How to regulate the stomach and intestines in summer? Experts: Three taboos and three dos

Summer is hot and it is also the season when gastrointestinal diseases are most prevalent. So how can we effectively adjust gastrointestinal function and prevent gastrointestinal diseases? Li Junxiang, director of the Department of Gastroenterology at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Oriental Hospital, suggests: we should do three things to avoid and three things to do.

Xu Yong/People's Picture

Avoid eating too much raw and cold food. In summer, as the temperature rises, the Yang energy of nature becomes stronger and stronger, and the humidity of nature also increases. Correspondingly, the moisture in the human body will also increase accordingly. Therefore, people often have a poor appetite and always like to eat something cool and refreshing. Therefore, all kinds of cold drinks, cold food, and cold dishes are popular. Although cold food is refreshing, overeating will damage the Yang energy of the spleen and stomach, increase the moisture in the body, and then the appetite will be worse. At the same time, symptoms such as stomach distension and loose stools may occur.

Second, avoid eating too much spicy food. Spicy food can remove dampness and promote ventilation, so it can increase appetite. Malatang, barbecue, etc. are foods that many people like. In summer, Yang Qi is strong, and Yang Qi moves upward and disperses. Some people feel weak, sweaty, and listless when the weather is hot. This is because Yang Qi is too strong and sweating too much, which causes damage to both Qi and Yin. If you eat too much spicy food, the spicy food can disperse Qi, and the heat can damage Yin, which will aggravate the damage to the body's Qi and Yin. Although it has a refreshing effect, it lays the hidden danger of consuming Qi and damaging Yin.

Third, avoid eating and drinking too much. When the weather is hot, the spleen and stomach become damp, which traps the spleen and stomach, leading to loss of appetite, and excessive sweating can damage the qi and yin, so the digestive function of the human gastrointestinal tract is significantly reduced. Because the weather is hot, people like to eat supper while cooling off, and they will eat and drink too much. The gastrointestinal function is already reduced, and eating and drinking too much will put a heavier burden on the gastrointestinal tract, which is easy to cause gastrointestinal dysfunction.

Having talked about the three taboos, let’s take a look at the three dos and don’ts.

First, it is advisable to eat more kimchi. Kimchi is made by soaking cabbage, kale, or cauliflower and other seasonings, and fermenting them under the action of lactobacillus. Kimchi tastes salty and sour, has a crisp and tender texture, bright color, and a tangy aroma. It has the effects of appetizing, refreshing, sobering up and removing greasiness. It can not only increase appetite and help digestion, but also promote the body's absorption of iron. Sauerkraut fermentation is the result of lactobacillus breaking down sugars in cabbage to produce lactic acid. Lactic acid is an organic acid. After being absorbed by the human body, it can increase appetite and promote digestion. At the same time, the cabbage becomes sour and the nutrients it contains are not easily lost. In addition, kimchi tastes sour and has the effect of nourishing yin and promoting body fluid, which is quite suitable for the damage of yin in summer.

Second, it is advisable to eat more mustard. In the hot summer, the weather is hot and humid. Various cold dishes, cold noodles or cold skins can easily damage the spleen and stomach, causing moisture to stagnate in the spleen and stomach. In addition, various cold drinks and fruits, eating too much will also cause dampness and phlegm, affecting digestion. Mustard is called white mustard in traditional Chinese medicine, which has the effect of warming and removing phlegm and dampness. If you add some mustard when mixing cold dishes, cold noodles or cold skins, it can not only add flavor, but also warm the spleen and stomach, help digestion, and remove dampness and phlegm. In addition, people who often eat mustard have an experience that after eating mustard, a spicy taste rushes straight to the head and face. Although it is a bit uncomfortable, it can make the mind clear afterwards. So people might as well eat more mustard in summer.

Third, eat more beans. As we all know, mung beans have the effect of clearing away heat and relieving summer heat. Moreover, beans are rich in protein, and contain unsaturated fatty acids and various vitamins. Compared with the saturated fatty acids contained in meat, unsaturated fatty acids are more beneficial to the human body. In addition, bean sprouts are also good vegetables in summer. Bean sprouts can be eaten as dishes or as soup. In the silk reeling factory in the old society, there was a rule that all workers working in the factory must eat bean sprouts every day. Why? Because the working environment of the silk reeling factory is humid and hot, and bean sprouts have the effect of clearing away heat, relieving summer heat and removing dampness. So, this can be said to be a kind of labor protection. Therefore, everyone should pay attention to eating more beans in summer, which can effectively relieve the impact of the humid and stuffy weather in summer on people.