taught us that health preservation must “follow the rules of yin and yang”, i.e. go with the law of the seasons. As for food, the ingredients we choose must be in season .

Spring bamboo shoots are the food of spring. After the Beginning of Spring, baby-shoots break through the earth, which is just the scene of spring when all things revive and grow. Bamboo shoots after rain are as white as jade and tender with delicate fragrance and mellow when they are chewed. That is why they have such a good reputation as “The first vegetarian food” loved by people since ancient times. Scholars and gourmets praise them and say: “It is not a fresh taste without fresh bamboo shoots”. Su Dongpo once said: “No meat makes people slim, but no bamboo makes people vulgar”.People of following generation take this opportunity to remark: “Anyone who doesn’t wish to be neither vulgar nor thin, just cook meat with bamboo shoots every day.”

Spring bamboo shoots not only taste good but also have high medicinal value. According to the records in Miscellaneous Records of Famous Physicians : “Bamboo shoots govern consumptive thirst, benefit water channels, replenish Qi, and can be eaten for a long time.” As pointed out in Supplements to Compendium of Materia Medica : “Bamboo shoots benefit nine orifices, dredges blood vessels, dissolves phlegm and saliva, dissipates food and distension", especially good at clearing away inner-heat phlegm. Modern medicine also believes that bamboo shoots can absorb fat, promote food fermentation, help digestion and excretion, as one of the most perfect foods for reducing weight.

Food with good taste and weight-reduction is an ideal food for girls. Here is a kind of food for clearing intestines and slimming: 200 grams of shrimps, 500 grams of spring bamboo shoots, half of a cucumber, some amount of green onion and ginger. 1. Remove the shrimp-thread from its back, wash it, slice the spring bamboo shoots and the cucumber, and shred the green onion and ginger; 2. Pour the salad oil into the pan, keep the shrimps in the hot oil for a while, and then stir-fry the bamboo shoots, the cucumber, shredded green onion and ginger; 3. Add a suitable amount of salt and a little cooking wine, then it is done.

Bamboo shoots contain little fat and starch. They are the ideal food for the overweighted people because it contains low fat and low calorie. Shrimps taste light and refreshing, being easy to digest with high nutrition, which can enhance the human immunity. At the same time, due to its low calorie and fat, it will not lead to obesity.

Now, you students are at the key stage to watch your body-shape and growth. Without enough nutrition, you will lag behind in height growth. In fact, the abundance and lack of nutrition do not depend on the amount of the meal. So long as you eat right, your nutrition will not be insufficient. This fried shrimp with spring bamboo shoots not only meets nutritional needs, but also has the effect of weight reduction.

2.8 The secret of improving your academic scores

You students are a group of people who overuse your brain. Because you are often engaged inelbow-deep study for a long time, especially stay-up-late before exam, you will have a dizzy and swollen brain, poor memory, and even low learning effect. All

Anecdotes about food-therapy these indicate that you should stop learning and obtain some energy.

Many kinds of food in daily life can be used to “charge your brain”, such as walnuts, eggs, peanuts and sesames and so on.

Every March in spring is the right time for fish to look for food and for you to enjoy the fish-meat thanks to its tenderness. In fact, it remains unknown to all that fish is the first choice to tonify and invigorate brain in spring. Research shows that fishmeat has good proteins and lots of unsaturated fatty acid which are very important to the normal development of brain and eyes. Particularly, the rich lecithin in the fish-head is an important source of nutrition for nerves in human brain. It can strengthen human memory, thinking and analysis abilities, control the degeneration of brain cells and delay aging.

Among many kinds of fish, loach is nicknamed as “ginseng of the water” and can tonify kidneys. TCM believes that kidneys govern bones and produces marrows. Brain is the sea of marrows, so sufficient kidney Qi means sufficient marrows that can provide the brain with continuous energy.

Here is a “Bean curd loach soup” for you to tonify and invigorate the brain. Take 3 to 6 loaches, a piece of bean curd and some raw ginger. 1. Use the scissor to cut the loach stomach and take out the viscera, wash the sticky liquid on its surface and clean its body; 2. Wash the raw ginger and shred it; 3. Wash the bean curd and cut it into small chops for use; 4. Pour oil into a hot pan and fry bean curd until golden on both sides and then set aside; 5. Keep oil in the pot, add shredded ginger and stir fry the loaches; 6. Place some amount of water to boil over strong fire, put the fried tofu inside and continue for five more minutes till the soup turns milky white, drop some salt and chicken essence, then here it is for you to enjoy.

