🌿 Folk Prescriptions

July 7th is the Minor Heat solar term. “When the Big Dipper points to Xin, it is Minor Heat; the weather is already hot, but not yet at its peak, hence the name.” The sun’s ecliptic longitude is 105 degrees. The weather is already very hot, but not yet the hottest. Thus, it is called Minor Heat. By Minor Heat, it is already the beginning of the three fu periods. Everywhere is lush with green trees and shade. Many regions have average temperatures approaching 30°C, with occasional heatwaves. Heavy rains often strike much of China during the Minor Heat period. Due to concentrated rainfall, flood prevention and drainage are particularly important. Folk wisdom says: “Major Heat and Minor Heat, floods drown rats.” There is also: “Minor Heat south wind, Major Heat drought,” and “Minor Heat thunder, Major Heat breach.” If there is a south wind during Minor Heat, Major Heat will surely lack rain—meaning Minor Heat should avoid south winds, otherwise drought will follow. If thunder occurs on Minor Heat, major flooding will breach embankments.
In southern coastal areas of China, including Taiwan, Minor Heat coincides with typhoon season. *Taiwan Fu Zhi* records: “Strong, violent winds are called hurricanes; even stronger are called typhoons… Typhoons often last for days, sometimes continuing through the night. Those occurring in May, June, July, and August are called typhoons.”
During Minor Heat, fireflies begin to become active. Reed beds and grasslands are their breeding grounds. Wherever there is greenery and dew, one can see flickering white lights at night—like stars twinkling and moving gently in the breeze, accompanying people through long summer nights. At this time, most parts of China are busy managing summer and autumn crops. Because it is a busy season, we must not neglect physical care.
In Laozi’s *Dao De Jing*: “Thus, Dao is great, heaven is great, earth is great, and man is also great. Among the four greats in the universe, man occupies one.” Xunzi further states: “Fire and water have qi but no life; grass and trees have life but no knowledge; birds and beasts have knowledge but no righteousness. Humans have life, knowledge, and righteousness—thus, humans are the most precious in the world.” *Su Wen·Bao Ming Quan Xing Lun* also says: “Heaven covers, earth bears, all things are complete—none is more precious than man.” The Daoist classic *Tai Ping Jing* repeatedly emphasizes valuing life, nurturing the body, and enjoying life while fearing death. It states: “Humans exist between heaven and earth; each person has only one life, not reborn.” Thus, life must be cherished. “The most virtuous thing for humans is to always wish for life.” This led to the “self-love and self-care” health philosophy: “To avoid disasters and dangers, and attain longevity, one must understand self-love, self-care, and self-preservation. By nurturing oneself in this way, one can avoid harm.” This shows that only through self-care and active exercise can one achieve a long life.
During Minor Heat, the climate is hot. People easily feel restless, anxious, and fatigued. In self-care and exercise, we should follow the principle that the heart governs summer, thus protecting heart yang, maintaining peace of mind, and ensuring robust heart function to conform to the “nurture yang in spring and summer” principle. *Ling Shu·Bai Bing Shi Sheng* says: “Uncontrolled joy or anger harms the zang organs.” This is because emotional activities are closely linked to internal organs, following certain patterns. Different emotional stimuli harm different organs, causing varied pathological changes. TCM health preservation emphasizes the “peace” principle—avoid extremes in any situation. For example, excessive joy harms the heart; heart injury leads to palpitations, mental instability, scattered thoughts, and even mental disorders. The heart is the supreme ruler of all zang-fu organs. All life activities are concentrated manifestations of zang-fu functions, with the heart as the master. As the saying goes: “When the heart moves, all zang-fu organs tremble.” Yet, heart damage inevitably affects other organs. In emotional terms, joy is the heart’s emotion. This “joy” should be moderate—relaxing tension, bringing comfort and smooth qi. Thus, emphasizing “calmness” in summer health preservation is precisely this reason.
Summer is also a season prone to gastrointestinal diseases. Dietary adjustment should change bad habits like overeating, unclean food, and dietary bias. Food intake should be moderate. Too little food leads to insufficient intake, lack of nutrient source, resulting in weakness, fatigue, reduced vital energy, lowered resistance, and secondary illnesses. Overeating exceeds the digestive, absorptive, and transformative capacity of the spleen and stomach, causing food stagnation, leading to abdominal distension, belching, acid reflux, loss of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea—known as “food injury to the spleen and stomach.” *Su Wen·Bi Lun Pian* states: “Overeating injures the intestines and stomach”—this is the principle of dietary moderation.
Unclean diet is a major cause of many gastrointestinal diseases, such as dysentery and parasitic infections. Consuming spoiled or toxic food can lead to food poisoning, causing abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and in severe cases, coma or death.
Dietary bias is one cause of nutritional deficiencies. Only balanced dietary adjustment ensures sufficient nutrients for the body. Dietary bias includes extremes of cold or heat, and imbalance in the five tastes. Eating too many raw, cold, and cooling foods can damage spleen and stomach yang, causing internal cold and dampness, leading to abdominal pain and diarrhea. Overindulgence in pungent, warm, and drying foods can generate internal heat, causing thirst, abdominal fullness, pain, constipation, and eventually hemorrhoids. The imbalance of the five tastes refers to the fact that mental and physical energy arise from the five tastes. Each taste corresponds to a zang organ: sour enters the liver, bitter enters the heart, sweet enters the spleen, salty enters the kidney. Long-term preference for one taste causes imbalance in organ functions, damaging internal organs and leading to disease. For example, excessive salt intake causes blood stagnation and dull complexion; too much bitter taste causes dry skin and hair loss; too much pungent taste causes tendon contraction and brittle nails; too much sour taste causes thickened skin, wrinkled lips, and peeling; too much sweet taste causes bone pain and hair loss. Crucially, extreme preferences not only cause malnutrition but also damage the spleen and stomach and other organs, leading to beriberi, night blindness, and goiter. Therefore, I recommend balancing the five tastes (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty) in therapeutic diets. Avoid picky eating in daily life, and observe dietary restrictions when ill. As *Qian Jin Yao Fang·Yang Xing Xu* says: “Do not eat when extremely hungry; food should not be overabundant. Do not drink when extremely thirsty; drink should not be excessive. Overeating leads to accumulation; excessive drinking leads to phlegm and dampness.” People are most prone to overeating and overdrinking when extremely hungry or thirsty. Thus, even when starving or parched, eat slowly. Also, do not force yourself to eat when lacking appetite. The Liang Dynasty physician Tao Hongjing in *Yang Xing Yan Ming Lu* warned: “Drinking when not thirsty causes stomach bloating; eating when not hungry causes spleen fatigue.”
All the above points highlight the importance of dietary moderation, cleanliness, and variety.
Minor Heat Season Recipes:
Stir-Fried Mung Bean Sprouts:
[Ingredients] Fresh mung bean sprouts 500 g, a few peppercorns, vegetable oil, white vinegar, salt, MSG as needed.
[Preparation] Wash and dry sprouts. Heat oil in a wok, add peppercorns, cook until fragrant. Add sprouts, stir-fry briefly, pour in white vinegar, continue stir-frying for several minutes. Add salt and MSG before serving.
[Efficacy] Clears heat and toxins, treats sores and ulcers.
Sautéed Bean Skin:
[Ingredients] Two sheets of bean skin, vegetable oil, salt, scallions, MSG as needed.
[Preparation] Cut bean skin into strips. Wash and chop scallions. Heat oil to 60% temperature, add scallions, cook until fragrant. Add bean skin, stir-fry, add salt, cook for several minutes, add MSG, drizzle with sesame oil, mix well, and serve.
[Efficacy] Tonifies deficiency, stops sweating. Suitable for those with excessive sweating, spontaneous sweating, or night sweats.

