Increase Intake of Bitter Foods
During the hottest summer days, the body sweats profusely and expends significant energy. Health preservation must focus on replenishing strength, cooling the body, and preventing heatstroke. Consume more bitter foods like bitter lettuce, celery, fennel, cilantro, bitter melon, and radish leaves. The alkaloids in bitter foods possess pharmacological effects such as relieving summer heat, promoting blood circulation, and dilating blood vessels, making them natural summer health tonics.
Additionally, during the dog days, maintain a light diet, regular sleep patterns, and moderate exercise. Pay attention to mental adjustment by calming the mind, soothing the spirit, avoiding irritability, and suppressing anger to prevent internal heat buildup.
Furthermore, drink moderate amounts of cool beverages, lightly salted water, or mung bean soup. Bathe with warm water and avoid the temptation of cold showers for immediate relief.Avoid prolonged sun exposure or outdoor activities during midday or peak heat hours. Carry remedies like Ren Dan pills, Ten-Drop Water, Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, or cooling ointment. If someone shows signs of heatstroke, immediately move them to a ventilated area. Offering diluted salt water, mung bean soup, watermelon juice, or plum soup can be highly effective.
Increase wheat consumption
Dumplings for the first heat wave, noodles for the second, and pancakes with eggs for the third—all are wheat-based staples. While wheat provides energy and B vitamins as a staple food, it also offers numerous medicinal and dietary benefits to help us navigate the peak summer heat.
Wheat bran has a coarse texture, and in pursuit of a high-quality lifestyle, we often discard it—which is truly regrettable. "Wheat bran also possesses certain medicinal properties, helping to relieve restlessness and quench thirst," says Lü Peiwan, Deputy Chief Physician of the Acupuncture Department at Hunan Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.Additionally, it boasts high nutritional value, rich in B vitamins, dietary fiber, and antioxidants like vitamin E and selenium. Modern research indicates wheat bran may help prevent colorectal and colon cancers.
We're gradually recognizing wheat bran's benefits—it's widely available in supermarkets at affordable prices.
For breakfast, stir a spoonful into milk—if time permits, briefly simmer it. It also pairs well with millet porridge or soy milk, offering rich nutrition and easy digestion. Truly a versatile ingredient.
Increase Lamb Consumption
Enjoying lamb—a common winter tonic—during summer is a wise choice.Modern people are overly fond of cold things—guzzling one icy drink after another, sitting under air conditioning all day. Yet the health consequences are obvious: cold beverages irritate the stomach and intestines, disrupting digestive function, while air conditioning can cause widespread muscle and joint pain.
The Tang Dynasty physician Sun Simiao even noted that frailty and illness in old age stem from excessive cold exposure in youth.Cold stagnates, warmth unblocks. At this time, consuming warming lamb helps disperse lingering cold within the body and unblock the meridians. Similar principles apply elsewhere—ginger, for instance, is a warming food. If you wake up with a headache after sleeping under air conditioning all night, a bowl of ginger and sugar water can provide relief. As the old saying goes, "Eat radishes in winter and ginger in summer," embodying this very wisdom.
Lamb consumption should be tailored to individual constitutions. Those with a cold-prone constitution may tolerate it well even in summer, while those with a heat-prone constitution should avoid excessive intake. Additionally, lamb's high protein content may trigger allergies in some. For most people, especially those constantly in air-conditioned environments, sharing a stewed or hotpot meal with family is an excellent choice.