Bean curd has a history of over 2,000 years so far. Its unique flavor, simple processing and convenience make it gain its great popularity among common folks because it contains high protein, low fat and has the effect of lowering blood pressure and blood lipids. Moreover, bean curd, made from beans, includes lecithin which is good for nourishing the brain, so it can replenish energy for the brain.

Nowadays, many kinds of so called brain tonics for improving student memory are sold in the market, but frankly, at the same price, their effective ingredients are not necessarily higher than a bowl of “bean curd loach soup”, which is shown in the following saying: “Tonic is inferior to diet.” Your DIY can not only improve your life quality and get experiences but also improve your academic scores after enjoying it, so why not try one?

2.9 Drinking chrysanthemum tea in spring can help clean liver and improve vision

TCM believes that liver is associated with eyes, since the liver and eyes are closely related. As the earliest book of Chinese medicine theory in China, Huangdi’s Internal Classic records: “Nourished by the blood, eyes can see; nourished by the blood, feet can walk; nourished by the blood, palms can grasp; nourished by the blood, fingers can take things.” One of the functions of liver blood is to nourish eyes and protect the vision. Therefore, “When the liver Qi is in harmony, eyes can distinguish five colors.”

The liver is closely related to the eyes, so whether the liver function is normal or not can be reflected from eyes. If the liver blood is sufficient, eyes are good and the vision is clear; if the liver blood is deficient, eyes cannot be nourished, thus leading to the dryness and faint or even blurry vision of eyes.

In the clinic, we often have some teenagers. Some say that after reading for some time, they often suffer from blurry vision, some say that their eyes are dry and uncomfortable, and some have to put on glasses at an early age.

Spring is the season to nourish the liver. Nourishing the liver means nourishing

Anecdotes about food-therapy eyes. In spring, the rise of yang Qi stirs up the accumulated heat in the liver, resulting in hyperactivity of liver Qi. So, some people might have symptoms like troublesome and reddish eyes. Due to its sweet and bitter flavor and slightly cold property, chrysanthemum can help to disperse wind and remove inner-heat, hence clearing the liver and brightening the vision. Since ancient times, Chinese people have realized chrysanthemum’s function of protecting eyes. Besides, in daily life, you can smear the chrysanthemum to eliminate edema or drive away the eye-fatigu by drinking a cup of chrysanthemum tea.

How can you drink in various ways by using chrysanthemum? Here are some tea decoctions:

Chrysanthemum hawthorn tea : 10 grams of chrysanthemum, 10 grams of hawthorns and honeysuckle respectively, drink it as tea. Hawthorns can remove blood stasis and disperse fat, cool and lower down blood pressure. Honeysuckle combined with chrysanthemum can clean the liver heat . Therefore, this decoction can not only help to brighten vision, but also reduce weight.

Three-flower decoction : Soak a little chrysanthemum, honeysuckle and Lili and drink it. Jasmine, fragrant and pleasant, can help to pacify liver and relieve liver depression. Used with chrysanthemum and honeysuckle, it can not only clear inner-heat and detoxify poison, but also pacify the mind.

Chrysanthemum honey drink : 50 grams of chrysanthemum and 200 ml of water. Stew the flowers in water and keep it warm for 30 minutes, filter the drink and add an appropriate amount of honey, stir it and drink. Chrysanthemum can clear liver heat and honey can nourish yin, so this decoction has the effect of nourishing liver and brightening vision, generating fluid and relieving thirst.

Eight precious chrysanthemum drink : 20 grams of chrysanthemum, 10 grams of honeysuckle, 5 grams of dry tangerine peel, 1 boat-fruit sterculia seed, a little rock sugar and a few hawthorns, 5 grams of green tea and two dates. Brew the above ingredients with boiling water for 5 minutes and drink it. Chrysanthemum and honeysuckle can clear liver and brighten vision. Dry tangerine peel can relieve liver and regulate Qi. The boat-fruit sterculia seed can moisten intestines, defecate and remove thinner- heat. Dates can replenish blood;. Green tea can clear heart and eliminate boredom, promote fluid production to quench thirst, reduce inner-heat and brighten vision. Finally, people should know that there are various chrysanthemums and the best choice is the most effective “Gongju”, also known as “Huangshan Gongju”, which was given to the emperor as a tribute in ancient times, leading to the name: “Gongju”. The flowers of Gongju are snowy white and its peduncle is green. After brewing for a long time, the tea soup may even turn green. Due to its mild cold property, Gongju has an outstanding effect on both clearing liver and brightening visions, preserving liver and eyes, as a good medicine for protecting the eyes of students.