🌿 Folk Prescriptions

People transition from the unbearable summer heat into a "troublesome" autumn. If we take precautions in the following aspects, we can safely and peacefully enjoy the golden autumn.
Prevent Lung Diseases
TCM believes that early autumn is dominated by dryness, with lingering dampness. Combined, damp and dry pathogens easily damage lung qi, making upper respiratory infections and acute bronchitis likely. TCM employs methods to clear heat and moisten lungs. Use 30g Ophiopogon japonicus and 15g chrysanthemum, decoct and drink as tea. This has effects of nourishing yin, moistening lungs, clearing heart fire, relieving irritability, and generating fluids, making it an excellent health drink to prevent autumn dryness.
Prevent Stroke
In late autumn, coldness gradually increases, combining with dryness. Cold constricts, causing blood vessels to contract, increasing the risk of cerebrovascular disease. Mild cases show facial drooping; severe cases result in collapse. Thus, increase intake of foods rich in protein, magnesium, and calcium—effective in preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and reducing stroke risk. Avoid overeating; dinner should be about 80% full. Drink weak tea during the day, which protects the heart.
Prevent Angina
Angina resembles modern medicine’s myocardial infarction. Cold causes constriction, increasing peripheral vascular resistance, leading to rising blood pressure in autumn—potentially a hidden killer for angina patients. Besides moderate exercise like walking or running, drinking a glass of warm water upon waking helps dilute blood. Cold resistance training also provides good prevention. Alternatively, regularly drink "Kai Bi Yin": 15g Goji berries and 20g hawthorn. First boil hawthorn in boiling water for 2–5 minutes, then use the decoction to steep goji berries as tea.
Prevent Skin Damage
Autumn sees accelerated evaporation of skin moisture. Exposed skin becomes rough, loses elasticity, and severe cases develop cracks. Therefore, avoid alkaline soaps for bathing. Pay attention to daily skincare. Eat foods like loach, eel, white duck meat, peanuts, pears, red dates, lotus seeds, grapes, sugarcane, sesame, walnuts, honey, silver ear fungus, and pears—these effectively moisturize skin and enhance complexion.
Prevent Colds
Autumn is the peak season for colds. Early autumn experiences sudden shifts from hot to cold, making the body’s regulatory mechanisms struggle to adapt. When it gets cold, wear warm clothes promptly. Keep windows open regularly to maintain fresh indoor air. During cold outbreaks, use vinegar fumigation to disinfect rooms. Regularly washing face and nose with cold water also aids in cold prevention.
Prevent Obesity
Summer sweating reduces calorie expenditure and lowers appetite, improving obesity. In autumn, the situation reverses. Additionally, the body prepares to store fat for winter insulation. Carelessness easily leads to weight gain—very harmful for obese individuals. In autumn, eat low-calorie foods like red adzuki beans, radish, bamboo shoots, coix seed, seaweed, mushrooms. Increase physical activity systematically. Take advantage of travel opportunities to relax, boost consumption, and achieve weight loss.
Prevent Fog
Winter cold air meets moisture in the lower atmosphere, condensing into tiny suspended water droplets—this is fog. Droplets absorb harmful substances like acids, alkalis, salts, amines, phenols, dust, and pathogenic microorganisms during movement. This greatly affects health, daily life, and travel. Therefore, minimize outdoor activities during foggy days; suspend morning exercises. Wear masks and protect hair when outdoors. After returning, cleanse exposed skin. Pay attention to traffic safety.
Prevent Depression
Autumn brings withered grass, fallen leaves, and dying plants—creating a desolate scene. People naturally feel melancholy, sad, or anxious. If combined with unpleasant events, depression easily sets in. In daily life, cultivate optimism, rationally accept natural changes. Visit relatives and friends, climb mountains, admire scenery—this refreshes the spirit. Or practice qigong meditation, calm the mind, and maintain inner peace.
Prevent Stomach Damage
Autumn features large temperature differences between day and night. Cold air stimulation increases gastric acid secretion and causes gastrointestinal spasms. As weather turns cool, appetite increases, burdening the stomach and intestines, easily triggering gastric issues. Those with gastric problems must especially protect their stomachs from cold. Diet should be warm, soft, light, plain, and fresh—eat at regular times and in small portions. Avoid cold, hard, hot, spicy, sticky foods. Quit smoking and drinking. Avoid stress, anxiety, anger, and other negative emotions.
Prevent Poisoning
Autumn sees rapid bacterial reproduction and food spoilage—making it a high-risk season for bacterial food poisoning, bacillary dysentery, E. coli enteritis, and refrigerator enteritis (Yersinia enteritis). Prevention requires strict food hygiene: avoid raw, spoiled, or undercooked foods. Wash and disinfect raw fruits and vegetables. Maintain handwashing habits before meals and after defecation. Consume garlic and scallions with meals.
Prevent "Old Man’s Leg"
Senile osteoarthritis, commonly known as "old man’s leg," is closely related to climate. Thus, special attention must be paid to knee joint care in autumn. First, keep warm and avoid cold. Second, engage in reasonable physical exercise—like tai chi, jogging, or various calisthenics—with intensity comfortable and slightly sweaty. Drinking herbal medicinal wines prepared by TCM practitioners can also help prevent "old man’s leg."
Prevent Uncontrolled Supplementation
Supplementing and treating yin deficiency is most suitable in autumn. But avoid assuming that autumn’s relatively mild climate makes it the ideal time for all deficiencies—don’t indiscriminately supplement without distinguishing cold, heat, deficiency, or excess. For non-deficiency conditions, TCM never uses supplementation in any season. In autumn, if there are signs of yin deficiency with hyperactive yang and insufficient body fluids, focus on nourishing yin and moistening dryness. Commonly used foods include black-boned chicken, pork lung, turtle meat, bird’s nest, silver ear fungus, honey, sesame, soy milk, lotus root, walnuts, coix seed, peanuts, duck eggs, spinach, pears, etc.