Cooling Off with "Cool" Remedies: Summer Tea Drinks for a Refreshing Summer
Every time we see the scorching sun outside, we chant to ourselves, "Avoid the summer heat, avoiding the summer heat is the most important thing." Reducing our time in the sun and minimizing the chances of getting sick is very important for us. Especially when it comes to diet, many illnesses are caused by what we eat! So, how can we correctly prevent heatstroke?
When you've just escaped the hot sun and hidden in an air-conditioned room, if you can immediately have a large, icy-cold drink, it will surely make many people want to shout "refreshing to the core" or "so refreshing" from the bottom of their hearts! However, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor warns that if you always treat your stomach like a refrigerator, you have to be careful not to end up with a "blocky" refrigerator-like figure and a high chance of obesity, and your skin can easily become dry.
Based on the clinical experience of veteran TCM doctors, many young girls today have grown up with ice cream and cola never far from their hands, disrupting the body's natural temperature regulation. The result is a host of illnesses.
How important is the temperature of our food? A TCM doctor explains that the human body is the most exquisite design in nature, but most people rarely appreciate its importance. They eat whatever they want, following their feelings, but this, due to the improper temperature and manner of eating, harms their health and lays the groundwork for future diseases.
Improper food temperature can be a silent killer to your health! For example, the low-carbon lifestyle is popular now, and everyone knows we should no longer use energy that harms the Earth. We should use the energy from nature's operations like solar power, wind, and tides to avoid polluting the Earth and causing secondary or tertiary harm. The human body is no different. The destruction of the Earth is caused by its rising temperature; similarly, if the human body's temperature fluctuates too much, it will lead to the destruction of health, giving rise to numerous diseases.
Fluctuating body temperature, whether hot or cold, is only harmful with no benefits. For instance, in summer, the outside temperature is high. To dissipate heat, the body constantly sweats. When sweating, a large amount of water from the blood and subcutaneous tissue is lost. Naturally, one wants to replenish fluids, but cold drinks are not the best choice. Li Shenpu emphasizes that it is not easy for the body to absorb and use cold drinks to replenish fluids because the low temperature only causes blood vessels to constrict, which in turn makes the blood thicker and the skin tissue drier.
Furthermore, the long-term habit of drinking cold drinks to quench thirst makes the body feel as if it's in a refrigerator, worsening gastrointestinal nutrition and metabolism. The body will also fear a lack of sufficient nutrition. Like a polar bear in an icy, snowy environment, to "survive the winter," the brain will order the body to store more fat, blood sugar, and heat, leading to weight gain. It can even lead to symptoms of high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol (the "three highs").
So, how should one quench their thirst in the summer? Room-temperature water is the perfect drink for quenching thirst. Cooling off shouldn't rely on frozen products; the body's temperature regulation must be gentle and gradual to not disrupt its natural rhythm and cause illness.
Summer Dietary Therapy Tips:
TCM believes that summer heat is a type of pathogenic yang energy that easily invades the upper Jiao (the chest and heart area). Excessive sweating can damage fluids and vital energy, leading to difficulty concentrating, tiredness, and limb weakness. Therefore, special tea drinks and acupressure points are provided for self-care.
The muggy weather can easily lead to heatstroke if you're not careful. In fact, heatstroke is divided into "yang heatstroke" and "yin heatstroke," with very different symptoms. TCM requires differentiated diagnosis and treatment, combined with tea drinks and acupressure points for self-care.
TCM believes that summer heat is a pathogenic yang energy that easily invades the upper Jiao (the chest and heart area). Heatstroke often presents with symptoms of body heat, excessive sweating, irritability, red face, thirst for cold water, small and yellow or burning urination, and a rapid pulse. Looking in the mirror, you can see the tongue is very red. In severe cases, convulsions, loss of consciousness, and cold limbs may occur, requiring immediate medical treatment.
Due to summer heat and excessive sweating, it's easy to damage fluids and vital energy, leading to symptoms of deficiency of both qi and yin, such as a heavy head, dizziness, inability to concentrate, tired and weak limbs, dry mouth and throat, and a pale face.
High and humid temperatures often cause gastrointestinal discomfort, with the spleen and stomach losing their proper function, leading to symptoms like abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, chest tightness, nausea, loss of appetite, and bloating. Looking in the mirror, you can see a thick, greasy white coating on the tongue.
The following are some health-promoting tea drinks and acupressure point massages to prevent heatstroke. Enjoy your tea and massage these points easily to ward off the summer heat!
Cooling Tea Drinks for a Refreshing Summer
Jinyin Cuiyu Drink
Ingredients: 20g of watermelon rind (the white part of the watermelon), 1 qian of honeysuckle, 0.5 qian of mint, 1 qian of raw licorice root.
Method: Wash the ingredients, place them in a filter bag, and put them in a thermos. Pour in 800cc of boiling water, let it steep for 20 minutes, and then drink as tea.
Effects: Clears the heart, cools summer heat, and purges heat. Not suitable for those with a deficient and cold constitution or symptoms of a cold.
Jinqi Shengmai Drink
Ingredients: 3 qian of American ginseng, 2 qian of ophiopogon root, 1 qian of schisandra berry, 0.5 qian of bamboo leaves.
Method: Wash the herbs, place them in a filter bag, and put them in a thermos. Pour in 800cc of boiling water, let it steep for 20 minutes, and then drink as tea.
Effects: Cools summer heat, replenishes qi, nourishes yin, and generates fluids. Not suitable for those with a deficient and cold constitution or symptoms of a cold.
Xiangru Xiaoshu Drink
Ingredients: 1 qian of Agastache rugosa, 1 qian of perilla leaves, 2 qian of dried tangerine peel, 2 qian of Poria cocos.
Method: Wash the herbs, place them in a filter bag and put them in a thermos. Pour in 800cc of boiling water, let it steep for 20 minutes, and then drink as tea.
Effects: Cools summer heat, releases the exterior, transforms dampness, and harmonizes the stomach. Not suitable for those who suddenly faint from heatstroke.
Acupressure Point Massage to Ward Off Summer Heat
Apply a cold compress to the following acupoints with a wet towel for 5 minutes each, then combine with massage and deep breathing. Massage each point on both sides 20 times. These points have the effects of clearing heat, cooling summer heat, and reducing heart fire.
Governor Vessel Dazhui Point (GV14): Located on the back of the neck at the highest point of the cervical vertebrae when you lower your head. When symptoms similar to heatstroke appear, tapping the Dazhui point can help disperse the accumulated heat in the body, expel wind, clear heat, and replenish qi.
Pericardium Channel Neiguan Point (PC6): Located 2 cun (3 finger-widths) directly above the center of the wrist crease. It can soothe emotional tension, calm the mind, improve chest tightness, and reduce nausea and other gastrointestinal discomforts.
Lung Channel Chize Point (LU5): At the elbow crease, near the tendon of the biceps brachii muscle, in the direction of the thumb. It can clear lung heat and eliminate summer heat.
Bladder Channel Weizhong Point (BL40): Located in the center of the popliteal crease at the back of the knee. Regular massage can clear heat and cool the blood.