Five teas to nourish your heart and dispel dampness in summer

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the summer heat enters the heart meridian and that "the heart is the monarch of all internal organs", which means that the heart is the engine of all internal organs. In the Yin-Yang and Five Elements, the heart represents fire. Therefore, Chinese medicine advocates that the purpose of health preservation in summer is to reduce heart fire and nourish the heart. In addition, the long summer has the Great Heat, the Lesser Heat, and the plum rain days. The climate is hot and humid, and dampness invades the human body, so we must also pay attention to removing dampness and relieving fatigue.

Five dietary therapies:

1. Soak ginseng and lotus in water

Preparation method: 3 grams of American ginseng, 10 grams of lotus seeds and lotus core, 5 grams of Ophiopogon japonicus, grind into powder, and drink with boiled water.

Function: Replenish Qi, protect the heart, and reduce internal heat.

2. Three-leaf drink in summer

Preparation: Boil lotus leaves, bamboo leaves and bamboo leaf cores in water. Soak all ingredients for 20 minutes before boiling the water.

Function: Lotus leaves can adjust greasiness, bamboo leaves and bamboo leaf cores can clear away heat, clear the heart, prevent heatstroke, reduce internal heat, relieve restlessness and quench thirst.

3. Heat-relief and spleen-strengthening drink

Method: Boil appropriate amount of Yunfu, Job's tears, yam, and winter melon (the winter melon should be with the skin and seeds) in water for drinking.

Function: Clears away heat, strengthens the spleen and eliminates dampness.

4. Five-bean and miscellaneous grain drink

Method: Boil appropriate amounts of red beans, adzuki beans, mung beans, lentils, soybeans and pumpkin in water and drink it.

Function: Relieve summer heat and clear away heat.

5. Boil bitter melon water or bitter melon tea

Method: Boil bitter melon in water and drink it, or use bitter gourd to make tea.

Effect: Eating "bitter" food in summer can nourish the heart. Bitterness is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, relieves fever and summer heat, and can also clear stomach fire and prevent constipation. However, for people with cold stomach, weak spleen and stomach, acid reflux, and stomach ulcers, they should take less bitter melon tea and kuding tea or not eat them.

"Summer sleepiness can be eliminated by removing dampness through diet therapy and protecting the brain's oxygen supply." Zhu Qiuling, chief pharmacist of the Department of Pharmacy of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, introduced that from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, people with spleen deficiency are easily invaded by dampness. Generally, the purpose of removing dampness and relieving sleepiness can be achieved by strengthening the spleen and replenishing qi, and improving the spleen and stomach's transportation and transformation functions.

Zhu Qiuling suggested that selected mutton or lean meat, pork bones, etc., combined with Chinese medicinal materials such as astragalus, codonopsis, and poria that have the effect of replenishing qi, can be made into medicinal food, which can invigorate the spleen and stomach, eliminate dampness and relieve fatigue. At the same time, you should also eat eggs and fish (such as tuna, salmon, etc.) in moderation to increase protein intake, and eat more fresh fruits such as strawberries, cherries, apples, grapes, and sun-protecting vegetables such as toon, leeks, ginger, onions, and peppers to increase vitamin intake.