Autumn heatiness stems primarily from dropping temperatures and dry weather
While people are familiar with heatiness, where does autumn heatiness originate? As autumn arrives, temperatures steadily decline, and northern regions experience increasingly dry air. From a traditional Chinese medicine perspective, this arises from external pathogenic factors affecting the body. Simultaneously, after summer's intense heat and sweating, bodily fluids and qi become depleted, making the body susceptible to dry-heat pathogens. Excessive internal heat poses a threat to health.For instance, stomach fire may cause stomach pain and constipation, while lung fire can lead to hemoptysis, coughing, and yellow phlegm. Liver fire may be associated with irritability and insomnia.
Beyond climatic shifts, certain unhealthy lifestyle habits also create opportunities for illness. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that pathogenic heat primarily originates internally, while external factors serve as triggers for heat-related symptoms. For instance, excessive work pressure can disrupt mental well-being, while habits like staying up late weaken the immune system, reducing resistance to disease.
Another crucial factor for maintaining health is ensuring adequate daily water intake. When the body loses 10% of its weight in water, symptoms such as irritability, generalized weakness, elevated body temperature, decreased blood pressure, and loss of skin elasticity may occur. Therefore, sufficient hydration is vital. Experts recommend that adults with light physical activity living in moderate climates should drink at least 1200ml of water daily, consuming it in small amounts throughout the day.It's especially important to avoid the habit of waiting until you feel thirsty to drink water.
What to Eat to Cool Down in Autumn?
1. Silver Ear Mushroom
Commonly known as white fungus, silver ear mushroom has a neutral nature and excellent health benefits. Regular consumption helps moisten the lungs, invigorate blood circulation, boost energy, nourish the stomach, strengthen the heart, and enhance brain function. It's particularly suitable for those suffering from coughs or constipation.Simmering a pot of silver ear fungus and lotus seed soup is a great choice for yourself and your family. Chilling it in the refrigerator before serving makes it both delicious and effective for reducing internal heat!
2. Celery
Celery has the effects of calming the liver and clearing heat, dispelling wind and dampness, relieving irritability and reducing swelling, cooling the blood and stopping bleeding, detoxifying and promoting lung function, strengthening the stomach and improving blood circulation, cleansing the intestines and promoting bowel movements, moistening the lungs and relieving coughs, lowering blood pressure, and calming the mind. Those with excessive liver fire, rough skin, frequent insomnia, or headaches may benefit from eating more.
3. Eggplant
Eggplant is most effective for clearing heat in autumn. Not only is it an affordable, high-quality staple vegetable, but it also serves as an excellent therapeutic food. Traditional Chinese medicine considers eggplant cool in nature and sweet in taste, with functions including clearing heat and stopping bleeding, reducing swelling and relieving pain, dispelling wind and unblocking meridians, and promoting bowel movements and qi circulation. Thus, eating eggplant during this season helps reduce "internal heat" and alleviate autumn dryness.
4. Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum can disperse wind and calm the liver, clear the heart and relieve irritability, eliminate dryness and moisten the throat, generate fluids and improve vision, and detoxify alcohol. It also has certain auxiliary therapeutic effects on colds and headaches. Elderly people can drink chrysanthemum tea in moderation during autumn to achieve the purpose of clearing heat and moistening the lungs.
5.Cucumber
Cucumber is primarily sweet in taste and neutral in nature, with pronounced effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, and generating fluids to quench thirst. It contains not only abundant nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, vitamin B₂, vitamin C, vitamin E, carotene, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, and iron, but also components such as propanol, dicarboxylic acid, cucurbitacin, and soft, fine fibers, making it an excellent detoxifying food.
6. Kelp
Kelp itself is a food with excellent detoxifying and laxative properties. Moreover, kelp is rich in iodine, which, when ingested, promotes the expulsion of harmful substances, pathological materials, and inflammatory exudates from the body.
7. Sesame Seeds
Sesame seeds lubricate the intestines and promote bowel movements, preventing dry stools. Additionally, their high protein and unsaturated fatty acid content helps stabilize blood sugar levels, enhances bone density, improves joint flexibility, and beautifies the skin.Sugar Cane
Sugar cane is sweet and neutral in nature, non-toxic, and primarily functions to descend qi, harmonize the middle burner, support spleen qi, promote large intestine function, eliminate phlegm, quench thirst, and dispel chest and heart heat. It nourishes yin, moistens dryness, harmonizes the stomach, stops vomiting, clears heat, and detoxifies. For symptoms like dry mouth, cough with scant phlegm, and constipation caused by yin fluid deficiency, consuming more sugar cane can help alleviate these conditions.
9. Lettuce
Lettuce is rich in nutrients and possesses properties that clear heat, regulate qi, and resolve phlegm. Its fresh, slightly bitter taste stimulates digestive enzyme secretion, offering significant detoxifying and heat-clearing benefits.
