The Chapter on Health Preservation during the Grain in Ear Solar Term of the 24 Solar Terms

On the Grain in Ear Festival, June 6th, the sun's ecliptic longitude is 75 degrees. According to the lunar calendar records: "When the point of the Dipper is already the Grain in Ear, at this time, one can plant grains with awns. Beyond this point, the seeds become ineffective, hence the name Grain in Ear." That is to say, the Grain in Ear solar term is the most suitable time to sow cereal crops with awns, such as late millet, foxtail millet and sorghum. The Grain in Ear solar term also marks the dividing line for planting crops. Due to the hot weather, it has entered the typical summer. All agricultural activities are based on this period. After this solar term, the survival rate of crops will gradually decrease. The agricultural proverb "Be busy sowing in the Grain in Ear" conveys exactly this idea. Due to the vast territory of our country, the climatic characteristics of the same solar term also vary. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in central China, the rainfall has increased and the temperature has risen, entering the continuous rainy plum rain season. The air is very humid and the weather is extremely hot and humid. All kinds of clothes and utensils are prone to mold. Therefore, in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, this kind of weather is called "Yellow Plum weather". In addition, the Dragon Boat Festival in China usually falls around the Grain in Ear Day. There is a saying among the people that "If you haven't eaten the zongzi of the Dragon Boat Festival, you can't send a broken coat." This saying tells people that before the Dragon Boat Festival, they should not take off their warm clothes to avoid catching a cold. In Jiangxi Province of our country, there is a saying: "On the day of Grain in Ear and the summer solstice, one needs to be led when walking." Those who lead need to be pulled, and those who are pulled need to be pushed. In just a few words, it reflects the common problem of people in summer - laziness. The reason is that in summer, as the temperature rises, the humidity in the air increases, and the sweat in the body cannot be discharged smoothly. That is, heat steam dampness, and damp heat spreads in the air. Wherever the human body reaches and what it breathes, it is inseparable from damp heat. Therefore, when the dampness of summer heat overcomes, it is bound to cause multiple sensations, making people feel drowsy in their limbs and listless. Therefore, during the Grain in Ear solar term, it is not only necessary to do a good job in field management during the rainy season, but also to pay attention to enhancing physical fitness to avoid the occurrence of seasonal diseases and infectious diseases, such as heatstroke, mumps, chickenpox, etc. The key points of health preservation during the Grain in Ear period should be based on the climatic characteristics of the season. In terms of mental adjustment, one should keep their spirit in a relaxed and cheerful state, avoiding anger and depression. Only in this way can the qi flow smoothly and freely. In terms of daily life, one should go to bed late and get up early, and receive appropriate sunlight exposure (avoiding direct sunlight and taking precautions against heatstroke) to follow the abundance of Yang energy, facilitate the circulation of qi and blood, and invigorate the spirit. In summer, days are long and nights are short. Taking a nap at noon can help relieve fatigue and is beneficial to health. After the Grain in Ear solar term, it gets hot at noon and people tend to sweat a lot. Clothes should be washed and changed frequently. To avoid heatstroke, it is advisable to take a bath frequently after the Grain in Ear solar term. This can make the skin loose and facilitate the release of "Yang heat". However, it should be noted that one should not take a bath immediately when sweating. There is an old saying in China, "Sweat but do not get wet." If "sweat but get wet, acne will occur." Here, I would like to introduce several methods of medicinal baths to my friends. Medicinal baths refer to adding the soup or extract of medicinal herbs to the bath water, or directly using the decocted medicinal herbs, and using the steam bath method or fumigation and washing the whole body or the affected area to achieve the purpose of fitness and disease prevention. The use of medicinal baths has a long history in China. It is recorded that since the Zhou Dynasty, it has been popular to cleanse the body with fragrant water baths. During the Song and Ming Dynasties, this kind of fragrant water bath spread to the common people, and a "perfume shop" specifically for people to take fragrant baths emerged, gradually forming a custom. People choose different medicinal baths on different days to clean their bodies and prevent diseases. If one takes a bath with five-spice soup on the Spring Festival, the whole body will be filled with a pleasant fragrance and one will feel refreshed. On the second day of the second lunar month, which was called the "Zhonghe Festival" by the ancients and known as the "Dragon Raises Its Head" among the common people, taking a bath in a decoction made of goji berries can make the skin radiant and prevent aging and illness. In summer, it is common to take a bath with Wuzhi Decoction to dispel the wind, expel the miasma and toxins, and nourish the blood vessels. By the Qing Dynasty, medicinal baths were not only used as a way to keep fit and prolong life, but also widely applied in the treatment and rehabilitation of diseases. During the process of medicinal bath, apart from the physical and chemical effects of water itself (mainly the warming effect), the main factor is the impact of the drugs on the human body. The active ingredients in the aqueous solution of drugs enter the body through the body surface and respiratory tract mucosa. Depending on the formula of different drugs, it can achieve the effects of unblocking meridians, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, dispelling wind and cold, clearing heat and detoxifying, and eliminating dampness and relieving itching. There are various methods of medicinal baths, including immersion baths, fumigation baths and hot compresses. As for health preservation and nourishment, immersion baths are the main method. The specific method of immersion bathing, taking the Five-Branch Decoction (cinnamon branch, locust branch, peach branch, willow branch, and hemp branch) as an example: First, wrap an equal amount of the medicine in gauze, add ten times the amount of water to the medicine, soak for 20 minutes, then boil for 30 minutes, and