The scorching summer heat can be unbearable. People often rely on cold drinks and foods like fruit juices and popsicles to beat the heat. In fact, the true treasures for summer heat prevention should be the following:
Salt Water: Traditional Chinese medicine calls "plain boiled water the king of all medicines." From a nutritional perspective, no sugary beverage can match the value of plain boiled water. Pure boiled water is quickly absorbed by the stomach after entering the body, enters the bloodstream to perform metabolic functions, and simultaneously regulates body temperature and cleanses the body's internal environment.
For drinking plain water, it is best to choose freshly cooled boiled water (20°C to 25°C) that has cooled naturally after boiling. This type of water has unique biological activity, easily penetrates the cell membrane to enter cells, and is quickly absorbed and utilized. It is best to add some salt when drinking plain water. In the hot summer, excessive sweating reduces the body's salt content, disrupting the body's osmotic balance and leading to heatstroke. Drinking more salt water or salt tea can replenish the lost salt and prevent heatstroke.
Tea: Experienced health professionals often advise people to replenish potassium by drinking tea. Potassium is an important trace element in the human body that maintains the normal function of nerves and muscles, especially the normal function of the heart muscle. If deficient in potassium, a person will feel tired and weak, and their heat tolerance will decrease. Severe potassium deficiency can lead to arrhythmia and general muscle weakness. Tea contains a relatively high amount of potassium, accounting for about 1.5% of its weight. Potassium is easily lost through sweat, so properly brewed tea should be the beverage of choice in summer.
aged vinegar: In summer, people drink more water, which reduces gastric acid and decreases appetite. A moderate amount of vinegar can increase the concentration of gastric acid, promote saliva to whet the appetite, and aid digestion. Adding vinegar during cooking can increase and concentrate gastric acid, thereby increasing appetite. Summer is also the season for infectious intestinal diseases, and vinegar can also enhance the bactericidal effect of the gastrointestinal tract. Additionally, adding a few drops of vinegar during cooking reduces the loss of vitamin C in vegetables and helps with the absorption of iron from food.
Mung Bean Soup: Mung bean soup has a unique effect of relieving summer heat and clearing heat. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that mung beans can relieve summer heat and replenish qi, clear heat and detoxify, moisten the throat and quench thirst, and promote urination to reduce swelling, preventing heatstroke. Related experiments have shown that mung beans have a significant effect on treating atherosclerosis, reducing cholesterol in the blood, and protecting the liver. The only drawback is that mung beans are too cooling in nature and are not suitable for people with a weak constitution.
Bitter Melon: Some people consider watermelon a summer treasure for beating the heat, but theoretically, the most appetizing, refreshing, and heat-clearing melon is actually bitter melon. Since ancient times, Chinese folklore has had the saying that "bitterness can clear heat" and "bitterness can strengthen the stomach." Traditional Chinese medicine believes that bitter melon is bitter in taste and cold in nature, and can clear heat and purge fire. The slightly bitter taste of bitter melon stimulates the secretion of saliva and gastric juice after consumption, greatly increasing appetite, clearing heat and preventing summer heat, making it very suitable for consumption in summer. Fresh bitter melon pounded into juice or decocted in a soup is an excellent auxiliary food therapy for liver fire causing red eyes, stomach heat causing thirst and vexation, stomach pain, and damp-heat dysentery. Bitter melon-infused cool tea is refreshing and relieves summer heat after drinking.
Ren Dan: Its main ingredients are menthol ice, talc, catechu, cloves, aucklandia, fennel, amomum, and dried tangerine peel. It has the effects of clearing heat and relieving summer heat, as well as repelling foulness and stopping vomiting. It is a common medicine for summer heat prevention. It is mainly used for symptoms caused by high temperatures, such as headache, dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain, and travel sickness. This medicine can promote intestinal peristalsis and relieve intestinal spasms. It is suitable for people with heatstroke, acute gastroenteritis, and excessive phlegm and cough.