Summer heat and how to manage it
If you’ve seen Avatar or remember Captain Planet from way back, you are likely aware of the various elements that coincide with the seasons. If you don’t, never mind, but both are great cartoons to check out and get a glimpse of what the various forces of nature and its interrelationships. In Chinese Medicine, we also have specific characteristics that coincide with the seasons of the year and how it impacts our bodily systems.
Season of the Heart and Fire
Every season has a particular organ, element, emotion, taste, color, and an opening in which we can interact with nature.
Organ: The organ that is associated with summer is the heart. In Chinese Medicine, the heart is the king or queen of the human body. It rules how the blood flows and has an affect on the mind, what we called “Shen.” For example, got a terrible break up or lost someone you love? Did your heart hurt? How’s your mind feeling?
Element: If you’ve been around Chinese Medicine long enough, you’ve heard of the Five Element Theory which often times utilized for various forms of diagnosis and treatment. Summer is associated with the element of Fire and it is obviously the case due to the heat!
Emotion: Joy is associated with summer. Think of it as a time where you are able to galavant and spend more time with your friends and family. The nature of summer, specifically fire, that is associated with it often elevates and bring things upward. Joy is very uplifting, likewise heat rises
Taste: Bitter is associated with summer as you can think of fire burning things and causing it to taste bitter
Opens to: The tongue is a feature associated with summer. This one is a little harder to explain and I may just have to leave it here without getting too far off the deep end. If you’re interested in learning more about it, I would recommend taking a foundations of Chinese Medicine class at your local Traditional Chinese Medicine school
Color: Red is associated with summer, and you may have guessed it is due to its association with fire and heat!
Conditions Associated with Summer
Remember how we talked about nature and nurture in grade school? In Chinese Medicine, we see the nature (season) has an affect on our bodily system too. Often, this is the time where we want to enrich the body’s overall energy level and thus your acupuncturist may add on acupuncture points that are uplifting and tonifying your overall oomph for life. Summer is also a time where some may have patterns that appear to be more aggressive in nature. Any sort of imbalance in your heart or the fire element may lead to symptoms manifesting like:
Sleeplessness or insomnia, restlessness
Irritability, red complexion
Palpitations, anxiety, depression, mania (too much joy i.e. extra hyper)
Excessive sweating
Aphasia, talking excessively, stuttering, and talk extremely fast as well as excessive laughing
Image by Jason Rosewell
What to eat in the summer?
Using food as medicine is a pillar of Chinese Medicine. In Chinese Medicine, there are organ pairs in treating illnesses. The Heart is associated with the Small Intestine and in Western Medicine, the Small Intestine has a huge component in food absorption. Hence, if you have impediments in your mind and heart, you may also experiencing some form of digestive issues like indigestion. In general, lighter and cooler food properties are better and avoiding hot and dry foods like excessively spicy foods, coffee, or ice cold foods like ice cream as it may cause your digestion to be more sluggish, a very common symptom seen with excess intake of dairy. So, what are some best suited foods for the summer?
Stay hydrated!
Drink lots of water, watermelon juice, cucumber juice, green tea, chrysanthemum, mint, floral teas
Cooling foods like apple, citrus fruits like oranges, tangerines, mandarins lemon, and other tropical fruits like pineapple, and juice filled fruits like pear
Still not clear what you can do for yourself or struggling with symptoms mentioned here?