🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Autumn begins with Start of Autumn and spans six solar terms: Limit of Heat, White Dew, Autumn Equinox, Cold Dew, and Frost Descent. The Autumn Equinox marks a pivotal climatic transition. The *Huangdi Neijing* (Inner Canon of Huangdi), *Suwen* section, states: “In the three months of autumn, the world is tranquil and serene; the sky’s energy grows sharp, and the earth’s energy becomes clear.”
With autumn arriving, skies are clear and pure, the earth is crisp and clean, cool breezes bring comfort, and everything ripens—this is the season of harvest. Autumn lies in a transitional phase between declining yang and growing yin. From Start of Autumn to Limit of Heat, intense autumn sun persists, temperatures remain high, and occasional heavy rains bring dampness. The climate is characterized by combined heat and humidity—hence the term “Autumn Tiger.”
After White Dew, rainfall decreases, the air becomes dry, days are hot while nights grow cold, and weather fluctuates rapidly. Carelessness can easily lead to catching colds, and many old illnesses tend to recur—thus called the “busy autumn.”
Since human physiology adapts to natural changes, internal yin-yang balance shifts accordingly. Therefore, autumn health preservation requires harmony in mental state, diet, lifestyle, and physical exercises.
Harmonize Emotions to Avoid "Sadness of Autumn"
Upon entering autumn, according to “harmony between man and nature,” the lung belongs to metal, corresponding to autumn. The lung governs qi and respiration, and its associated emotion is sorrow. People with weak lung qi are particularly sensitive to autumn’s climate changes. Especially older adults, witnessing autumn storms and falling leaves, seeing nature wither, often feel melancholy, desolation, and aging—prone to depressive moods.
Song Dynasty health expert Chen Zhi once said: “During autumn’s bleak rains and winds, the elderly often feel sad. If their expression shows unhappiness, one should distract them with various topics to divert their thoughts from autumn melancholy.” Clearly, mental regulation is crucial in autumn health preservation. As stated in *Suwen*: “Let the will be calm and stable to soften autumn’s severity. Gather and conserve your spirit to match autumn’s tranquility. Do not let your mind wander externally, so the lung’s energy remains pure. This is the proper way to adapt to autumn’s essence—preserving and gathering.”
Thus, for middle-aged and elderly individuals, embracing the philosophy of “having no attachment in heart, no illness shall arise” is vital. Cultivate a mindset of not rejoicing over external things nor grieving over oneself—remain optimistic, open-minded, and calm. By gathering the spirit and conserving energy, one can mitigate the impact of autumn’s harshness and align with autumn’s balanced nature. Therefore, seniors should go hiking or visit scenic countryside together, gaze afar from high places, admire blooming flowers and fiery red leaves—immediately dispelling sorrow and rekindling youthful vitality.
Practice “Autumn Cold Exposure” with Moderation for Strength
The age-old saying “warm in spring, endure cold in autumn—no illness will come” aligns with the principle of wearing light clothing to resist cold in autumn. But “autumn cold exposure” must be understood correctly and practiced scientifically.
After Start of Autumn, temperatures gradually drop, and the daily temperature difference increases. After Cold Dew, cold air masses from the north invade frequently, bringing “one autumn rain, one chill.”
From a preventive health perspective, gradually practicing “autumn cold exposure” strengthens cold resistance, enhances heart and lung function, and improves the body’s ability to adapt to changing climates—helping prevent respiratory infections.
However, in deep autumn, sudden cold snaps and significant temperature drops make wearing thin clothes and shorts dangerous. This can easily trigger cold stimulation, weakening immunity and causing colds—especially risky for middle-aged and elderly people with chronic bronchitis, asthma, COPD, cardiovascular diseases, or diabetes. Ignoring weather changes and failing to keep warm may lead to recurrence of old illnesses upon catching a cold.
Cold stimulation reduces skin vessel elasticity, increases peripheral resistance, activates sympathetic nerves, raises adrenal cortex hormone secretion, causing small artery constriction and elevated blood pressure—increasing risk of cerebral hemorrhage. Cold also raises blood fibrin concentration and viscosity, increasing thrombosis risk—threatening life and health.
Therefore, one must adapt to autumn’s climate changes, adjusting clothing appropriately—practicing “autumn cold exposure” with moderation and harmony with nature is wise.
