Winter Health Tips With Chinese Medicine

REST (Hibernation/conservation)
 Winter is to restore and nourish, so that you can come out strong to flourish in Spring. Make sure to have plenty of rest.
 It is ok to put some weight, lounge, and sleep more!
 

BREATHING
 In the winter months, focus on deep abdominal breathing with extra emphasis below the belly button.
 Feel the warms emerges in the deep lower abdomen as you breathe.
 

ENERGY & STAMINA
 Winter/Kidney system is linked to Adrenals
 The common adrenal fatigue symptoms is the drop in energy around 3-5pm which is the time for Kidney in Chinese Medicine
 Stress and overextension (mental and physical) definitely affects adrenal function. Learn to do less and find strategies to reduce and/or cope with stress
 

WINTER QI GONG
 Knock or rub your the sole of your feet
 Rhythmically twist your waist in both ways to allow your arms to swing. Gently tap your lower back (between ribs and hip bone) with your loose fists as you twist your waist.
 You can rub your lower back with your palms as well.
 Stretch your inner thighs
 This is relatively a safe set of Qi Gong exercise and many pregnant individuals find it helpful. However, it is always good to consult with your acupuncturist if you are pregnant or have any other health concerns.
 

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
 Fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum/lactation and parenting are VERY taxing to our body particularly our Kidney system
 Make sure to nourish yourself extra well if you are considering getting pregnant, or you are pregnant or recovering from birth.
 Get support from people around you so that you are not the only one doing everything.
 Also worth noting that, spring comes after winter, your off-springs will appreciate your healthy winter habits!
 

FOOT HEALTH
 Nerves that innervate the pelvic region branch off at the lower back and sacrum, and other branches reach to the feet.
 When you warm up your feet you are actually doing a favour for your pelvis.
 It can ease tension, increase blood flow, and calm down the nervous system.
 Wear socks even at home. Avoid walking barefoot.
 Soak yourself in a hot tub frequently, or at lease do foot soaks.
 You can add herbs or essential oils. Ask your acupuncturists for their recommendation that works best for your specific condition(s).
 

KNEE & BONE HEALTH
 Bones are linked to Kidney system.
 And knees have extra strong associations.
 Keep your knees from cold and moist/damp air.
 Wear a long jacket or extra layers of pants so that you don’t feel cold in knees.
 

LOW BACK HEALTH
 One of the major signs for Kidney system imbalance is low back pain.
 Keep your abdomen and low back warm by putting an extra layer around.
 This can support your digestion and ease symptoms in your pelvis.
 

WINTER FOOD
 Black coloured foods are rich in antioxidants such as polyphenol and anthocyanin etc. which are so important for health especially things related to aging. Make sure to incorporate black or darker coloured food.
 
 Vegetables: Asparagus, black mushroom, cabbage, celery, spinach, sweet potato and yum
 Fruits: Black currant, Blueberry, cranberry, fig, goji berry, grape, lemon, mulberry, pomegranate, strawberry, watermelon
 Legumes & Grains: Black bean, fava bean, kidney bean, lentil, millet, oats, quinoa, wild rice
 Nuts & Seeds: black sesame seed, chestnut, pistachio, walnut
 Meat: duck, lamb, pork
 Sea vegetables & seafood: anchovy, cuttlefish, mackerel, salmon, sardine, trout, kelp, seaweed
 Other: black fungi
 
 Anything that contains Vitamin D and calcium is always appreciated especially in the winter time.
 

WINTER SPICES & HERBS
 Use spices and herbs wisely:
 clove, fennel seeds, cinnamon bark, DRIED ginger, licorice, marjoram, star anise are some winter herbs/spices.
 Taste wise, little bit of salt can be helpful.
 Bitter flavour helps eliminate excessive fluids from the body via urine
 
 Tea Suggestions: Chai tea, nettle, rose hip, elderflower etc.
 
 Sounds like chai tea with salted dark chocolate is a thing in winter :)
 

COOKING TIPS
 Winter body prefers warmth.
 In general, it is recommended to cook food for winter, and better with longer cooking time (stews, soups, steam roast etc.), and advised to refrain from fresh, uncooked, cold temperature food during winter.
 Replace ice cream or yogurt with warm oatmeal or rice porridge (congee).
 Make lots of soups and enjoy bone broths.
 

WINTER DETOX
 Kidney system (including urinary bladder) handles water in our body.
 Best to work on your water aspect during water in the theme of detox, so that if you ever want to do liver detox or weight loss of some sort, you can actually have a route secured for that (and read my fall health tips as well).
 No juicing, cleansing, or fasting based detox YET, please!
 Switch your smoothies to warm soups, and fresh juice to bone or vegetable broths.
 

PEE/WATER
 Kidneys control our mineral balance while making sure to eliminate what’s excess including fluids.
 Drink filtered water and avoid tap water or bottled water. Invest in a great water filtering system.
 Drink warm water that’s at least at the room temperature, and avoid chilled or icy water or drinks.
 

EMOTIONS
 Is there anything that’s holding you back?
 Are you fearful of something?
 Work on your kidney system while also exploring such emotions.
 

HERBAL HEAT THERAPY (Moxibustion)
 There are tools you can use at home to do moxibustion on acupuncture points safely.
 Ask your acupuncturist how to do it.
 

ACUPUNCTURE/CHINESE MEDICINE (Professional Support)
 There are many ways to help winter health via. personalized acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine.