The man was bewildered, and his wife beside him was also dumbfounded. How could the nutritious meals she made be the cause of his illness?

But after thinking about it for a long time, the man couldn't figure out where the problem lay. He thought the food he ate was fine. Even if there were problems, he ate a variety of things. It shouldn't cause an issue like this, right?

Then he stammered, "Doctor, where exactly is my problem?"

Du Heng sighed, looked at the patient and his wife, and said the most heartbreaking words, "According to what you just said, all your eating habits are wrong. They are all aggravating your condition.

"In other words, you haven't avoided any of the foods you should have."

"HUH?!" The couple exclaimed, their mouths falling open in unison. They couldn't accept this conclusion.

More importantly, if what Du Heng said was true, it would completely devastate their current lifestyle concepts and routines.

Du Heng looked at the couple with a mixture of amusement and helplessness, then continued, "Your current situation is an excess of cold and dampness in your body, leading to a spleen-stomach deficiency-cold condition. It's obvious that you need to warm up and dispel the cold.

"But look at your daily diet: millet porridge, noodles, whole wheat bread. These are all cold-natured staple foods.

"Of course, the impact of these staple foods isn't too significant. However, look at the dishes you had today: tomatoes, a cold-natured ingredient; celtuce, also a cold-natured ingredient. When combined with cold-natured staples, you're essentially trying to make yourself completely cold."

The couple was already a bit dazed, but Du Heng didn't stop. He continued, "What's more, your stomach is already so cold that it's hurting, yet you still dare to drink honey water on an empty stomach?

"Since you drink honey water, you must have looked into it. As you said, honey water can cleanse the intestines and stomach. What type of ingredients can do that?

"Definitely not hot-natured ones! Ingredients that relieve constipation and cleanse the intestines and stomach can only be cold or cool-natured. Yet you dare to drink it. So where's the nutritional balance in that?"

Becoming slightly agitated, Du Heng took his hands out of his pockets. "You also mentioned eating plenty of fruits. While it's true they provide necessary vitamins...

"However, the fruits you mentioned are all cold-natured, including extremely cold ones like watermelon. And I'm certain that when you eat these fruits, you take them straight from the refrigerator.

"Because they're even more refreshing and better at relieving summer heat when icy cold.

"But haven't you noticed that your stomach pain and discomfort worsen after eating them?"

Looking at the silent couple, Du Heng continued, "Milk is considered neutral, but you don't drink it often. Lamb is hot-natured, but you don't eat it at all. Garlic, chili, and pepper are also hot-natured, and you don't eat them either.

"It's like you're determined to be thoroughly cold, not allowing even the slightest warmth to disrupt it.

"Therefore, if you don't change these dietary habits, your gastritis will keep recurring. If this continues, it could become even more severe. The worst-case scenario might even occur."

"Cancer?" The man couldn't maintain his calm and gentle demeanor, blurting out the word.

Du Heng nodded. "It's not impossible. Long-term accumulation of cold will definitely impair blood circulation in your Spleen and Stomach. Once blood flow is obstructed, blood stasis can accumulate in certain areas, leading to tissue necrosis.

"And once such an accumulation forms, simply changing your diet won't be enough to resolve it."

The man started to panic. He was so meticulous about his diet precisely because he wanted to stay healthy, avoid suffering, and live longer.

But now, it seemed the more attentive he was, the more dangerous his situation became. He was truly starting to panic. "Doctor, what should I do now?"

"I will prescribe you Cassia Twig and Ginseng Decoction to warm the center and disperse cold. But this time, don't take it for just a week. Drink it for three months straight."

After a moment's thought, Du Heng continued, "After you go home, you need to change your diet. You can search online for which ingredients are cold and cool-natured. You should avoid them.

"By the way, let me give you a dietary therapy recipe you can make at home. It will greatly help your recovery."

After Du Heng's explanation, the couple was very eager. When Du Heng finished speaking, the woman immediately took out her cell phone, looking at him expectantly. "Doctor, please tell me. I'll note it down on my phone."

"Angelica Ginger Mutton Soup: use thirty grams of angelica, thirty grams of raw ginger, and one pound of mutton. Simmer them to make a soup. Drink the soup and eat the meat. This can warm the center, disperse the cold, and nourish the blood."

Du Heng then realized this might not be suitable. The man had previously mentioned he couldn't stand the gamy odor of lamb, and this aversion wasn't something a simple dietary change could overcome. After a moment's thought, he added, "If you really can't tolerate lamb, I wonder if you can accept dog meat? Dog meat doesn't have that gamy odor, just a slight earthy smell. It doesn't affect the sense of smell or taste at all. If you don't have any psychological aversion to it, you could try dog meat."

This question truly stumped the couple. Eating dog meat wasn't common in Jinzhou; one rarely heard of people eating it or saw it being sold.

As a result, neither of them had ever tried it, so the woman didn't know if her husband could accept eating dog meat.

When the woman looked at her husband, he thought for a moment and said, "I've never eaten it before, but let me try. If it doesn't have as strong a taste as lamb, I think I can accept it."

Du Heng nodded lightly. "That's fine. Make a dog meat soup with seven grams of cuscuta seeds, three grams of aconite, and one pound of dog meat, along with an appropriate amount of green onion, ginger, and salt.

"First, stir-fry the dog meat. Then, wrap the cuscuta seeds and aconite in a pouch and add them to a clay pot with the dog meat. Simmer slowly until the meat is tender.

"This dish can warm the Spleen and Stomach and warm kidney yang. Especially when your kidney yang is sufficient, the coldness in your body will naturally decrease."

The man nodded repeatedly, committing everything to memory. When he lowered his head and saw the tomato scrambled egg noodles in his hand, he quickly placed them on the nearby cabinet.

Now, he didn't dare to eat these foods he had once loved so much.

Seeing the woman furiously typing notes, Du Heng added a warning, "When eating dog meat, you must remember not to consume it with these ingredients: mung beans, almonds, or water caltrop. Dog meat is extremely heating, while these are very cooling. Eating them together can cause severe issues like stomach cramps or gastric hemorrhaging. You must remember this. If something goes wrong, it'll be too late."

The woman didn't speak, just kept typing and nodding vigorously.

The man also nodded in agreement, his expression serious. When Du Heng finished speaking, he hesitated and asked, "Doctor, does this mean I absolutely cannot eat the foods I used to eat frequently?"

"That's not entirely the case. You can eat them in combination, but not too much and not too often."

"Thank you, Doctor. I'll remember. I'll definitely listen to you this time."

After giving a few more instructions, Du Heng and Xu Pinglin left the hospital room to return to the office and write the prescription.

Xu Pinglin asked Du Heng, who was beside him, "Is his illness really caused by his diet, by not avoiding those foods, as you said?"

"Of course. I never joke when it comes to a patient's condition."