🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Summer is the hottest season of the year, with vigorous human metabolism. Many people commonly experience general fatigue, poor appetite, excessive sweating, dizziness, irritability, lethargy, and even suffer from heatstroke, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. How should we live to safely endure the scorching summer?
Light Diet, Moderate Meat Consumption
Due to reduced gastric acid secretion in summer and increased fluid intake diluting gastric acid, digestive function weakens. Thus, diet should be light. Prefer nutritious, mild-smelling foods; avoid greasy, fried, and hot-natured foods. However, light does not mean vegetarian, as vegetables contain abundant dietary fiber and vitamins but lack essential proteins. Long-term vegetarian diets risk nutritional imbalance.
Therefore, even in sweltering summers, do not reject meat. Include moderate amounts of lean meat, eggs, dairy, fish, and soy products. Key is using light cooking methods like steaming or cold mixing—avoid greasiness. For example, use tender green lotus leaves, blanch briefly with boiling water, wrap chicken or meat, steam, and serve—delicious, fragrant, and stimulating appetite.
Adequate Sleep to Prevent Heatstroke
Summer days are long, nights short, temperatures high, and metabolism vigorous, increasing fatigue. Adequate sleep is crucial for promoting health and improving work/study efficiency. To ensure sufficient sleep: first, maintain regular routines; second, keep bedroom well-ventilated and cool; third, maintain a calm mind—strive for “calmness brings natural coolness”; fourth, allow proper midday naps. Summer naps relax the brain and body, aid afternoon productivity, and help prevent heatstroke.
Eat More Bitter Foods to Clear Heat
TCM holds that bitter-tasting vegetables generally possess heat-clearing properties. Nutritionists recommend eating bitter greens like bitter melon and bitter lettuce regularly in summer to relieve heat, reduce fatigue, etc. For example, bitter melon—known as the “gentleman among vegetables”—has a slightly sweet aftertaste and subtle fragrance, with lasting flavor. Regular consumption of bitter melon soup or dishes helps harmonize the spleen and stomach, eliminate fatigue, refresh the mind, and offers preventive benefits against heatstroke and gastrointestinal disorders. Bitter lettuce is also a medicinal and edible vegetable, capable of clearing heat, detoxifying, eliminating pus, relieving pain, and preventing enteritis. Wash roots and leaves, then mix, stir-fry, or make soup—bitter yet aromatic, excellent for cooling and stimulating appetite. It also helps prevent intestinal inflammation and dysentery. Since summer sweating is high, consider drinking mildly bitter beverages—beer, green tea, or bitter tea are good choices.
Drink Water Small Amounts Frequently
Summer weather is often humid and hot, leading to excessive sweating. Do not wait until thirsty to drink water—especially important for middle-aged and elderly people, who should cultivate proactive hydration habits, drinking even when not thirsty. Elderly people have diminished thirst response, so by the time they feel thirsty, dehydration is already severe. Dehydration is a primary cause of premature aging and early death. When dehydrated, total blood volume drops, cardiac perfusion pressure decreases, and myocardial ischemia increases, risking heart damage. Additionally, dehydration reduces sweat and urine output, impairing excretion of metabolic waste, leading to accumulation of toxins and chronic poisoning. Thus, water intake must be timely and moderate.
Generally, small, frequent sips are better. Large quantities at once can cause harm, potentially disrupting water-electrolyte balance and even leading to water intoxication. Therefore, develop a habit of proactive hydration. Drink 1–2 cups of plain water during four optimal times: upon waking, around 10 a.m., 3–4 p.m., and before bedtime. Also replenish fluids after heavy sweating, exercise, or bathing.