Knowing how to “nourish the heart” is the key to health preservation in summer. Summer is the time of abundance when all things in nature grow fast and are in bloom. During this period, people should be happy and avoid anxiety, cultivate themselves and remain calm. Only when yin qi is nourished and yang qi rises, will the people reach a state of harmony of mind and body in summer.

Balance cold and warm, and develop an “individualized” diet

In summer, the diet should be light with few greasy foods. Food as well as herbs such as Common Yam Rhizome (Shān Yào, Rhizoma Dioscoreae), Coix Seed (Yì Yĭ Rén, Semen Coicis) and red beans, which moisten dryness and eliminate dampness, can be put into porridge to fortify the spleen, boost qi, drain water and eliminate edema.

Bitter foods, such as bitter melon and mustard, or cold foods such as watermelon or mung bean, can be taken in a moderate way. Excessive ingestion of cold drinks, dishes, vegetables and fruits in greed should be avoided.

Generally speaking, people can eat some cool foods as it is hot in summer. But traditional Chinese medicine believes that yin and yang are rooted in each other, and that “yang cannot grow without yin; yin cannot exist without yang”. If we eat too much cold and cool food, the body will be harmed and internal cold will ensue. Therefore, for people with deficiency cold in the spleen and stomach, eating warm and hot food is important for health preservation.

It is well known that “radish in winter and Ginger in summer keeps the doctor away”. Ginger represents warm and hot food. As the yang qi of the spleen and the stomach are deficient in summer, ginger helps to warm the spleen and the stomach. At the same time, Ginger has the effect of dissipating, which can be used to disperse the exuberant yang qi on body surface through sweating.