Summer Prone to Heatstroke, 10 Fruits to Relieve It

Introduction: Summer cold, also known as heat-cold, is a common type of cold in the summer, caused by the invasion of wind-heat pathogens and the disharmony of lung qi. Symptoms include high fever, slight aversion to wind, a heavy headache, sweating, red, swollen, and sore throat, cough, sticky or yellow phlegm, nasal congestion with yellow discharge, thirst with a preference for drinking, a red tip and edges of the tongue, and a thin, white, slightly yellow tongue coating. To recover quickly from a summer cold, besides medication, consuming some cold-natured fruits that clear heat and detoxify can effectively help fight off the cold. So, do you know what fruits are suitable for a summer cold? Below, we introduce 10 types of fruits suitable for eating when you have a summer cold.

1. Strawberry

Strawberries are highly nutritious and rich in vitamin C. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, strawberries are considered sweet and cool in nature, and they influence the Spleen, Stomach, and Lung meridians. They have the effects of moistening the lungs and generating fluids, strengthening the spleen and harmonizing the stomach, promoting urination to reduce swelling, and clearing heat to relieve summer heat. They are suitable for lung-heat cough, loss of appetite, scanty urination, and summer heat vexation and thirst. Strawberries are rich in vitamins C and B, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium, and they still hold a place in herbal medicine today. Its leaves, when boiled, can be used as an astringent to treat diarrhea, fever, mouth ulcers, and gum diseases.

Eating strawberries when you have a summer cold can help generate fluids and relieve summer heat. In the summer, if you feel your mouth is dry or your throat is sore, you can eat strawberries to alleviate the symptoms. Eating just five or six strawberries a day can satisfy the body's daily vitamin C requirement, making them an inexpensive and effective weapon against colds.

Matcha Strawberry Cake Roll

2. Apple

Eating apples raw allows you to fully absorb the vitamins, organic acids, pectin, and flavonoids in them. These nutrients give apples the effects of promoting intestinal peristalsis, aiding bowel movements and detoxification, lowering blood lipids, and preventing colds. Apple juice contains a large amount of vitamin C, which can not only supplement the body's nutritional needs but also neutralize toxins in the body. There are many ways to eat apples. A common method is to stew them with soaked tremella, goji berries, and red dates to make a soup that moistens the lungs and relieves coughing. You can also juice apples, which has a certain effect on treating hoarseness and preventing coughs.

Apple Pie

3. Starfruit

Starfruit is cool and cold in nature, with abundant juice. It has the effects of generating fluids to quench thirst, clearing heat and detoxifying, and promoting urination. Modern nutritional research has found that starfruit contains various organic acids such as malic acid, citric acid, and oxalic acid. After consumption, these can increase the acidity of gastric juice, stimulate appetite, and aid digestion. Starfruit is effective for those with a summer cold accompanied by cough and sore throat. After washing it clean, cut off the edges with a bitter taste, then cut it into strips to enjoy. Since the tip of the starfruit is generally sweeter than the stem end, it's best to eat it in strips rather than a star shape to ensure a more uniform sweetness in each piece. If you eat it from the tip to the end, it will become sweeter and more fragrant as you go.

Starfruit Orange Juice

4. Water Chestnut

Water chestnuts are suitable for people with a summer cold who have a yellow cough, swollen and sore throat, and a dry mouth with thirst. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, a summer cold is an exterior syndrome caused by the invasion of wind-heat pathogens. Water chestnuts are considered a cold-natured food with the effects of clearing heat and purging fire, promoting urination and bowel movements, and cooling the blood to detoxify. It can both clear heat and generate fluids, and also supplement nutrition, making it especially suitable for patients in the early stages of a fever. In terms of nutrition, water chestnuts are rich in carbohydrates but are not very high in calories. They are also rich in phosphorus and an antibacterial component called puchiin, which is beneficial for the development of bones and teeth, promotes the metabolism of sugars, fats, and proteins in the body, and also has an inhibitory effect on bacteria like E. coli.

Pear and Lotus Root with Water Chestnut Soup

5. Pear

Pears have the effects of reducing heat, generating fluids, and moistening the lungs. Pears are nutritious and can improve the respiratory system and lung function. Western medical research has found that people who often eat pears have a much lower chance of catching a cold than those who rarely eat them. Each pear contains about 10 grams of dietary fiber, which can meet 40% of the body's daily requirement for fiber. This fiber can help lower cholesterol levels in the body. When eating pears, do not peel them, as the peel also has a moisturizing effect and is even richer in fiber.

For patients with a summer cold, you can take one raw pear, wash it, cut it into pieces with the skin on, add rock sugar, and stew it in water to drink orally for a good therapeutic effect. Snowflake pears have the effect of clearing heat and moistening the lungs, making them the best choice for stewed rock sugar pear water. Other types of pears can be chosen according to preference: fragrant pears are sweet with a strong aroma; Nanguo pears have a rich flavor; Hosui pears are tender and juicy; and Bosc pears have a delicate flesh.

Rock Sugar Steamed Pear