Six Dietary Rules for the Spring Festival
(1) Establish a habit of eating at regular times and in moderate amounts—avoid binge eating.
(2) Cold weather in winter makes raw or cold foods unsuitable. Eat cooked, warm meals, especially for the elderly and children, whose digestive systems are weaker. Raw or cold foods are hard to digest and can damage the spleen and stomach.
(3) Avoid bitter and cold foods. Bitter substances can drain energy, easily damaging yang qi and disrupting the body’s closed-in state, harming the spleen and stomach. Extremely cold foods can cause diarrhea. However, avoid overly hot foods too—eating too much hot food generates internal heat, injuring stomach yin and damaging the spleen and stomach.
(4) Avoid strong alcohol. In winter, mild alcohol is acceptable—preferably red wine. But drink only in moderation; excessive drinking harms the spleen and stomach.
(5) Prepare a decoction using 10g hawthorn, 10g Chinese yam, 10g jujube meat, 5g ginger, 5g tangerine peel, and 6g green tea. Pour boiling water over it and drink.
(6) Massage: Rub the abdomen clockwise with the palm 20 times. Perform abdominal massage one hour after meals, preferably sitting, to aid digestion and absorption. Before bedtime, lie down and massage the abdomen to strengthen the spleen and stomach, aid digestion, and promote sleep.