Let's talk about the health things of Lichun
Fan Letter] Dear Doctor, Hello! I am a big fan of yours and have always been very interested in TCM health preservation. Recently, I've been thinking about the question, which is more hurtful, skipping breakfast or skipping dinner? I hope to hear your professional answers. I myself am an early riser, usually I wake up at 6:30 in the morning, but sometimes because of my busy work, I choose to skip breakfast and go straight to work. I usually eat very lightly in the evenings, and sometimes I choose to skip dinner. But I heard that there is a saying in Chinese medicine that "breakfast should be good, lunch should be full, and dinner should be small", which made me a little confused. Excuse me, which is more hurtful to skip breakfast or skip dinner?
Popular Science Answers] Dear fans, your question is very in-depth, skipping breakfast and skipping dinner is indeed a worthy topic. First of all, let's be clear that Chinese medicine and modern medicine have different views on this issue. Traditional Chinese medicine focuses on holistic conditioning, emphasizing the rhythm and regularity of diet, while modern medicine pays more attention to the intake of nutrients and the metabolism of the body.
Skipping breakfast, which, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, can damage the spleen and stomach. Breakfast is an important moment for the body to start functioning after a night's rest. Eating a good breakfast can replenish qi and blood, make the spleen and stomach function normally, and is conducive to good health. If you don't eat breakfast, the spleen and stomach have no food to transport, and after a long time, it will lead to weakness of the spleen and stomach, loss of appetite, indigestion and other symptoms. In ancient Chinese medicine prescriptions, commonly used spleen and stomach conditioning formulas include Sijunzi Tang and Liujunzi Tang, which are used to regulate the spleen and stomach and enhance appetite.
Skipping dinner, which, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, can damage the kidney yin. Dinner is an important nutritional supplement for the human body before night activities, if you don't eat dinner, the body will lack energy at night**, resulting in a deficiency of kidney yin. Kidney yin is insufficient, and symptoms such as insomnia, dreams, and tinnitus are prone to occur. In ancient Chinese medicine prescriptions, the commonly used kidney yin conditioning formulas include Liuwei Dihuang Pill, Zhibai Dihuang Pill, etc., which are used to nourish kidney yin and improve the symptoms of kidney yin deficiency.
From a modern medical point of view, skipping breakfast and skipping dinner have different effects on the body. Skipping breakfast can lead to unstable blood sugar levels, which can easily lead to hypoglycemia and symptoms such as dizziness and fatigue. Skipping dinner can lead to a long interval between dinner and the next day's breakfast, and the body lacks energy during the night**, making it easy to experience symptoms such as fatigue and lack of concentration.
In general, both Chinese medicine and modern medicine believe that eating should be regular, and breakfast and dinner are indispensable. Breakfast can replenish the consumption of the night and adjust the body, and dinner can provide energy for the night activities. Skipping breakfast and skipping dinner will have a certain impact on the body, and we should reasonably arrange the intake of breakfast and dinner according to our physical condition and living habits.
Finally, I would like to emphasize that neither Chinese medicine nor modern medicine is static, and we should use it flexibly and find the most suitable way of eating for ourselves based on our actual situation. I hope you find my answers helpful, and if you have any further questions, feel free to ask me.
References: 1Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese MedicineChina Publishing House of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2017.
2.Modern NutritionHealth Press, 2015.
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