“Nourishing” foods can also “harm”
Summer diets must consider not only food hygiene and safety but also individualization—the inherent warmth, coolness, or neutrality of foods should match the consumer’s constitution and current health status. Some foods are originally nourishing, but improper consumption can turn them into harm.
Therefore, choosing summer refreshments should be personalized. For example, mung bean soup, watermelon, and beer are common summer refreshments, but not everyone can safely consume them.
Mung bean soup
Mung beans have benefits including cooling, relieving heat, invigorating qi, detoxifying, and soothing thirst, helping prevent heatstroke and treat food poisoning. However, those with weak constitutions should not drink too much. From a TCM perspective, people with cold syndromes should also avoid excessive intake. Due to its detoxifying properties, those taking herbal medicines should also limit consumption.
Watermelon
Watermelon is rich in nutrients and offers benefits such as clearing heat, relieving summer heat, quenching thirst, and promoting urination. However, it is cold in nature and considered raw/cold food; overconsumption can damage spleen and increase dampness.
The following people should avoid eating too much:
1. Those with weak spleen-stomach, cold stomach, loose stools, or poor digestion may experience bloating, diarrhea, and reduced appetite after eating watermelon.
2. People with impaired kidney function should avoid large amounts, as their kidneys cannot regulate water efficiently. Rapid intake leads to excess fluid retention, increasing blood volume and straining the heart.
3. Individuals with oral ulcers, typically due to yin deficiency with internal heat, should avoid watermelon because its diuretic effect may worsen yin deficiency and aggravate ulcer symptoms.
4. People with frequent nighttime urination or nocturnal emission should avoid it.
5. Diabetics should eat sparingly.
Beer
Beer contains abundant carbohydrates, vitamins, amino acids, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and other nutrients. Moderate consumption benefits health, but certain groups should avoid it.
1. Gastric disease patients: Beer damages gastric mucosa, causing upper abdominal distension, burning sensation, frequent belching, and decreased appetite.
2. Pregnant women: Beer contains alcohol, which passes through the umbilical cord into the fetus, affecting fetal brain development.
3. Nursing mothers: Beer is brewed from barley malt, which has lactation-suppressing properties, potentially affecting breastfeeding.
4. Urinary tract stone patients: Beer contains calcium and oxalate, components that promote urinary stones.
5. Liver disease patients: Alcohol directly damages liver cells; those with impaired liver function are more prone to alcohol poisoning.