Minor Heat is contrasted with Major Heat. Ancient Chinese believed this period represented the year's second-hottest phase, hence its name. Occurring around July 7th each year when the sun reaches 105° of the ecliptic, Minor Heat marks the start of the solar term. As the saying goes: "The hottest days fall in the Three Folds." In China, the Three Folds typically begin 28 days after the Summer Solstice, known as "counting the first fold from the third Geng day after the solstice."
The arrival of Minor Heat signals the onset of the hot season across most of China. As the saying goes: "Heat begins at Minor Heat; lighten your clothes, feel the ease; hurry to plant vegetables, prepare well for the harsh winter." The Commentary on the Seventy-Two Solar Terms states: "The sixth month... Heat, meaning warmth. Within this warmth, it is divided into minor and major. The beginning of the month is minor heat, the middle is major heat. Now, the heat is still minor."The Compendium of Flowers records, "The heat has not yet reached its peak at this time." Though the rising heat brings warm weather, it is not the hottest period of the year. As the farming proverb goes, "Minor Heat isn't truly hot; the real heat comes during the Three Dog Days of Major Heat."
This year, Minor Heat arrives on July 7th. Though the peak heat hasn't yet arrived, this period brings increased precipitation and heavy humidity. How should individuals with different constitutions adjust their health practices accordingly?What principles should guide health preservation during Minor Heat? How should daily routines, exercise, diet, and mental well-being be adjusted?
Principles for Minor Heat Health Preservation
Mental Cultivation: Emphasize "inner calm" and maintain emotional equilibrium.
Daily Routine Adjustments: With heat and humidity intensifying, avoid prolonged exposure to direct sunlight to prevent heatstroke. Refrain from exposing yourself to cold drafts immediately after sweating, as this invites cold pathogens that may cause colds or joint pain.Ensure adequate rest, including appropriate afternoon naps, to maintain energy levels.
Exercise: Opt for low-intensity activities like Ba Duan Jin, Tai Chi, or walking along riversides or in gardens during early morning or evening hours. Avoid excessive sweating post-exercise.
Diet: Choose warm, soft foods. Refrain from consuming raw or cold foods indiscriminately or eating beyond satiety. Increase intake of warm rice porridge, congee, or mung bean soup to nourish the stomach, generate fluids, and benefit the body.
Dietary Care: Opt for warm, soft foods. Avoid consuming raw or cold foods indiscriminately or eating beyond satiety. Increase intake of warm rice soup, hot congee, or mung bean soup to nourish the stomach, generate fluids, boost energy, and dispel summer heat.
Metal Constitution: Clear Heat, Eliminate Dampness, Disperse Summer Heat
Mental Care: Avoid intense emotional fluctuations. Maintain mental joy and a tranquil state of mind.
Daily Routine: Avoid prolonged labor under intense sunlight to prevent heatstroke. Simultaneously, guard against excessive cooling at night to prevent external pathogens from invading and causing external-heat diseases.
Dietary Care: Consume foods or medicinal ingredients that tonify qi, nourish yin, dispel summer heat, and generate fluids, such as coix seed, watermelon, winter melon, American ginseng, mung beans, solomon's seal root, and dendrobium.
Recommended medicinal dish: Coix Seed and Tangerine Peel Porridge: 50g coix seed, 10g solomon's seal root,5g dried tangerine peel, 10 red dates, 200g japonica rice. Combine coix seeds, solomon's seal, dried tangerine peel, and rinsed japonica rice in a pot. Add sufficient water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until rice is tender and porridge thickens. This dish clears heat, dispels dampness, strengthens the spleen, boosts qi, and generates fluids.
Wood Constitution: Fishing and flower appreciation to cultivate temperament
Mental cultivation: Engage in recreational activities like fishing, singing, chess, and flower appreciation to refine character.
Daily routine: Avoid excessive sweating to prevent qi and fluid depletion; ensure sufficient sleep during the midnight and noon hours to maintain vitality.
Physical Exercise: Engage in low-intensity activities like walking or Ba Duan Jin exercises, stopping before fatigue sets in.
Dietary Care: Consume foods or medicinal ingredients that clear heat, dispel summer heat, and promote diuresis. Increase intake of American ginseng tea, Shengmai Decoction, and mung bean-winter melon tea.
For medicinal cuisine, try Hyssop and Lean Pork Soup: 30g hyssop, 120g lean pork, 5g Pinellia ternata, salt and MSG to taste. Rinse hyssop and Pinellia, wash and dice pork.Place all ingredients in a clay pot, add sufficient water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer for 1-1.5 hours. Season with salt and MSG, bring to a boil once more, and serve. This soup clears liver heat, dispels summer heat, and drains dampness.
Water-type constitution: Nourish the spleen and stomach; avoid excessive raw or cold foods
Mental cultivation: Maintain inner calm and approach all matters with equanimity.
Daily Routine: Prioritize quality sleep during the midnight and noon hours, including a moderate afternoon nap. Avoid exposure to drafts while sweating to prevent invasion by cold and dampness.
Dietary Care: Avoid excessive raw/cold foods and overeating; prioritize warm, soft foods to nourish the spleen and stomach. Increase intake of rice water, and incorporate ingredients like sand ginger, pinellia, coix seed, euryale seed, red beans, and mung beans.
Medicinal cuisine recommendation: Red Bean, Chicken Gizzard, and Lotus Leaf Porridge: 30g red beans, 10g chicken gizzard,1 fresh lotus leaf, 5g Amomum villosum, 150g japonica rice. Wash and chop the fresh lotus leaf. Place it in a clay pot with the chicken gizzard, add 1000ml water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer for 20 minutes. Add Amomum villosum and simmer for another 10 minutes. Strain to remove solids.Add rinsed japonica rice and red beans to the strained liquid. Add sufficient water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until porridge consistency is reached. This porridge strengthens the spleen, drains dampness, clears heat, and relieves summer heat.