TCM  (Traditional Chinese Medicine) works to balance the yin and yang elements in the body and  to control the body’s chi or life force energy.

TCM teachings tell us that  is important to eat different foods in the different seasons because foods have specific energies or forces. During the cold winter season,  our bodies should get warmth from the food we eat.

As the winter season cools the body’s temperature, the food we eat should have the properties to warm it. Below are two simple tips that will definitely help you manage your body’s health and nutrition.

Say No to Cold Foods

During the winter, the body begins to burn more calories and fats to counter-balance the cold. This means that the body is spending more energy than usual because it needs power to burn fuel and produce energy. TCM teaches that we should avoid cold food because cold food takes the body’s temperature lower and does not help in what the body is trying to achieve.

The body will benefit a lot from hot foods such as stew and fruits or vegetables that are naturally produced during the winter season such as lentils, beans, oranges, and lemons. Lamb is a great meat choice during the winter because it has healthy fats that the body can burn, unlike beef and pork that are both rich in fats that the body cannot use, both of which end up as cholesterol, clogging the heart’s arteries.

If lamb is not easily available to you, you can eat fish like tuna and salmon. They have high omega-3 fatty acids and can provide your body’s need for protein, an essential building block of nutrition that repairs damaged cells.

Say Yes to Warm Beverages

In the same principle of balancing the yin and yang, warm beverages during the winter will do wonders for the body by reducing the cold and increasing overall warmth. Drink warm water instead of drinking it from the refrigerator. Do not put ice in your drinks. Hot apple toddies, teas and hot chocolate are perfect choices.

Drink lots of hot, green tea. The hot tea also enriches the cells with antioxidants that help fight cancer. Tea has long been proven to have high contents of chemicals that reduce the number of free radicals in the body that rips cells apart, thus causing cancer.

Fruit juices are another great choice –  grapefruit or lemon juice help aid your digestive process. The acidity if the juice will help increase your metabolism. Wine is also a common recommendation by TCM, but only in small quantities.