Rx for the summer heat & Sunstroke: TCM

We're burning up with yang energy this summer and many people feel unwell and fatigued. But you can make traditional Chinese medicine dishes and herbal teas that boost your yin energy and cool you down, writes Zhang Qian.

This is a long, hot, steamy summer, and many people feel unwell in this unfriendly weather. Yet traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is user-friendly and offers healthy food that can lower your body heat and make you feel better during this heat wave - and all throughout the summer.

TCM is a treasure trove of medicinal foods such as congees, soups, other dishes and herbal teas that are good for you. And it recommends common sense changes in habits to help you feel better in the summer.

TCM is based on a holistic and dynamic system of yin and yang energy. Good health is believed to come from a balance of yin (negative, dark, cold, passive) and yang (positive, bright, warm, active) energy.

From a TCM perspective, many illnesses and medical problems often result from an imbalance caused by improper nutrition and unhealthy living. The seasons and temperature changes also can upset the yin/yang balance, and when this happens that balance and harmony need to be restored.

Certain foods and herbs have properties that increase the yin or the yang energy flow in our bodies, the heat or the cold, among other things. This, of course, is a great simplification, but in the case of summertime overheating, we need to cool down and increase the yin.

Some people feel very tired in hot weather, and lose their appetites. That's not uncommon. In more serious cases, people may feel ill all the time and run a low fever; they may lose weight rapidly. They may have watery stools and reddish urine. Their tongues may turn pale.

These are cases of summer sickness - it's not as dire as it sounds. Most of us just feel exhausted. If you have some or all of these symptoms, you may have what's called zhu xia, or summer fatigue.

Rx for the summer heat: TCM
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=325498&type=Feature