Chinese diet and lifestyle for staying healthy in summer

Traditional Chinese medicine has a whole set of prescriptions for diet and lifestyle for staying healthy in summer.

Summer, according to the 24 Chinese solar terms, arrived last Saturday, the day known as Li Xia or beginning of summer. During the three months of summer, the universe is said to "prosper" and people need to nourish the heart.

"Huang Di Nei Jing" ("Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor") says the energy of the sky meets and merges with the energy of the earth in this season. Yang (hot) energy grows rapidly in the universe while yin (cold) energy diminishes. Click here to learn Causes of Cervicitis in TCM.

Human beings are supposed to coordinate with the energy in the universe. Thus in summer, it's suggested to get up early and retire later. The body should release excessive heat (yang energy) and "silt" and unblock the blood and energy channels.

Eating yin ("cold" energy) foods and sweating help relieve blockages and improve energy flow.

It's time to drink plenty of water to replenish lost fluid. Early summer sunshine is healthy (with sun block).

During this season it's important to take good care of the heart, and this applies to people who are weak and those who have heart problems.

In TCM the heart refers not only to the organ that pumps blood but also the blood vessels and the brain.

During summer the energy in the heart grows very fast, sometimes too much, causing irritable mood and impatience. This increases the heart rate and puts more stress on the heart.

Problems such as hypertension, irregular heart beat and insufficient blood supply to heart tissue are easily aggravated in this season.

"Keeping calm and staying in a good mood is the priority for heart patients in summer - and of course that's true all year for everyone," according to Dr Zhou Duan, director of the TCM Internal Medicine Department of Longhua Hospital attached to Shanghai University of TCM. "A bland diet may also help."

Hypertension patients should regularly check their blood pressure and take medication as directed. Click here to learn Chinese medicine Treatment for Cervicitis.

"Cold" energy foods are recommended. These include fuling (tuckahoe or poria cocos, part of a fungus root system), lotus, lily roots, jujube and gouqi (wolfberry).

Other yin foods can help dispel excessive heat. They include bitter cucumber, green beans, white fungus, and water melon.

Red-colored foods such as cherries, pink grapefruit, red beans, tomatoes and hawthorn are also recommended as heart-nourishing foods. This is because the color "red" corresponds to "fire" in the five basic elements, which also correspond with the organ "heart" in TCM.

Long periods of vigorous physical exercise are discouraged, but it is important to exercise and sweat. Jogging and tai chi are healthy summer exercises.

Sitting quietly, closing the eyes and clearing the mind are recommended to help balance the mood and adjust the internal yin-yang balance.

Congee with lotus leaves and fuling (tuckahoe or poria cocos)

Ingredients:
1 lotus leaf, Poria (Fuling) (50g), rice (or millet, 100g)

Preparations:
Cook soup with lotus leaf, filter. Add fuling and rice to make congee. Add sugar to sweeten.

Benefits:
Helps dispel internal heat, soothe nerves, and nourish heart. Recommended for people with cardiovascular problems.

Beverage with hawthorn, malt, taizi shen and bamboo core

Ingredients:
Fructus Crataegi (Shanzha) (15g), raw malt (30g), taizi shen (radix pseudostellariae, 15g) and bamboo core (10g)

Preparation:
Boil all ingredients together for around 15 minutes. Drink frequently as tea.

Benefits:
Helps reinforce energy, nourishes heart and benefits spleen (digestive system).