Tips to Help Relieve Skin Discomfort During Seasonal Changes

With the change of seasons and the accompanying temperature changes, many people’s skins will appear tight, dry, and seem to have allergic flare-ups. Skin care products can protect the skin from external wind and sun damage, but the essence of good or bad skin lies more in internal conditioning for its nourishment.

When a person’s qi (vital energy) and blood are sufficient, the skin will appear bright and shiny. A traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner introduces three types of soups that are effective in skin moisturizing and nourishing. They are especially useful for autumn and winter and have the effect of moisturizing the lungs and enhancing skin care.

Healthy Lungs Means Beautiful Skin

In TCM, it believes that to be effective in moisturizing the skin, you need to keep the lungs functioning well. “Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon”, a classic of TCM, mentioned that “Daily eating provides qi to the stomach, turbid qi returns to the heart, the lustful essence goes to the meridians. Meridian qi returns to the lungs, the lungs go to the hundreds of meridians, and the essence is infused into the skin and hair.”

In modern-day parlance, it means that the food enters the digestive tract, and the energy from digestion is sent to the heart and is then transported into the blood vessels. The qi flow in the meridians and go to the lungs, and the lungs use the essence in them to nourish the skin.

TCM has discovered that there is a “meridian” system in the human body that is responsible for transporting “qi” and “blood” throughout the body.

In TCM, qi, blood, essence, and body fluids are the essential substances for life activities, all originating from the internal organs and flowing constantly inside the body. Ensuring these essential substances are sufficient and circulating throughout the body is very important for health and wellbeing. Illnesses or other conditions are caused by the stagnation or lack of these substances.

In an interview with The Epoch Times, Ke Xia, a TCM physician living in Japan, said that according to the theory of TCM, the four seasons have their respective “organs” to manage. They are to nourish the liver in spring, nourish the heart in summer, protect the kidneys in winter, and moisten the lungs in autumn.

Dr. Ke believes that in autumn and winter, the weather is too dry for comfort. While the lungs like to be in a moist state, dry air during these seasons hurts the lungs. Therefore, in addition to drinking more water, people can nourish the lungs through appropriate diet combinations to help keep the skin smooth and shiny.

According to the “Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon,” the five colors (green, red, yellow, white, and black) correspond with the five flavors (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty), and the five flavors enter and nourish the five internal organs (liver, heart, spleen, lung, kidney).

Dr. Ke suggested people eat more snow fungus, lotus root, lily, white radish, Ophiopogon japonicus, yam, Ganoderma lucidum, pig skin, honey, and the like. All these are effective in protecting the skin and maintaining its beauty. Coupled with more fruits rich in vitamin C, there are additional benefits to whitening the skin and removing freckles. Fruits such as orange, kiwi, strawberry, apple, blueberry, and grape, are all good in this respect.

Some of these herbs may sound unfamiliar, but they can be found at shops we trust here:

She also suggested to eat less fried food. Also, try not to eat onions, ginger, garlic, or peppers. Refrain from drinking strong alcohol and avoid seafood when your skin feels itchy.

3 Healthy Soups Help Moisturize the Lungs

As for the question of the best way to eat during the dry autumn period to moisten the lungs, Dr. Ke recommends several healthy soups that can be prepared at home, which not only moisturize the lungs but also protect the skin.

1. Herb and Pork Ribs Soup

Ingredients:

• 20 grams (0.7 ounces) of Siberia landpick
• 20 grams (0.7 ounces) of Rehmannia glutinosa
• 250 grams (8.8 ounces) of pork ribs

Directions:

• Wash the ribs, cut into pieces and blanch them in water for later use
• Wash the Siberia landpick and Rehmannia glutinosa, and soak them in an appropriate amount of water for about 20 minutes
• Put all the ingredients in a pot, add an appropriate amount of water, boil first on a high flame, then cook for 1.5 hours on low flame, then put in seasonings, and it is ready to consume

Why this works: It has the effect of invigorating the kidney and replenishing essence, and improving dry and wrinkled skin.

Ingredients:

• 500 grams ( 17.6 ounces) of lean meat
• 30 grams (1.1 ounces) of Adenophora stricta
• 30 grams (1.1 ounces) of Polygonatum odoratum
• 6 pieces of Ficus carica
• 20 grams (0.7 ounces) of lily
• 1 pear

Directions:

• Wash the lean meat and, cut it into pieces, blanch with water to remove the foam for later use
• Wash the pear, remove the core, and cut it into pieces for later use
• Wash the Adenophora stricta, Polygonatum odoratum, Ficus carica, lily, and put them all into the pot
• Add the lean meat, pear, and an appropriate amount of water, and boil on high flame for 15 minutes, then turn to low flame and simmer for 1.5 hours
• Add seasoning, and it is ready to eat

Why this works: It has the functions of clearing the lungs and benefiting the stomach, promoting body fluid, and nourishing the face.

3. Nourishing and Skin Moisturizing Soup

Ingredients:

• 10 black fungi
• 250 grams (8.8 ounces) of pork tendon
• 2 Ficus carica
• 3 fresh lilies
• 12 grams (0.42 ounces) each of north and south apricots
• 9 grams (0.32 ounces) of Rhizoma discoreae

Directions:

• Wash all the ingredients
• Wash and soak the black fungus for 15-20 minutes and blanch the pork tendon and set aside
• Put all the ingredients in a pot, add 2 litres of water, boil, then turn to low flame and simmer for 3 hours. The soup is then ready

Why this works: black fungus has the effect of nourishing blood, moisturizing, and detoxifying. Lily has the effect of nourishing the yin and the lungs, soothing the nerves, helping better sleep, and beautifying. Rhizoma discoreae has the effect of strengthening the spleen and benefiting the lungs, and Ficus carica can moisten the lungs and relieve cough. This soup can nourish the yin, and the lungs, strengthen the spleen and stomach and has the effect of preventing dry and sensitive skin.

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Ellen Wan has worked for the Japanese edition of The Epoch Times since 2007.

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