Combating Autumn Dryness: Essential Tips for Lung Health

The End of Heat has passed, but the residual heat of midsummer has not dissipated, and some areas are still in heat. One still feels dry mouth, dry throat, and a dry nose after getting up in the morning.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that “nurture the liver in spring, the heart in summer, the lungs in autumn, and the kidneys in winter.” The lungs prefer moisture and dislike dryness. After the start of Autumn, the weather gradually becomes drier, which can easily harm the lungs, especially in the elderly. If the lungs are harmed by autumn dryness, it is easy to contract lung diseases in winter. Therefore, autumn health preservation focuses on nurturing and moistening the lungs.

Autumn dryness can easily harm the lungs, depleting lung yin and causing symptoms such as dry mouth and throat, dry cough with little phlegm, constipation and other symptoms.According to the principle of “moisten where there is dryness; nourish yin and moisten the lungs,” foods and medicines that nourish yin, moisturize dryness, and supplement lung qi can be selected for supplementation. Examples include: tremella fungus, black fungus, pear, lotus root, spinach, duck eggs, honey, lily, etc.

In autumn one “should converge rather than disperse,” and the diet should also “increase sour and reduce pungent.” Reducing pungent means eating less spicy foods such as scallions, ginger, garlic, chives, chili, etc.; these foods are dispersing in nature and run counter to the autumnal characteristic of consolidation. Increasing sour means appropriately eating more sour-tasting fruits, such as apples, pomegranates, grapes, pomelos, lemons, etc., which conform to the autumnal characteristic of consolidation.。

Additionally, some TCMs like Maiwei Dihuang Pills can be taken to help the lungs safely transition through autumn. Maiwei Dihuang Wan contains Radix Ophiopogonis, Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis, Radix Rehmanniae Preparata, Fructus Corni Preparate, Cortex Moutan, Rhizoma Dioscoreae, Poria, Rhizoma Alismatis.

Rhizoma Alismati drains dampness and discharges kidney turbidity, and can reduce the greasy nature of Radix Rehmanniae Preparata; Poria mildly drains dampness of the spleen and assists the Rhizoma Dioscoreae in strengthening transportive function; together with Rhizoma Alismati it drains kidney turbidity and helps the true yin to return to its position;Cortex Moutan clears and discharges deficient heat and restrains the warm astringent nature of  Fructus Corni Preparate. Maiwei Dihuang Pills enrich the kidney and nourish the lung. primarily used for lung-kidney yin deficiency, tidal fever, night sweating, pharyngoxerosis, dizziness and tinnitus, soreness and weakness of waist and knees.