It is so hot this time of year here in North Carolina. It’s a perfect time to talk about “external pathogenic heat”. With temperatures at or above 100 degrees lately, fatigue and dehydration due to heat exposure are not abstract concepts right now.

You may be familiar with the concept of heat exhaustion and heat stroke from western medicine. Chinese medicine also concerns itself with injury to the body due to exposure to excess environmental heat. Having been at it for a few thousand years longer than western medicine, Chinese medicine goes beyond simple rest and rehydration protocols. Certain foods and herbs have been identified as particularly good for “beating the heat”. Here are a few you can use:

Watermelon- everyone knows that it is delicious and refreshing this time of year. Our bodies intuitively know that it is energetically cooling as well as hydrating.

Mung beans- not as fun and delicious as watermelon, mung beans are a traditional cooling therapy. You can often find these in an Asian grocery. In summertime these are often made into a cooling soup. You can even boil the beans in a few cups of water to make a cooling tea.

Chrysanthemum flower- also often found in an Asian grocery these dried flowers make a delicate and lovely tea that has cooling properties. Just drop a few flowers into some hot water or hot green tea.

Green tea- easy to find and, unlike coffee, has a cooling effect on the body.

Stay cool out there!

To see if acupuncture might be right for you, give us a call at our Durham location or you may call us at 919-228-8448. If you find it easier to make an appointment online, you can simply click here to use our online schedule to set up a free face-to-face consultation.