Facing the wide variety of drinks in the supermarket, people mostly choose based on flavor. In fact, drinks are also categorized as "cool" or "hot" in nature. You should select them according to your body's constitution to drink healthily.
Warm or hot-natured drinks mainly include the following: juices made with ingredients like hawthorn, peach, coconut, papaya, apricot, waxberry, orange, cherry, lychee, and pomegranate are considered warm or hot; among carbonated drinks, only cola is warm; coffee and coffee-based drinks are warm; and among tea drinks, black tea is warm.
Cool or cold-natured drinks include the following: juices made with ingredients like banana, orange, pomelo, lemon, pear, kiwi, loquat, strawberry, sugarcane, mango, and watermelon are considered cool or cold; among vegetable juices, cucumber juice and tomato juice are both cool; among tea drinks, green tea is cool; and various herbal teas, with Chinese herbs as their main ingredient, have a cool nature.
Drinks with a neutral nature include the following: juices made with ingredients like apple, pineapple, and grape have a relatively neutral nature; oolong tea is neither cool nor hot, making it a neutral tea drink; among vegetable juices, common carrot juice has a relatively neutral nature; milk tea and other dairy-based drinks are generally neutral or cool, which is mainly related to their ingredients. Since milk is cool, when mixed with warm black tea to make milk tea, its nature becomes neutral. However, if cool ingredients like fruit are added, it becomes cool.
Now that we know drinks have cool and hot natures, how should we choose them? Drinks with a neutral nature have few restrictions when consumed. For those troubled by "heatiness" symptoms such as a red tongue, yellow tongue coating, dry mouth, thirst, constipation, or a sore throat, it is best to drink fewer hot or warm beverages. For individuals with a "deficient-cold" constitution who often feel cold, sensitive to wind, sweat profusely, or have clear and frequent urination, it is not advisable to drink too many cool or cold beverages, as this can not only worsen the above discomfort but, in severe cases, may even lead to abdominal pain or diarrhea. Additionally, women during their menstrual period, postpartum mothers, people with wind-cold colds, the elderly, and infants should not drink cool or cold beverages.
Furthermore, when choosing drinks, you should also consider your individual needs. For example, teachers, announcers, and others often troubled by acute or chronic pharyngitis with symptoms like a dry or itchy throat may find green tea and pear juice to be good choices. A good memory is an important guarantee for students to improve their learning efficiency, making apple juice particularly suitable for them, as the zinc in apples can promote brain development and enhance memory. Citrus, strawberry, and kiwi juices are rich in vitamin C, making them especially suitable for people with low immunity who often catch colds. For friends who spend all day with computers, vitamin A, a key substance relied upon by the retina for light perception, is consumed in large amounts. This can lead to dry, painful, light-sensitive eyes, and even a decline in vision. Drinking papaya juice and carrot juice regularly is a good choice.
It is important to note that you should not drink beverages right after a heavy meal. It is best to drink them between meals or 20-30 minutes before a meal.