5 Tips for Summer Health

Fresh peppermint leaf.

1.       Socialize as much as possible.  Besides enjoying outdoor concerts, camping, and other fun summer activities, you’ll also be nourishing your heart’s energy.  When the heart energy is strong, relationships are fulfilling, mind and body are balanced, and there is joy and enthusiasm in life.

2.       Drink room temp water.  While you might desire an ice cold drink to cool down, that coldness requires your digestive system to work even harder to warm up the liquid.  Constantly drinking ice cold water weakens the digestive system, causing it to become less efficient.

3.       Eat cooling foods.  Cooling foods balance the heat and dryness of summer.  Examples include watermelon, fish, egg whites, lettuce, peppermint, cucumbers, peaches, oranges, and barley.

4.       Eat bitter foods.  The bitter taste has drying, cooling, detoxifying, and anti-inflammatory properties.  Examples include cilantro, rye, chicory, sage, tangerine peel, and turmeric.

5.       Focus on what you want to achieve.  Summer is the season where things can come to fruition in preparation for the autumn harvest.  It is a good time to focus on what you want to achieve in life.

For more information, check out Summer in Traditional Chinese Medicine.