Cold fruits in summer include muskmelons, watermelons, pears, bananas, mangoes, persimmons, water chestnuts and shaddocks.

Most of the fruits in summer are cold by nature, such as pears, apples and various melons. Some people, especially those with vigorous metabolism rates during summer months, often sweat a lot and they have red faces, parched mouths and scorched tongues. Also, they are often nervous. Those people are well advised to have some cold fruits.

However, they must not eat too many cold fruits, otherwise, they will harm their health. For example, the apple, which tastes sweet, can ease constipation, help with digestion, and soften and moisten the skin. But apples are rich in carbohydrates (compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, such as sugars, starches and cellulose) and sylvite (a mineral that is a natural potassium chloride and occurs in colorless cubes or crystalline masses), so people who suffer from coronary heart disease, nephritis and/or diabetes should not eat many apples. However, those people who lack vitality should eat apples to improve their health.

Fruits such as pears, shaddocks, oranges and tangerines can relieve coughs, reduce phlegm, moisten the lungs and help with digestion, but, if too many are eaten, they might cause indigestion, toothaches and/or yellow spots on the skin. Therefore, those who suffer from stomach ailments had better not eat them, or have just a little bit of them.

Experts stress that people who lack energy and whose  spleens cannot  function normally should be careful when eating cold fruits, such as watermelons, muskmelons, mangoes, pears and bananas. People who lack energy tend to have slight builds, look pale in the face and have poor appetites. People whose spleens cannot function normally usually have poor digestive systems.

According to the theories of traditional Chinese medicine, cold fruits will reduce peristalses of stomachs and intestines, and result in indigestion and abdominal distension. Therefore, the elderly and children who suffer from indigestion should avoid eating cold fruits. If they want some, they are advised to eat a little after lunch or before supper.