Dietary Harmony to Moisturize Lungs and Prevent Dryness
After the Autumn Equinox, rainfall diminishes and air humidity drops, making autumn dryness dominant from mid-autumn to late autumn. Autumn is also the season when lung energy dominates. Neglecting care may result in dryness depleting body fluids, causing dry mouth, sore throat, cough due to lung heat. Thus, autumn is ideal for consuming foods that clear heat, generate fluids, nourish yin, and moisten the lungs.
Examples include loach, tench, white duck meat, sesame, walnuts, lilies, glutinous rice, honey, milk, peanuts, fresh yam, white fungus, tangerines, ginkgo nuts, pears, red dates, lotus seeds, sugarcane—gentle, nourishing, and moistening foods that nourish yin, moisten lungs, and enrich blood.
For middle-aged and elderly individuals with weak stomachs, breakfast should consist of porridge—beneficial for harmonizing the middle energizer, strengthening the stomach, and generating body fluids. As noted in *Medical Introduction*: “Eating porridge in the morning clears out old waste, benefits the esophagus and stomach, generates fluids, and leaves one refreshed all day—providing substantial benefits.” Examples include: Lily-red date-glutinous rice porridge for nourishing yin and soothing the stomach; lily-lotus seed porridge for moistening lungs and tonifying kidneys; three-color porridge for clearing heat and nourishing lungs; lily-almond porridge for relieving phlegm and stopping cough; fresh rehmannia juice porridge for cooling blood and moisturizing dryness; adzuki bean porridge for strengthening spleen and harmonizing the middle; ginger porridge for warming the body and stopping nausea; walnut porridge for moisturizing skin and preventing dryness; pine nut porridge for moistening lungs and aiding digestion; chrysanthemum porridge for improving vision and calming the spirit; tea porridge for dissolving phlegm and aiding digestion; bird’s nest porridge for nourishing lungs and stopping cough; yam porridge for strengthening the spleen and intestines; chrysanthemum-jujube porridge for nourishing liver and kidneys…
Individuals should select porridges based on their own conditions to achieve balance among zang-fu organs, yin-yang, and qi-blood—achieving overall nourishment and health.
Exercise: Balance Movement and Stillness
Autumn offers clear, refreshing skies—ideal for mass participation in physical activities. Choose exercises suited to individual needs: seniors may walk, jog, practice Wuqinxi (Five Animal Frolics), tai chi, fitness exercises, Ba Duan Jin (Eight Pieces of Brocade), or self-massage;
middle-aged and young adults may run, play ball games, climb mountains, take cold showers, or swim. Combine dynamic exercises with static ones—such as the Six Sounds Breathing Method, Nei Qi Gong, or Mind-Focus Meditation—to achieve harmony between movement and stillness. Movement strengthens the body, stillness nurtures the spirit—leading to holistic wellness. Note: Those who enjoy cold exposure should gradually adapt to seasonal changes, persist consistently, to enhance the body’s adaptability and resistance to variable weather.
Prevention First for Harmonious Health
Autumn is a peak season for intestinal infectious diseases, malaria, Japanese encephalitis, and other illnesses, which commonly trigger recurrences of old conditions like gastritis, chronic bronchitis, and asthma. Middle-aged and elderly individuals with hypertension, coronary heart disease, or diabetes risk worsening conditions in late autumn if prevention is neglected—potentially leading to hypertensive crisis, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or even death.
Therefore, everyone must adopt a preventive mindset.
1. Prioritize food hygiene: Avoid raw water and spoiled or bacteria-contaminated food. Gastric patients must pay special attention to dietary adjustments—maintain moderate, soft, bland, and light meals. Avoid raw/cold foods, binge eating, and quit smoking and drinking.
2. Maintain environmental hygiene: Eliminate mosquito breeding sites and implement measures to prevent bites. Children should receive JE vaccines on schedule; those exposed or susceptible should also get vaccinated promptly to boost immunity.
3. Prevent colds during sudden weather changes—this helps prevent recurrence in chronic bronchitis and asthma patients.
4. For hypertensive, coronary heart disease, and diabetic patients, intervene early to control blood pressure, lipid, and glucose levels within ideal ranges—maintaining balance to effectively prevent complications, improve quality of life, and enjoy a healthy autumn.