Foods for the Summer Season

By Junie Norfleet, L.Ac.

According to Chinese medicine theory, the summer season is associated with the element Fire, which corresponds to the Heart, Small Intestine, San Jiao, and Pericardium organ systems. The Heart system is the Sovereign Ruler, enabling us to see clearly and to serve with compassion. The Small Intestine system assists in digestion and assimilation of the foods consumed by separating pure and impure and extracting nourishment from ingested foods. The Pericardium system is the "Heart Protector," while the San Jiao system is responsible for the movement of fluids in the body.

The fire element is symbolic of yang, and is manifested as heat, great activity, reaching outward and moving forward in our lives and in nature. Since the fire element rules the heart, mind and spirit, the summer is a time to pacify and nourish our spirits and to find joy in hot summer days and warm summer nights. A balance in the fire element provides a strong and healthy heart, a mind that is calm, sleep that is refreshing, and proper absorption of ingested foods.

To maintain good health, food choices change with the seasons. Summer is a time of growth and maturation of flowers and vegetables. The qi of the plant is the most vital when the plant blooms. It is also a season of increased heat and activity.

The foods that we consume in the summer should help to keep us cool and energized. Foods with cool properties can clear heat, reduce toxins and generate body fluids. Eating more organic, locally grown raw fruits and vegetables at this time of year is ideal, particularly if you have strong Spleen and Stomach systems.

Foods that are cooling tend towards the green end of the color spectrum. Lettuce, cucumbers and watercress are some of the coolest. Fish and seafood are more cooling, whereas most meats are warming.

Below are some suggestions for foods to be sure to include in the summer diet. Be aware that melons are very cooling, and when eaten alone, can produce dampness. If eaten as a part of the meal or as a dessert, their cool nature can also slow the digestive process of the meal.

Fruits:
Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Lemon, Orange, Peach, Apricot, Pear

Vegetables:

Snow Peas, Asparagus, Spinach, Bamboo, Sprouts, Bok Choy, Watercress, Broccoli, Summer Squash, Cucumber, Chinese Cabbage, Corn, White Mushrooms, Seaweed, Winter Melons

Legumes:
Mung Beans, White Lentils

Spices:
Cilantro, Mint, Dill

General Guidelines for Summertime Eating:

• Increase foods with the yin qualities of being moist and cooling. The most yin of foods are fruits followed by vegetables. Overeating yin nourishing foods can create dampness by taxing the Spleen system. Chinese medicine recognizes that dampness can help to hold health conditions in place, so be cautious not to eat only yin nourishing foods.
• Reduce the foods with the yang qualities of concentration and heat. These are proteins such as meats, nuts, seeds, beans, fats, dairy products, eggs and whole grains.
• Have a variety of colors on your plate and an abundant variety of vegetables.
• Cook lightly, steaming or simmering foods as quickly as possible.
• Use little salt and more water.
• Drink hot liquids and take warm showers to induce sudden sweating and to cool the body.
• Drink flower and leaf teas like chrysanthemum, mint and chamomile. (See recipe on previous page.)
• Slice a cucumber or lemon and place it in a pitcher of water. Sip it through the day for a nice, refreshing drink that is tasty and cooling.
• Avoid iced drinks and ice cream as the cold temperature causes the digestion to slow and depletes the Spleen's energy.
• Avoid heavy foods such as meats and too many nuts, seeds, and grains, especially on hotter days, since these can cause sluggishness.

Strive to Acquire the Following Eating Habits:

• Chew your food well.
• Stop eating when you are seven-tenths full to enhance digestion and to support the body's ability to properly process waste products.
• Eat in a quiet, non-stressful atmosphere.
• Finish your last meal of the day three hours before bedtime.
• Eat a diet of primarily lightly cooked foods, especially if you have weak digestion.

Remember to eat colorful, lightly prepared meals, to be active and outgoing, and to nourish your mind and spirit as you enjoy your summer.

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Cold Chrysanthemum Tea for the Summertime

The recipe below was published by Diane Joswick, L. Ac. This tea is especially good to quench thirst. I have modified the amounts of the chrysanthemum green tea and water in the recipe to make a smaller amount.

