Treating winter diseases in summer focuses on treating dampness. It is better to eat less of these "dampness-inducing" foods.

What is the well-known saying of treating winter diseases in summer? According to traditional Chinese medicine, treating winter diseases in summer mainly treats common diseases in winter, such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, neck, shoulder, waist and leg pain, respiratory diseases, etc. These diseases are largely related to dampness.

Among the six pathogenic evils of wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness and fire, dampness is the most difficult to regulate. According to traditional Chinese medicine, dampness is a yin evil that can easily damage yang, especially spleen yang, leading to various types of diseases throughout the body.

Why is it so humid in summer?

In summer, especially during the dog days of summer, the temperature is high and the humidity is high. People often feel tired and heavy, and feel sleepy even if they get enough sleep.

In addition, eating cold drinks and using air conditioners more often in summer can cause excessive moisture. In addition to weather reasons, there are several other reasons that cause excessive moisture:

1. Emotions causing dampness: Various emotions such as joy, anger, worry, thinking, sadness, fear, and shock will have an impact on the human body. For example, people who are often angry will cause dampness and heat in the liver and gallbladder, and people who are often worried are prone to dampness and heat in the lungs and large intestine.

2. Dietary dampness: Eating spicy and cold foods frequently can easily damage the spleen and stomach, especially in summer. Spicy and cold foods can easily lead to metabolic disorders, making it more difficult to expel moisture.

3. Drug-induced dampness: Chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension require long-term medication, which can easily cause dampness and heat in the liver and gallbladder and dampness and heat in the spleen and stomach.

4. Environmental humidity: During the rainy season and the dog days, excessive use of indoor humidifiers will cause moisture in the body.

5. Bad habits lead to dampness: Nowadays, study, work and entertainment make people sleep very late. According to Chinese medicine, when people lie down, blood returns to the liver. If you don’t sleep at rest time, the liver will continue to work and metabolize, and you won’t get a rest.

In addition, staying up late requires using the eyes, which increases the burden on the liver, causing liver and gallbladder metabolic disorders and inducing liver and gallbladder dampness and toxicity. People who often stay up late will feel dizzy, dry eyes, bloating, and rib pain, which are all manifestations of liver and gallbladder dampness and heat.

① People who are invaded by dampness often have symptoms of dizziness, which manifests as a heavy head;

② Sticky and uncomfortable stool;

③ Thick and greasy tongue coating;

④ Spleen dampness is manifested by decreased appetite and abdominal distension;

⑤ Damp-heat caking can cause skin itching;

⑥ Dampness is heavy and sticky, causing heaviness, fatigue, and drowsiness;

⑦ Heavy phlegm and dampness can manifest as chest tightness and chest pain.

If one or two of the above symptoms are obvious, it may mean that dampness has entered the body.

The more you eat these foods, the more damp you become.

The above introduces 5 reasons for dampness. For ordinary people, the most important reason is food. As the old saying goes, disease comes from the mouth. The more you eat these kinds of food, the heavier the dampness. You must pay attention to it in summer.

1. Raw and cold food

As the weather gets hotter, more people start drinking ice water, eating ice cream, and eating salads. However, if people with heavy dampness in their body continue to eat these foods, the uncomfortable symptoms will only become more severe.

Because the spleen and stomach need more energy to consume these foods, it is equivalent to wasting more Yang Qi. If the Yang Qi is insufficient, the transportation of water and moisture will be hindered.

2. Too greasy food

Barbecue and fried foods are loved by many people because they are delicious, but because they are greasy and difficult to digest, eating too much can easily increase the burden on the spleen and stomach and promote the formation of dampness and heat.

3. Sweets

Sweets like date paste and cakes are sticky and greasy, and moisture is also sticky, so eating too much will actually cause “dampness retention”.

4. Spicy food

Chili pepper, garlic, onion, ginger, curry, etc. are all spicy foods. Many people think that eating these things can make you sweat and remove dampness?

But experts say that, first of all, dampness is mostly related to the spleen's function of transportation and transformation, and has little to do with sweating; in addition, although spicy food has a warming and dispersing effect, it is not suitable for everyone.

For people with cold and damp constitution, or yang deficiency, eating spicy food in moderation can indeed effectively relieve discomfort; but for people with damp and hot constitution, or yin deficiency, eating spicy food will cause them to get inflamed, making the discomfort symptoms worse.

Furthermore, some people who suffer from gastrointestinal diseases, sore throat, mouth ulcers, and constipation are not suitable for eating spicy food.

5. Herbal tea

People in Sichuan, Chongqing and other places like to eat spicy food to remove dampness, while people in Guangdong have the habit of drinking herbal tea to remove dampness.

However, experts say that most of the herbal teas on the market are for clearing away heat and removing dampness. People with yang deficiency and qi deficiency should not drink bitter and cold herbal teas, as this will further damage the spleen and stomach and make the dampness more abundant.

Especially if you experience loss of appetite, diarrhea, or other discomfort after drinking herbal tea, it often means that your spleen and stomach are damaged, and you should stop drinking it immediately.

Eat this to get rid of dampness

1. Poria porridge

Main ingredients: 20 grams of Poria powder and 100 grams of japonica rice.

Ingredients: appropriate amounts of salt and ginger.

Preparation method: Wash the polished rice and put it into the pot together with the Poria powder. Add appropriate amount of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer until soft. Add salt and ginger, stir well and serve.

Dosage: Take twice a day, morning and evening.

Efficacy: Strengthens the spleen and eliminates dampness.

2. Winter melon porridge

Main ingredients: 100 grams of winter melon and 100 grams of japonica rice.

Ingredients: salt and green onion in appropriate amounts.

Preparation method: Cut the winter melon with skin into small pieces, put it into a casserole together with the glutinous rice, add water and simmer until the melon is rotten and the rice is cooked into porridge. It is ready to be eaten.

Dosage: Take as you like in the morning and afternoon every day.

Efficacy: Diuresis and moisture elimination.

3. Double Flower Drink

Main ingredients: 5 grams of honeysuckle, 3 grams of chrysanthemum, and 3 grams of green tea.

Ingredients: 10 grams of brown sugar.

Method: Place the ingredients in a cup, add 200 ml of boiling water, cover the cup, and soak for 10 minutes.

Dosage: 1 dose per day, divided into 3 times.

Efficacy: Detoxification and diuresis.