In traditional Chinese medicine, flavors are categorized as sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, and salty.These five flavors correspond to the five internal organs and are closely related to human health. The "Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine" states: "Sour enters the liver, bitter enters the heart, sweet enters the spleen, pungent enters the lungs, and salty enters the kidneys."Starting from this issue, we will introduce the relationship between flavors and the five internal organs one by one, helping everyone to better understand and practice dietary health.

"Sour entering the liver" refers to eatinghawthornand other sour foods or medications, such as five-flavor seeds and Chinese dates, can nourish the liver.

“Nourishing the liver” means achieving “nourishing liver yin and blood,” which means softening the liver and regulating it.Only when the liver's yin and blood are sufficient can its various physiological functions function normally.Symptoms such as bloating, loss of appetite, edema, irregular menstruation, and eye discomfort are often attributed to the liver.Cooking with red fruitsIn daily diets, it is appropriate to consume some sour foods, such as hawthorn,

oranges

and grapes, etc. During meals or when preparing certain dishes, a little vinegar can be added as needed and according to personal preferences.It is important to note that sour foods are not suitable for consumption year-round.In spring, the liver qi is strong. Sour foods can cause excessive liver qi, which damages the spleen and stomach, so it should be avoided.In autumn, everything is being consolidated, and it is appropriate to "reduce pungency and increase sourness to nourish liver qi," increasing the intake of sour foods to adapt to the autumn's consolidating energy.If you have a cough with phlegm or experience diarrhea and difficulty urinating, it is not recommended to consume sour foods or medications, as sour flavors have "contracting and coagulating" effects, which are not conducive to the removal of pathogenic factors.Additionally, people with high blood sugar or those with peptic ulcers and excessive stomach acid should also avoid sour foods.This can also have a beneficial effect.

It is important to note that sour foods are not suitable for consumption year-round.In spring, the flow of Qi is strong, and sour foods can exacerbate this, damaging the spleen and stomach, so they should be consumed sparingly.In autumn, all things are retracting, and it is advisable to "reduce sourness and increase acidity to nourish the Qi," increasing the intake of sour foods to align with the autumn's retracting energy.

If you have a cough with phlegm, or diarrhea and difficulty urinating, you should not eat or take sour foods or medications, as sourness has a "retracting" and "congealing" effect, which is not conducive to the expulsion of the disease.In addition, people with high blood sugar or those with peptic ulcers and excessive stomach acid should also avoid sour foods.