10. Milk
Drinking milk in autumn helps clear heat toxins and reduce liver fire. As autumn tends to bring dry heat, the mildly cooling milk nourishes yin, clears heat toxins, and effectively reduces internal heat. It also provides high-quality protein to boost the body's resistance.Traditional Chinese medicine holds that raw radish clears heat, generates fluids, promotes urination, and alleviates coughs and phlegm. Cooked radish benefits the spleen and stomach, aids digestion, and relieves gas. Autumn radishes boast thick, succulent flesh with a refreshing sweetness. Eating them raw can help those with coughs, excessive phlegm, sore throats, or hoarseness. Note: While beneficial, radish isn't suitable for everyone.Those with qi deficiency or yang deficiency-type constipation may find their symptoms worsened.
12. Snow Pear
Snow pears, hailed as the "king of fruits," excel at moistening the lungs, relieving coughs, reducing internal heat, and eliminating phlegm. Autumn's dry weather often leads to thirst, dryness, and constipation, or coughs caused by internal heat. Snow pears are an excellent choice during these times.
13. Honey
Honey moistens dryness in autumn. When dissolved in cold water, it also clears heat and nourishes yin. Drinking honey water in autumn replenishes multiple vitamins, moistens the lungs to relieve coughs, and promotes bowel movements for detoxification. Regular honey consumption also beautifies the skin and provides deep hydration.
14. Purple Grapes
Purple grapes offer greater skin-nourishing benefits than green grapes. Rich in dietary fiber, they assist the liver, intestines, stomach, and kidneys in eliminating bodily waste, earning them the reputation as "natural cleaners."
15. Lily Bulbs
Traditional Chinese medicine classifies lily bulbs as sweet with a slight bitterness and a mildly cold nature.They enter the Heart and Lung meridians, serving as a mildly nourishing tonic. They nourish yin and moisten the lungs, calm the mind and soothe the spirit, clear heat and promote urination, relieve coughing and asthma, and regulate the stomach while strengthening the spleen.
16. Apples
Also known as "pingpo," apples have a sweet and cool nature. They replenish spleen qi, nourish stomach yin, generate fluids to quench thirst, moisten the lungs, and delight the heart. They are hailed as guardians of cardiovascular health.Regular consumption improves respiratory and lung function. During busy work periods, inhaling the apple's fresh fragrance can refresh the mind and alleviate tension!
17. Lotus Root
Lotus root serves both as a fruit and a delicacy, suitable for both raw and cooked consumption. Whether raw or cooked, it possesses significant medicinal value.Traditional Chinese medicine considers raw lotus root to be cold in nature. Its sweet, cooling properties enter the stomach, helping to dispel blood stasis, clear heat, and alleviate thirst and vomiting. It is suitable for treating thirst, alcohol intoxication, coughing blood, and vomiting blood.
18. Broccoli
Autumn is the prime season to consume broccoli, as its stems contain the highest nutritional density during this period. Regular intake moistens the throat, improves vocal clarity, nourishes the lungs, and alleviates coughing. It also reduces the incidence of cancers like breast, colorectal, and stomach cancer, making it a delicious vegetable-medicine.
19. Dried Scallops
Dried scallops boast tender, savory meat while effectively nourishing yin, clearing internal heat, and tonifying the kidneys. Classical Chinese medical texts also document their efficacy in treating diabetes mellitus. For patients experiencing constant dry mouth, frequent urination, and weight loss, simmering dried scallops into soup can significantly alleviate symptoms.
20. Persimmons
Traditional Chinese medicine describes persimmons as sweet and astringent with a cool nature. They contain one to two times more vitamins and sugars than most fruits. Regular consumption in autumn nourishes the lungs, protects the stomach, and clears dry heat. Additionally, they effectively replenish deficiencies, relieve coughs, promote bowel movements, and reduce internal heat.Therefore, especially in late autumn, increasing persimmon intake is recommended to alleviate seasonal dryness.
21. Mung Beans Mung beans have long been valued as a remedy for clearing heat and detoxifying. They are ideal for reducing internal heat caused by autumn dryness or consuming greasy, fried foods. They also help eliminate toxins, lower cholesterol, and protect the liver.
22.Bananas
TCM Explanation: Bananas are cold in nature and sweet in taste. Ancient texts have long documented their nutritional value, with benefits including clearing heat and detoxifying, moistening the intestines and relieving constipation, moistening the lungs and stopping coughs, lowering blood pressure, and providing nourishment. They are a high-quality fruit, truly offering great value for the price. However, bananas have a cold nature, so those with stomach pain, abdominal coldness, or spleen-stomach deficiency-cold should consume them sparingly.