🌿 Folk Prescriptions

After enduring the sweltering summer, we’ve now entered autumn. How should one preserve health in autumn? How to do it correctly? Medical professionals offer the following advice:
Advice One: Do Not Supplement Haphazardly
According to the TCM principle of “nourishing yang in spring and summer, nourishing yin in autumn and winter,” autumn is indeed the season for supplementation. But supplementation must not be random—five taboos must be observed:
First, do not supplement without illness. Unnecessary supplementation increases costs and harms health. For example, excessive fish liver oil intake causes poisoning; long-term glucose consumption leads to obesity, elevated blood cholesterol, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease;
Second, do not supplement based on reputation. High-priced drugs are not necessarily better. Ginseng is expensive and considered a supreme tonic, so many take it. But overuse can cause overexcitement, restlessness, elevated blood pressure, and nosebleeds;
Third, do not confuse deficiency with excess. TCM’s principle is to supplement deficiencies—non-deficient individuals should not take tonics. Deficiencies include yin deficiency, yang deficiency, qi deficiency, and blood deficiency. Correct diagnosis is essential for effective supplementation; otherwise, it may backfire;
Fourth, do not believe more is better. Any tonic taken in excess is harmful. Supplementation must be moderate;
Fifth, do not replace food with medicine. Prioritizing medicine over food is unscientific—food supplementation is superior to medicinal.
Advice Two: Exercise with Four Precautions
In autumn, regular physical exercise can not only regulate lung qi and enhance lung function but also boost immune function and the body’s ability to resist cold stimuli. However, due to large temperature differences between morning and evening and dry air, to achieve optimal fitness results, four precautions are essential:
Prevent catching colds. Early autumn mornings are cold—do not go outdoors in thin clothing. Dress appropriately according to outdoor temperatures. During exercise, do not remove too many clothes at once; wait until the body warms up before removing excess layers. After exercising, avoid wearing damp clothes in cold winds to prevent chilling.
Prevent exercise injuries. Muscle and tendon reflexive vasoconstriction occurs in lower temperatures, reducing muscle flexibility, decreasing joint mobility, and impairing nervous system control over muscles—making injuries to muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints likely. Always perform thorough warm-up exercises before any activity.
Prevent over-exercising. Autumn is ideal for exercise, but since the body’s yin essence and yang energy are in a phase of consolidation and storage, exercise should follow this principle—avoid excessive intensity to prevent excessive sweating and depletion of yang energy. Opt for gentle, low-intensity activities.
Prevent autumn dryness. Dry autumn air demands increased intake of moisture-rich, lung-nourishing, fluid-producing foods after exercise—such as pears, sesame, honey, and silver ear fungus. If sweating heavily, drink salt water in small, frequent sips.
Advice Three: Embrace “Cold Exposure” in Sudden Chills
“Each autumn rain brings colder weather.” With the arrival of autumn winds, temperatures drop. Strengthening cold resistance training enhances the body’s adaptive capacity, helping prevent diseases—especially respiratory illnesses. Winter often triggers bronchitis, chronic bronchitis, and rheumatic conditions. Autumn cold exposure training boosts immunity and actively prevents disease onset. Understanding “cold exposure” should extend beyond simply not adding clothes until cold—it includes cold-resistance training through physical activity to enhance the body’s ability to withstand cold climates. Different ages can choose different activities. Regardless of the activity, emphasize the “cold” aspect—avoid excessive sweating. Stop when the body feels slightly warm but hasn’t started sweating, ensuring internal conservation of yin essence and prevention of yang energy loss. Cold baths should be maintained throughout autumn without interruption.
Advice Four: Prevent Obesity in Autumn
Obesity not only affects physical appearance but also leads to “civilization diseases” like hypertension, coronary heart disease, and cerebral arteriosclerosis—major threats to health. Weight fluctuates with seasons. Experts note autumn is a season prone to weight gain, so those who are overweight must pay special attention to weight control.
During summer, everyone tends to lose weight—even the overweight—due to high temperatures increasing activity, sweating, and greater energy expenditure focused on heat dissipation. Fat cell metabolism accelerates, leading to partial fat reduction and improved obesity. Longer daylight hours and heat also cause sleep deprivation, increasing heat loss and boosting metabolism, resulting in relatively higher heat dissipation. Meanwhile, summer’s oppressive heat reduces appetite, leading to consumption of lighter, low-calorie foods—resulting in insufficient calorie intake. In autumn, as temperatures cool, taste improves and appetite surges, leading to unconscious overeating and significantly increased calorie intake. Combined with favorable weather promoting longer sleep and reduced sweating, and the body’s natural effort to store fat for winter warmth, calorie intake exceeds expenditure. Thus, slight carelessness in autumn leads to weight gain—especially dangerous for those already overweight.
Clearly, overweight individuals must pay extra attention to weight control in autumn. First, regulate diet—consume more low-calorie weight-loss foods like red beans, radishes, bamboo shoots, coix seed, seaweed, and mushrooms. Second, increase calorie expenditure through planned physical activity—early morning exercise is ideal. Autumn’s clear skies and pleasant weather make it perfect for travel—enjoying scenic views lifts mood and increases physical activity, achieving weight loss goals.