Summer is the season with the highest temperatures of the year, and the human body's metabolism is very vigorous. People are easily affected by the hot summer temperatures, and various physiological functions, such as appetite, will change. So, how should we adjust our physical condition during this hot summer? The lifestyle editor has specially prepared the most suitable health and wellness knowledge for you to help you spend this summer healthily and happily.
1. Best Condiment—Vinegar
In the hot summer, sweating is heavy. Eating more vinegar can increase stomach acid concentration, aid digestion and absorption, and stimulate appetite. Vinegar also has a strong ability to inhibit bacteria, and can kill pyogenic staphylococcus in a short time. It has a preventive effect on intestinal infectious diseases such as typhoid and dysentery.
In summer, people are prone to fatigue, drowsiness, and discomfort. Eating more vinegar can quickly relieve fatigue and maintain abundant energy.
2. Best Vegetable—Bitter Vegetables
High temperatures and high humidity in summer often make people listless, tired, chest tight, dizzy, lose their appetite, and lose weight. At this time, eating bitter vegetables is very beneficial. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the reason people feel unwell in summer is due to the heavy heat and dampness, which damages kidney qi and weakens the spleen and stomach. Bitter foods can balance the body's functions through their effects of tonifying qi, securing the kidneys, strengthening the spleen, and drying dampness.
Modern scientific research also proves that bitter vegetables are rich in alkaloids, amino acids, bitter substances, vitamins, and minerals that have the functions of relieving summer heat, reducing fever, eliminating vexation, refreshing the mind, and strengthening the stomach. Bitter melon, bitter herbs, lettuce, celery, dandelion, lotus seeds, and lily are all excellent choices.
3. Best Soup—Tomato Soup
Drinking more tomato soup in summer can not only provide nutrients but also replenish water, killing two birds with one stone. Tomato soup (best cooled before drinking) contains lycopene, which has certain anti-prostate cancer and heart-protecting effects, making it most suitable for men.
4. Best Meat—Duck
Don't think that summer is only suitable for light food. You can also nourish yourself in the summer; the key is to choose the right supplements.
Here we recommend duck. Duck is not only rich in nutrients like protein that people urgently need in the summer, but it can also prevent and treat diseases. Its mystery lies in the fact that ducks are aquatic birds with a cold nature. From the perspective of the traditional Chinese medicine principle of "treating heat with cold," it is especially suitable for people with internal heat and "fire," such as low-grade fever, weakness, poor appetite, dry stools, and edema, which are common in summer. Duck stewed with ham and sea cucumber produces duck soup that is good for nourishing the yin of the five organs; duck porridge cooked with glutinous rice has the effects of nourishing the stomach, replenishing blood, and promoting body fluids, which is very beneficial for post-illness weakness; duck stewed with kelp can soften blood vessels and lower blood pressure, preventing and treating arteriosclerosis, hypertension, and heart disease; duck stewed with bamboo shoots can treat hemorrhoids.
5. Best Drink—Hot Tea
In summer, you can't do without drinks. The first choice is not various cold drinks, beer, or coffee, but the very common hot tea.
Tea is rich in potassium (the average potassium content in 100g of tea is 10.7 mg for green tea and 24.1 mg for black tea), which quenches thirst and relieves fatigue.
According to experiments by British experts, the cooling ability of hot tea far exceeds that of cold drinks, making it the best among summer heat-relieving beverages.
6. Best Nutrient—Vitamin E
Vitamins can help you get through the summer safely, and the "best" crown goes to none other than vitamin E.
German scientists emphasize that people encounter three major dangers in summer: strong sunlight, ozone, and fatigue. Vitamin E can minimize these three dangers. Vitamin E is abundant in foods such as malt, bran bread, walnut paste, and dairy products. You can eat more of these in summer. If necessary, you can also take vitamin E pills, 15-60 mg per day is enough.
7. Best Exercise—Swimming
The best exercise in summer is swimming.
Swimming not only exercises the body's hands, feet, waist, and abdomen, but also benefits internal organs such as the heart, brain, lungs, and liver. It is especially beneficial for blood vessels and is known as "vascular gymnastics."
In addition, because the calories burned in the water are significantly higher than on land, swimming can also reduce excess weight and achieve a fitness effect.
8. Best Clothing Color—Red
Many people think that white clothes are the best for summer, but red is actually better.
The mystery lies in the fact that red has the longest visible light wave and can absorb a large amount of ultraviolet rays from the sun, protecting the skin from damage, preventing skin aging and even cancer, while other colors (including white) have a weaker effect in this regard.
As for the fabric, a blended T-shirt is best, with the optimal blend being 33% cotton and 67% polyester.
9. Best Cooling "Appliance"—Fan
From a fitness perspective, the best cooling "appliance" is a fan.
Although the fan is an "antique," its fitness effect is incomparable to any other modern cooling equipment. Fanning is a form of exercise that can exercise the limbs (if you consciously switch to using your left hand to fan, you can also get the unexpected benefit of activating the right brain, developing its potential, and preventing stroke). At the same time, the wind from a fan is the most pleasant.
10. Best Health Measure—Regular Bedtime and Wake-up Time
In summer, the days are long, with early dawns and late dusks.
Therefore, people's daily routines and schedules should be adjusted accordingly. It is best to sleep late and wake up early, and you should try to be as regular as possible with your bedtime and wake-up time. "Regular" is the requirement of the body's biological clock.
If you can be regular all year round, it can create a "dynamic stereotype," giving the body the best adaptability and predictability. In summer, you should set a strict bedtime and wake-up time for yourself and never violate it without reason, even on rest days. The best bedtime in summer is 22:00-23:00, and the best wake-up time is 5:30-6:30.
The hot summer weather can easily affect people's sleep, but once you develop the habit of a regular bedtime and wake-up time, it will be easier to exclude the interference of climate on your sleep. You will wake up naturally and comfortably in the morning, and your body's biological clock will not have a "wrong time" phenomenon, and various physiological rhythms can run smoothly.