Summer Heat Blues

Summer is still with us and it's been a hot one! With people getting out in the sun, taking breaks and general heat Summer is one of the healthiest times of year. That is except for stomach problems...

In China they have a condition that comes from the heat called, zhong xu. The patient is too hot or got too much sun so they sweat a lot, have headaches and dizziness, and digestive problems. The digestive problems are dark, foul-smelling diarrhea and vomiting. These are often made worse by eating greasy and heavy foods, or cold raw foods like salads and some fruits.

Zhong xu is sometimes translated into English as heat stroke. While we usually think of heat stroke as a serious condition, zhong xu can be much more mild. The traditional medicine for this is Huo Xiang Zhen Qi. This medicine is found in liquid, capsule and pill form.

I can personally attest to it's effectiveness. Usually it's taken 2 - 3 times a day depending on the severity. If you have a sudden bout of diarrhea, just take some after. This usually does the job and stops things up so you can go about your day.

Another important factor is diet. Of course in the summer everyone wants to drink cold drinks and eat ice-cream. Both of these can cause problems with the spleen leading to poor digestion. The spleen hates cold and when cold invades  the spleen stomach problems aren't far behind. Another form or cold foods that people often forget is food taken right out of the refrigerator. Always try to wait about 15-20 minutes before eating food from the fridge so that it has time to warm up.

In addition to cold foods, try to avoid fatty and greasy foods. Eating natural fat from food isn't nearly as bad as most people think, but grease can also affect the spleen's digestive properties. Try substituting a greasy burger from McDonald's with a lean patty grilled out in the back yard. Even better is switching to different meat like chicken or having fish.

Another way to fight the summer heat is with green tea. Green tea has cool property meaning it can help when the body gets overheated. Not only is it good to rehydrate and fight against external heat, but it helps with internal heat too!  Excessive stomach heat, especially caused by spicy food, can cause bad acid reflux. Green tea can cool the stomach preventing this painful ailment. Green tea also makes its way into the small and large intestines which helps clear any lingering heat that might cause diarrhea.