The summer climate is hot, with many factors affecting health. Therefore, to get through the summer safely, the following life and dietary plans can lend you a hand. 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, capable of killing pyogenic staphylococci in a short time. It has a preventive effect against intestinal infectious diseases such as typhoid and dysentery. When people are prone to fatigue, drowsiness, and discomfort in the summer, eating more vinegar can quickly relieve fatigue and maintain abundant energy. Best Vegetable—Bitter Vegetables
High temperatures and humidity in summer often make people listless, tired, chest tight, dizzy, loss of appetite, and lead to weight loss. 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 of the season, which damages kidney qi and burdens 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 vegetables, lettuce, celery, dandelion, lotus seeds, and lily are all excellent choices. Best Soup—Tomato Soup
Drinking more tomato soup in the summer can provide nutrients and replenish water, killing two birds with one stone. Tomato soup (best cooled before drinking) contains lycopene, which has certain anti-prostate cancer and heart-protective effects, making it especially suitable for men. Recommended soups: Soy Pork Trotter Soup, Osmanthus and Dried Longan Stuffed Pigeon Soup, Mushroom and Chicken Soup, Egg and Milk Crucian Carp Soup, Winter Melon and Meatball Soup. Best Meat—Duck
Don't think that only light foods are suitable for summer; you can also nourish yourself in summer, the key is to choose the right supplements. Here, we recommend duck meat. Duck meat is not only rich in nutrients like protein that people urgently need in summer, but it can also prevent and treat diseases. Its secret lies in the fact that ducks are aquatic fowl with a cold nature. From the perspective of the traditional Chinese medical principle of "treating heat with cold," it is especially suitable for people with internal heat and "fire," such as low fever, weakness, poor appetite, dry stools, and edema, which are common in summer. Duck stewed with ham and sea cucumber produces duck broth that is good for nourishing the yin of the five organs; duck congee 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, high blood pressure, and heart disease; duck and bamboo shoot stew can treat hemorrhoids bleeding. Best Beverage—Hot Tea
Summer is inseparable from drinks, but 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 100 grams 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 power of hot tea far exceeds that of cold drinks, making it the best among summer heat-relieving drinks. Best Nutrient—Vitamin E
Vitamins can help you get through the summer safely, and the "best" crown belongs to none other than vitamin E. German scientists emphasize that people face three major dangers in summer: strong sunlight, ozone, and fatigue, and vitamin E can minimize these three dangers. Vitamin E is abundant in foods such as malt, bran bread, walnut paste, and dairy products, so you can have more of them in the summer. If necessary, you can also take vitamin E tablets, with 15-60 mg per day being sufficient.