Minor Heat Solar Terms and Health Preservation
Minor Heat occurs around mid-July each year, this year from July 7th to the 22nd. It reflects the intensity of summer heat; "Shu" means hot, and while Minor Heat is not the hottest time of the year, it is immediately followed by the hottest season, Major Heat. There is a folk saying, "Minor Heat and Major Heat, steaming above and boiling below." Minor Heat is a busy time for the public, planting vegetables and preparing for the winter. At this time, most parts of China are also busy with field management of summer and autumn crops. In the hot climate, due to excessive sweating and high energy consumption, combined with fatigue, people should not neglect the care for their bodies.
Keeping the Heart Calm
During the season of Minor Heat, the weather is hot, and people are prone to feeling irritable, anxious, tired, and weak. In self-care and exercise, one should follow the principle that the five zang-organs govern the seasons. Summer is governed by the heart, so one should protect heart-yang, calm the mind, and ensure the heart's function is vigorous, in accordance with the principle of "nourishing yang in spring and summer." The Spiritual Pivot says: "If joy and anger are not moderated, the organs will be injured." This is because the emotional activities of the human body are closely related to the internal organs and follow a certain pattern. Different emotional stimuli can damage different organs, causing different pathological changes. Traditional Chinese health preservation advocates the word "balance," meaning that under any circumstances, one should not be excessive. For example, excessive joy injures the heart. When the heart is injured, the heart races and the spirit is scattered, leading to an inability to concentrate, and in severe cases, mental illness. The heart is the master of the five zang-organs and six fu-organs; all life activities are a concentrated manifestation of the functions of the five organs, and all of this is governed by the heart. There is a saying, "When the heart moves, the five zang-organs and six fu-organs all shake." However, damage to the heart-spirit will inevitably involve other organs. In terms of emotions, joy is the emotion of the heart. This "joy" is about easing tension in a moderate way, making the mood happy and the qi and blood smooth. Therefore, the focus of summer health preservation is "keeping the heart calm," for when the heart is calm, nature feels cool.
Diet
The summer season is a time when digestive tract diseases are common. In terms of dietary conditioning, one should change bad habits such as irregular eating, unclean food, and partiality. The diet should be appropriate, light, and nutritious. The following foods are recommended:
Stir-fried Eel Slices As the saying goes, "Eel from Minor Heat is better than ginseng." The eels produced in the month around Minor Heat are the most nourishing and delicious. Summer is often a period of remission for chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis. Eel is warm in nature and sweet in taste, with effects such as tonifying the middle qi, nourishing the liver and spleen, expelling wind-dampness, and strengthening muscles and bones. According to the theory of "treating winter diseases in summer," Minor Heat is the best time to eat eel. Eel is high in protein, and its iron content is more than double that of carp and yellow croaker. It also contains various minerals and vitamins. Eel can also lower the concentration of cholesterol in the blood, prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases caused by arteriosclerosis, and has a good effect on diarrhea caused by indigestion. Stir-frying eel slices with garlic in vegetable oil is a simple method suitable for all ages.
Honey-glazed Lotus Root There is a folk custom of eating lotus root during Minor Heat. Lotus root contains a large amount of carbohydrates and rich calcium, phosphorus, iron, multiple vitamins, and dietary fiber. It has effects such as clearing heat, nourishing blood, and relieving vexation, making it suitable for summer consumption. Fresh lotus root can be simmered over low heat until tender, then sliced and mixed with an appropriate amount of honey for casual consumption. It has the effect of calming the mind and aiding sleep, and can treat blood-deficiency insomnia.
In addition, during Minor Heat, one should eat more stir-fried mung bean sprouts, which have the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying; vegetarian stir-fried bean skin, which has the effect of tonifying deficiency and stopping sweating; beef stewed with broad beans, which has the effect of strengthening the spleen to drain dampness and tonifying deficiency to strengthen the body; and watermelon and tomato juice, which has the effect of clearing heat, generating fluids, and quenching thirst. One can also often eat loofah, bitter melon, cucumber, winter melon, as well as freshwater fish, kelp, etc., which are all beneficial to the body.
Medicinal Tea
Hot weather has a great impact on the human body, so it is important to do a good job of preventing heatstroke and cooling down. The following cooling teas are recommended:
Mung Bean and Plum Tea Use 100g of mung beans and 30g of plums, decoct in water, add an appropriate amount of sugar, and let it cool to be consumed as tea. It has the effects of cooling and detoxifying, and generating fluids to quench thirst.
Heatstroke-Relieving and Detoxifying Tea Use 10g each of honeysuckle, forsythia, and fresh bamboo leaves, decoct in water to be consumed as tea. It has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying.
Heatstroke-Relieving and Dampness-Removing Tea Use 10g each of honeysuckle and mung bean skin, and 6g of mint, decoct in water to be consumed as tea. It has the effects of relieving summer heat, removing dampness, and generating fluids.
Heart-Cooling and Heatstroke-Relieving Tea Take 6g each of fresh bamboo leaf tips, lotus seed hearts, ophiopogon, and fresh agastache rugosa, decoct in water, let it cool, and drink as tea. It has the effects of relieving summer heat, strengthening the spleen and stomach, and aiding digestion.