Summer is a bountiful time of year, and your diet should reflect this. Here are four quick tips for eating well during the summer…the “Traditional Chinese Medicine Way” of eating in harmony with nature might surprise you.
Tip One: Keep it Simple
Use plenty of vibrant colored fruit, vegetables, small amounts of protein, mint, or chamomile tea to keep the diet cool and light. “Bitter cold” and heavy fried foods should be eaten in moderation. Heavier meals should be consumed during the middle or late afternoon, because this is when yang (how’s that for a little Traditional Chinese Medicine theory thrown your way?) is at its highest peak and is readily available to help digestion.
It’s best to avoid dishes with too many ingredients, spicy or rich foods, and sugar, alcohol, icy drinks or foods (well…the alcohol thing isn’t ideal). Large evening meals and late-night eating should be avoided, because they will all create stagnation. Eliminating refined foods, coffee, alcohol, and tobacco. Then cutting down on animal fats, dairy products, and other fatty foods. (Ok, so none of this is ideal. But it’s all in the name of health, right!?).
Tip Two: Ice Ice Baby — Too Cold
According to Traditional Chinese Dietary theory, one of the most common misconceptions about food concerns ice. Our society enjoys ice-cold products, especially in the summertime. Traditional Chinese Medicine philosophy believes that ice shocks the system and is a common etiology of disease manifestation.
Taking into account how warm your body is in the summer, by adding ice to the system it takes the body a long time to balance out the two extreme temperatures. To maintain the flow of Qi, drink warm fluids and eat warm foods in smaller quantities and more frequently.
Drinking cinnamon tea, cooking with cardamom, and the use of boiling water for hot drinks rather than cool water are a few ways to support the summer heat in a healthy way.
How’s that for a plot twist?!
Chinese dietary philosophy differs from Western norms in many ways that might surprise you.
Tip Three: Lady in Red
Red foods are best in the summer, nourishing blood, improving circulation, and reinforcing yang. Summer diets need to be simple, light, and should be eaten earlier in the day rather than later.
If you want to consume foods that have the same resonance as the heart during the summer, eat bitter greens, salsa, celery, cucumbers, watermelon, and a small amount of spicy food to disperse some of the summer heat.
Tip Four: Bitter, party of one...Bitter?
The flavor associated with summer is “bitter”. Bitter is the most underused flavor. Bitter foods have yin cooling effects, and they cause contracting and descending energy. Bitter can drain dampness, dry fluids, or have purgative effects. Heat in any season can be eliminated with the bitter flavor, but if you are deficient, weak, thin, dry, and/or nervous, limit the intake of bitter foods.
Bitter foods benefit cases with inflammation, overly damp conditions (think sinus drainage, diarrhea, etc), heat, and stagnancy (“stuck”).
Final Thoughts and Learning More
Living in harmony with nature according to the Traditional Chinese Medicine way can be rather counterintuitive. Every season offers its own challenges, but the health benefits of harmonizing your diet with nature are numerous.
Care Consideration: Just a reminder that the above information is not a substitute for medical care and is not a substitute for medical advice or recommendations from a healthcare provider. This information is not intended to treat, mitigate, or cure any disease. That said, we encourage you to connect with an Acupuncturist in your community to learn more about this and other Traditional Chinese Medicine options. If you’ve got questions about Chinese herbal medicine or getting started with an Acupuncturist, feel free to connect with us at hello@mydaolabs.com.
