This phrase has been circulating online: "Starting from the first day of the Sanfu days, please do not drink iced beverages, as it will cause coldness to invade the body and be unable to be expelled. To expel the coldness from the body, one must insist on drinking hot water during the Sanfu days, which will force out the deep-seated coldness that has been in the bones for many years." Is there any scientific basis for this claim? During the Sanfu days, how should one prevent heatstroke and nourish the body scientifically?
Avoiding cold food is beneficial to the body, but it's not that magical.
"The Sanfu days occur between the Minor Heat and Major Heat solar terms. They are the hottest, most humid, and muggy days of the year and are indeed an important time for treating winter illnesses in summer. The practice in this message is beneficial for health, especially for those undergoing 'Sanfu moxibustion' therapy for winter illnesses and for some elderly and frail children. However, health cultivation focuses more on long-term habits. It's an exaggeration to say that you can expel years of deep-seated coldness from the bones in just ten days or a month," said Dr. Teng.
From a health cultivation perspective, it is recommended to eat foods that are close to the body's temperature. Even on hot summer days, avoid eating overly cold food. Healthy and strong individuals should eat less cold food for cooling. For those in a sub-healthy state, as well as the elderly and frail children, it is best to avoid cold food and all iced beverages.
There are two types of summer heatstroke.
Heatstroke is divided into two types: one is "yang heatstroke." Prolonged exposure to the scorching sun, such as for construction workers, police officers, and sanitation workers, can easily lead to an invasion of heat pathogen, consuming qi and damaging yin, causing dizziness, fatigue, thirst, headache, profuse sweating, flushed face, and elevated body temperature. This is called "yang heatstroke." At this time, one can take medicines like Ren Dan and Shi Di Shui, but note that warming medicines, such as Suhe Xiang Wan, should not be used.
The other type is "yin heatstroke." During the Sanfu days, summer heat is often mixed with dampness. In many places, air conditioning is set very high, creating a temperature difference of over 10 degrees Celsius between indoors and outdoors, such as in office buildings, hotels, and subways. People who work in such an environment for long periods have their pores constricted, their bodies cannot sweat, and heat cannot be dissipated, making them very susceptible to yin heatstroke. The symptoms of yin heatstroke are dizziness, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, loose stools, and a greasy tongue coating. At this time, one can drink Huoxiang Zhengshui water or undergo gua sha, but note that cold medicines and foods should not be consumed. "From a clinical perspective, more people suffer from yin heatstroke," said Dr. Teng.
For summer heat and dampness, drink more ginger tea.
Experts explain that excessive intake of cold food can cause dampness to invade the body. When external dampness enters the interior, it can impair the spleen's function in transporting and transforming fluids, leading to digestive dysfunction, fluid retention, and loss of appetite. According to the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine health cultivation, summer heat and dampness are particularly harmful to the spleen. Foods with a bitter taste have a drying effect and should not be consumed in excess. Therefore, daily diet should include more sweet-cool or sweet-cold foods. Furthermore, summer corresponds to the heart in the five elements, and the heart prefers coolness and benefits from sour foods. Thus, one should appropriately eat more sour foods in the summer, such as pineapple and watermelon.
As the saying goes, "Eat radishes in winter and ginger in summer." Ginger has a warming and nourishing effect, so one can eat more of it in the summer to replenish yang. Ginger is pungent and warm in nature, with various effects such as dispelling cold and inducing sweating, resolving phlegm and stopping coughs, harmonizing the stomach, and stopping nausea. Drinking ginger tea is a simple and convenient health method, and summer is the most suitable season for it.