Excessive heat in the summer months can cause rashes, heatstroke, dehydration and even death.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has long recognized the negative health effects of excessive heat in the body.
Heat not only comes from outside, but inside too. Internal heat can be generated by certain foods, emotions and organ dysfunction.
If you already have some internal heat in your body, then when it gets hot out, you suffer more.
If you’ve visited my clinic and I’ve diagnosed you with some kind of heat imbalance in your body, then you already know what I’m talking about.
But excessive summer heat can affect everyone.
In fact, if you overheat, sometimes this heat can stay locked inside your system and cause more health problems down the road.
So I’ve put together five easy tips based on Traditional Chinese Medicine that you can follow that will help cool you down and avoid absorbing excessive heat in the summer.
1) Drink a lot of pure water
Yes, tip #1 is universally obvious, but it cannot be emphasized enough. Balance fire with water.
Pure water is often better than commercially touted sports drinks like Gatorade or Vitamin Water. These products have excessive amounts of sugar in them, which can actually increase internal heat through the high blood-sugar and insulin spike inflammatory response cycle.
2) If you have to spend time in the sun, cover your head and put a lot of sunscreen on this acu-point
This acu-point is called Du-14 or “da zhui”. It is the meeting of all “yang” in the body, and is the main point for clearing heat in the body. This point is located in the center of your back right where both shoulder blades would meet, just under your trapezoids.
If you are in the sun, cover your head and cover this point or put a lot of sunscreen on it if you are at the beach. This will avoid too much heat from entering your system through this area.
3) Cool down with a wet cloth
If you start to get too hot, put a cold wet cloth on your head or neck. Heat rises in the body and the head is considered the most “yang” part in the body.
When heat rises into the head, it can cause dizziness, tinnitus, sinus problems, headaches, heat stroke and even loss of consciousness.
4) Avoid hot foods like coffee, alcohol, spice, deep fried, or too much sugar
These foods are warm or hot in nature and will increase internal heat.
Instead go for water-rich and cooling foods like watermelon, cucumber, oranges, tomatoes, green leafy vegetables, seaweed, alfalfa sprouts, tomatoes, peppermint tea, green tea, lemon water, and so on.
Watermelon is particularly effective to bring down sunstroke and cool the body.
Check out this image to the right to learn a little about the nature of foods in Chinese medicine.
5) Acupuncture and Chinese herbs can drain heat out of your body
If you’re suffering in the heat, then you should consider acupuncture and Chinese herbs to help drain the heat from your system.
A lot of the patients I see in the clinic have internal heat issues, and I have personally observed how effective the treatments can be for many of them.
If you want to discuss a treatment or schedule one with me call 613-702-5377 or book directly online by clicking here: Book online now
