Introduction: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that "summer qi corresponds to heart qi" and "sweat is the fluid of the heart". For health preservation during the beginning of summer, one should go to bed early and wake up early, focus on nourishing yang, in order to correspond with the growth of all things.
After the beginning of summer, all things flourish and the temperature gradually rises, making health preservation especially important at this time.
Professor Hu Sumin from the School of Basic Medical Sciences at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine said that after the beginning of summer, people's physiological states will also undergo certain changes. TCM believes that "summer qi corresponds to heart qi" and "sweat is the fluid of the heart". Therefore, for health preservation during the beginning of summer, one should go to bed early and wake up early, focus on nourishing yang, in order to correspond with the growth of all things. Thus, one should avoid excessive sweating, as "over-sweating" damages yang. It is also important to maintain a happy mood and avoid anger.
Furthermore, different conditioning methods should be adopted for different physical conditions.
If symptoms such as dry mouth and throat, occasional vexation in the heart, and hot palms and soles appear, one should reduce outdoor activities and eat a light diet. You can eat more foods like sesame seeds, glutinous rice, honey, dairy products, and fish. For pungent foods like scallions, ginger, garlic, chives, and pepper, you should eat less.
Those with a pale complexion who often feel drowsy should eat more foods that have the effect of strengthening yang, such as mutton and beef. During the beginning of summer, one should also take advantage of the prosperous yang of heaven and earth by getting more sun exposure.
Sweating easily is a sign of qi deficiency. One should eat more grains like japonica rice, glutinous rice, and millet, as well as yams, potatoes, and red dates to replenish qi.
Frequent dizziness, blurred vision, palpitations, insomnia, and numbness in the hands and feet are signs of blood deficiency. You can eat more blood-nourishing and blood-enriching foods such as lychees, pine nuts, black fungus, spinach, carrots, pork, mutton, and the liver of cattle or sheep.
If you feel the summer heat is unbearable, with a flushed face, vexation, and thirst, you should eat less spicy food and eat more fruits and vegetables, such as bananas, watermelons, persimmons, bitter melon, tomatoes, and lotus root.
If the complexion is dull and dark, the lips are dark, there is a tendency to bleed easily, and the tongue is purplish-dark or has ecchymosis, one should avoid the invasion of dampness after the beginning of summer and eat more foods with the effect of activating blood circulation, such as peach kernels and rapeseed.
Those who are overweight and drowsy should exercise more and not eat too much at each meal.
Those with a sallow or lusterless complexion and emotional instability should not focus on regulating their breath as the weather gradually gets hot after the beginning of summer. Eat more foods that can move qi, such as oranges, tangerine peels, buckwheat, chives, fennel, and garlic.
In addition, the beginning of summer is a time of fastest development for children. Therefore, daily life and diet should pay great attention to the nutritional needs for children's growth and development, supplementing calcium, vitamins, and food nutrients in a timely manner. Special attention should be paid to the clothing and physical exercise of children and adolescents.