The Major Heat is one of the most important solar terms in summer. When the Major Heat arrives, summer reaches its peak, with temperatures rising and the scorching heat becoming unbearable.
Tomorrow will be the Major Heat. In this special solar term, what should we do to stay healthy and avoid illness?
During the Major Heat, eat three meals:
First meal: Mung Bean Sprouts
After entering the “San Fu” period, people are prone to internal heat, leading to various symptoms such as mouth ulcers and lack of sleep. Mung bean sprouts have the effects of clearing heat, nourishing yin, moisturizing the intestines, and detoxifying, making them a recognized cooling food.
Recommended dish: Mung Bean Sprout and Pig Blood Soup
Ingredients: 300g mung bean sprouts, 250g pig blood, ginger slices, chopped green onions, minced garlic, and vegetable oil as needed.
Method: Wash the mung bean sprouts, drain the water; clean the pig blood and cut into pieces. Heat oil in a pan, sauté ginger slices, chopped green onions, and minced garlic until fragrant. Pour in enough clear broth, bring to a boil, add the pig blood pieces, season with salt and monosodium glutamate, finally add the mung bean sprouts, simmer for 3 minutes, drizzle with sesame oil and serve.
Second meal: Watermelon
Watermelon is known as the “king of melons,” with its sweet and juicy taste, refreshing thirst-quenching properties, and ability to dispel summer heat, quench thirst, and diuretic, making it an excellent fruit for midsummer.
Recommended dish: Watermelon Rind Salad
Ingredients: Watermelon rind as needed.
Seasoning: Sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, salt as needed.
Method: Wash the watermelon rind, remove the outer green peel, cut the remaining rind into shreds, blanch in boiling water for a moment, remove and cool. Then add sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, salt, mix well and serve.
Third meal: Bitter Gourd
There is a folk saying, “bitter foods withstand the bitter summer.” Bitter gourd is a representative of “bitter” foods, and consuming it in moderation during the Major Heat period can prevent heatstroke and eliminate internal heat.
Recommended dish: Stir-Fried Bitter Gourd
Ingredients: 1 bitter gourd, 3 garlic cloves, 10 pieces of fermented black beans, sugar, salt
Method: Remove the inner core of the bitter gourd, slice thinly, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of salt, marinate for 10 minutes, then squeeze out the bitter gourd water. Slice the garlic, roughly chop the fermented black beans. Heat oil in a pan, add garlic slices and fermented black beans when the oil is 60% hot, sauté until fragrant, then add the bitter gourd and stir-fry for 2 minutes, season with sugar and salt, stir well and serve.
During the Major Heat, avoid three things:
Avoid: Being blasted by the air conditioner all night
Many people in summer like to turn on the air conditioner and wrap themselves in blankets all night.
If the air conditioner is left on all night, the large temperature difference between indoors and outdoors causes the body’s pores to close, making it difficult for heat to dissipate, and can lead to insufficient blood supply to the brain due to rapid constriction of blood vessels, especially in individuals with a history of hypertension or cardiovascular disease, making them more prone to heat stroke.
Avoid: Drinking excessive amounts of water when thirsty
In summer, sweating a lot can lead to thirst, but drinking excessive amounts of water is not advisable.
Each time you sweat, you lose some salt, so continuous drinking of water coupled with sweating leads to a decrease in plasma osmotic pressure, resulting in hypotonic dehydration, causing cell swelling and symptoms of “water intoxication” such as dizziness and blurred vision.
Therefore, water intake should be in small amounts multiple times, with each intake being around 100-150 milliliters, at intervals of 20-30 minutes.
Avoid: Exposing your bare upper body to the scorching sun
It is important to note that in summer, the pores on the front and back of the body are open. Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays can not only cause sunburn but also lead to edema and in severe cases, kidney diseases.
During the Major Heat, adhere to three things:
1. Get more sleep
During the Major Heat, which marks the onset of the hottest period called “San Fu,” the weather is extremely hot. If you lack sleep, you will feel sluggish all day. Therefore, try to avoid staying up late at night, get more sleep, and with sufficient rest, you will feel energetic throughout the day.
2. Exercise more
Even though the weather is hot during the Major Heat, it is important not to neglect physical exercise. The early morning and evening during the Major Heat are relatively cooler.
Therefore, consider exercising outdoors in the morning and evening. Regular exercise not only improves physical fitness but also helps in shaping your body.
3. Drink more water
During the Major Heat period, when the weather is extremely hot, it is necessary to replenish the body with a large amount of water to prevent dehydration and other discomforts due to excessive fluid loss.
Moreover, when drinking water in summer, you can add some heat-clearing foods to the water to help cool the body, such as mung beans, mint, etc.