finally pour the medicinal liquid into the bath water, and the immersion bathing can be done. If conditions permit, it can be done once a day. This medicinal bath method is suitable for full-body immersion and can also be used for local soaking and washing. Middle-aged and elderly female friends can choose a beauty and skin care recipe: 10 grams each of mung beans, lily bulbs, and borneol, and 30 grams each of talc, white aconite, angelica dahurica, sandalwood, and rosin. Grind them into coarse powder, put them in a gauze bag, and boil them into a decoction for bathing. This can make the complexion and skin fair, smooth and delicate, and the body fragrance can ward off evil spirits. In terms of dietary adjustment, health preservation experts throughout history have believed that the diet during the three months of summer should be light and nourishing. The "Lushi Chunqiu: Complete Chapters" states: "All food should not have strong and rich flavors, nor should it have strong and heavy wine." Sun Simiao of the Tang Dynasty advocated that people "should always consume light, sweet and mild foods, with grains, wheat, yeast and glutinous rice being the best choices." He also said, "Those who are good at health preservation should often eat less meat and more rice." Zhu Danxi, a medical expert of the Yuan Dynasty, wrote in his "Ru Lun" that "eat less meat and more grains, soybeans, vegetables and fruits to naturally harmonize the flavors." From a nutritional perspective, a light diet plays an irreplaceable role in health preservation. For instance, vegetables and beans can provide the human body with essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and minerals, as well as a large amount of vitamins. Vitamins are indispensable in human metabolism and can prevent diseases and aging. Vitamin C in fruits and vegetables is also an important substance for oxidation-reduction in the body. It can promote the absorption of oxygen by cells and is an indispensable component in the formation between cells and some hormones. In addition, vitamin C can also inhibit lesions, promote the formation of antibodies, and enhance the body's disease resistance. For elderly friends, eating more fruits and vegetables can help them obtain vitamin C, which has a certain repairing and maintaining effect on blood vessels. It can also transfer the cholesterol deposited in the blood vessel walls to the liver and turn it into bile acids, which is also beneficial for the prevention and treatment of arteriosclerosis. The cellulose in vegetables is crucial for maintaining smooth bowel movements in the human body, reducing the absorption of toxins, preventing premature aging, and preventing the occurrence of rectal cancer caused by constipation. In addition, while emphasizing a light and nourishing diet, we warn people not to eat food that is too salty or too sweet. Eating too much salt, having an excess of sodium ions in the body, the elderly, and those with low physical activity can raise blood pressure and, in severe cases, cause cerebral vascular dysfunction. Eating too much sweet food is also detrimental to human health. As people age, the body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates gradually decreases, which can lead to the accumulation of intermediate products such as sucrose. Sucrose can cause hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia, and in severe cases, it can even induce diabetes. From this, it can be seen that diet is an extremely important means of health preservation and disease prevention. Therefore, during the summer when the human body's metabolism is vigorous and sweat is prone to leakage, consuming qi and depleting body fluids, it is advisable to consume more foods that can dispel summer heat, benefit qi, generate body fluids and quench thirst. Due to the decline in physical functions, the elderly have reduced secretion of digestive juices in hot weather and varying degrees of hardening of the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems. Their diet should mainly consist of light tonics, supplemented by foods that clear summer heat, relieve fever, protect the stomach, benefit the spleen, and have the effects of lowering blood pressure and blood lipids. During menstruation or the postpartum period, women should avoid eating raw, cold and cool-natured foods even as the weather gets warmer to prevent other diseases from being triggered. Specific dietary therapies and recipes for the Grain in Ear solar term. Tomato and Egg stir-fry: [Ingredients] 300 grams of tomatoes, 3 eggs, an appropriate amount of salt, monosodium glutamate and sugar. [Method] Wash the tomatoes and slice them. Put a large egg in a bowl and stir well. Heat the oil in a wok, stir-fry the eggs until cooked, and then transfer them to a bowl. Wash the wok, heat it up and add oil. Melt the sugar in the wok. Add the tomatoes and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Then add the eggs and salt and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add a little monosodium glutamate and serve. Diabetic patients should not add white sugar. [Functions] Quenches thirst and promotes saliva production, nourishes the heart and calms the mind. Mushroom and Winter Melon Balls: [Ingredients] Appropriate amounts of mushrooms, chicken broth, starch, 300g winter melon, appropriate amounts of vegetable oil, fine salt, ginger, monosodium glutamate, and sesame oil. [Method] Soak and wash the shiitake mushrooms. Peel and wash the winter melon, and use a steel ball spoon to scoop it into round balls. Wash the ginger and cut it into thin shreds. Heat an appropriate amount of vegetable oil in a pot, add shredded ginger and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add mushrooms and continue to stir-fry for a few minutes. Pour in an appropriate amount of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add winter melon balls and cook until done. Thicken with water starch, stir-fry a few times, add monosodium glutamate, drizzle with sesame oil, and it's ready to be served. [Functions] Tonifies the stomach and intestines, generates body fluids and relieves irritability. Five-flavor Goji Berry Drink: [Ingredients] 5 grams of vinegar-fried Schisandra chinensis, 10 grams of goji berries, and an appropriate amount of white sugar. [Preparation] Put Schisandra chinensis and chopped wolfberries in a porcelain cup, pour boiling water over them, let it steep for a while, then add sugar and stir well before drinking. [Functions] Nourishes kidney Yin and assists kidney Yang. It is suitable for the symptoms of "summer deficiency" and is an effective tonic for health preservation and tonification. From China.org.cn