Ingredients:

15-20 White Chrysanthemum Flowers
1 teaspoons of Jasmine Yinhao Green Tea
Honey
1 liter of water

Instructions:

Wash the chrysanthemum.
Put chrysanthemum and tea into a cook pot.
Pour in 1 liter of water and bring it to boiling.
Reduce heat and continue to cook for 20 minutes.
Put in the honey.
Remove pot from the heat and allow tea to cool till room temperature.
Strain the tea and put into refrigerator.

Serve the tea slightly chilled.

Enjoy your summer!

Beat The Heat With Cool Herbs

By Rachel Nowakowski, L.Ac.

During the hot weather, we automatically reach for an iced cold beverage to cool us down and quench our thirst. But is it the best thing for us?

Drinking iced cold fluids only lowers the body temperature temporarily. The stomach then has to work twice as hard to produce enough heat for digestion which makes you hotter. And more thirsty.

It may sound crazy, but a cup of hot tea in the hot weather can actually cool you down. Drinking warmer fluids dilates the blood vessels which makes you sweat and the sweat evaporation cools you down.

Two popular Chinese herbs for clearing heat from the body are field mint, Herba Mentha Haplocalycis (Bo He) and chrysanthemum flowers, Chrysanthemum Moriflorii, (Ju Hua).

Both of these herbs are classified as cool, acrid herbs which relieve heat of the upper body, i.e. head and chest. They are beneficial to the Liver energy and are helpful for eye and skin conditions.

These herbs are available at health food stores or from your Chinese medicine practitioner.

Cooling Peppermint & Chrysanthemum Tea

1 handful of dried mint
1 small handful of dried chrysanthemum flowers
3 quarts of water
Honey to taste

Instructions:
1. Put herbs into a cooking pot.
2. Pour in 3 quarts of water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add honey.
5. Strain out the herbs and refrigerate.
6. Drink cooled or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Medicinal Herbs in Your Backyard

By Rachel Nowakowski, L.Ac.

Some people think of Chinese herbs as exotic plants grown only in faraway Asia. But many of the plants used in Chinese Herbal Medicine can easily be grown in Western North Carolina, because the climate is so similar to parts of China.

Many common medicinal plants are as beautiful as they are useful. Examples include Balloon flower (Platycodon), Peony, Buddleia (butterfly bush), and Forsythia.

Balloon flower root (Jie Geng) is traditionally used in prescriptions for lung afflictions including cough, excessive phlegm, and sore throat. We use Peony root (Bai Shao Yao/Chi Shao Yao) to move and nourish blood to treat conditions like skin rashes and menstrual disorders. Buddleia flower (Mi Meng Hua) is helpful for eye conditions including red, painful eyes, excessive tearing, and light sensitivity. Forsythia seed capsule (Lian Qiao) is used to treat heat conditions especially fevers, and swollen lymph nodes.

Of course, some medicinal plants are not as pleasing to have in our yards and gardens. Honeysuckle, dandelion, and kudzu can cause gardeners much misery, but even the most annoying plants have their purposes.

Honeysuckle flowers (Jin Yin Hua) are used to clear heat for fever and infections and is commonly used with Forsythia (Lian Qiao) in cold/flu formulas like Yin Qiao Jie Du Pian. The Honeysuckle leaf and vine (Ren Dong Teng) is used for arthritic joint pain. Dandelion (Pu Gong Yin) is another heat and toxin clearing herb that is used to treat eye conditions and mastitis. Kudzu root (Ge Gen) is an excellent herb for headaches and upper body pain, thirst caused by fever, and diarrhea. The kudzu flowers (Ge Gen Hua) can reduce alcohol cravings and minimize hangovers.

So the next time you are admiring your garden ornamentals or pulling out the weeds, remember their healing energies. When we think of the countless patients helped by these plants over thousands of years of use in Chinese Herbal Medicine, these herbs can be appreciated even more.

Spring Herbal Garden Tea

1 cup lemon balm leaves
1 cup mint leaves
4 tablespoons orange peel – grated

Mix the herbs and store in a glass jar.
For each cup of tea, steep 1 tablespoon of herbal tea mixture in boiling water.

There are a number of varieties of each plant, not all of them are used medicinally. Some medicinal plants need to be processed to reduce toxicity and give them their individual energetics. As with any herbal substance, it is best to consult your practitioner.