Vegetarian Braised Wheat Gluten: Selected from *Sui Xi Ju Yin Shi Pu*
[Ingredients] Wheat gluten 500 g, scallions, ginger, salt, cornstarch, vegetable oil, MSG as needed.
[Preparation] Cut wheat gluten into thin slices. Wash and chop scallions and ginger. Heat oil, add wheat gluten, stir-fry until golden brown. Add scallions and ginger, stir-fry for a few minutes. Pour in one bowl of water, add salt, cook until gluten is tender. Add MSG, thicken with cornstarch, and serve when the sauce is clear.
[Efficacy] Relieves heat, alleviates irritability, quenches thirst.

Stewed Broad Beans with Beef:
[Ingredients] Fresh or soaked broad beans 120 g, lean beef 250 g, a little salt, MSG, sesame oil as needed.
[Preparation] Cut beef into small pieces. Blanch in boiling water, drain and dry. Place in a clay pot with water, once warmed, add beef, stew until 60% cooked. Add broad beans, bring to boil, reduce to low heat, add salt, stew until both meat and beans are tender. Add MSG and sesame oil, serve.
[Efficacy] Strengthens spleen, removes dampness, nourishes deficiency, strengthens the body.

Watermelon Tomato Juice:
[Ingredients] Half a watermelon, three medium tomatoes.
[Preparation] Peel and seed watermelon. Blanch tomatoes in boiling water, peel, seed. Juice both simultaneously, mix the two juices, drink as desired.
[Efficacy] Clears heat, generates fluids, quenches thirst. Particularly suitable for summer colds, thirst, irritability, poor appetite, indigestion, and red, hot urine.