As the weather gets hotter, people are more likely to experience symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, excessive sweating, drowsiness, and more. Therefore, having a reasonable dietary habit and health care method in this hot summer can effectively alleviate the above symptoms. The following dietary habits and health methods will help you open your appetite and regain your taste for food, let’s take a look!
Loss of appetite is characterized by lack of desire for food, tastelessness, and often accompanied by indigestion. The causative factors are complex, mainly mental distress and low gastrointestinal function. Although eating, reduced appetite is one of the common symptoms of the digestive system. It can be induced by mental factors or certain diseases, often accompanied by insomnia, dreaming, forgetfulness, poor concentration, fatigue, headache, palpitations, chest pain, night sweats, and may also manifest as discomfort or bloating in the upper abdomen, vomiting, acid regurgitation, heat sensation, diarrhea, borborygmus after being stimulated mentally. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that this condition is caused by disharmony of the spleen and stomach.
1. Dehydration can lead to loss of appetite. In summer, we are accustomed to spending comfortably in air-conditioned rooms, our bodies do not sweat and do not feel the evaporation of water. Therefore, a decrease in fluid intake can lead to mild dehydration of the gastrointestinal tissues, affecting appetite and causing loss of appetite.
2. Thirst is common in summer, and most people are used to drinking various sugary beverages. However, sugar is a natural appetite suppressant that can be quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, making one feel full all of a sudden and hence not wanting to eat, leading to a vicious cycle.
3. In hot weather, cold drinks and ice drinks have become our favorites, but they can disrupt the normal function of the spleen and stomach, leading to loss of appetite.
1. Use your palm to massage the abdomen clockwise for 3 minutes with the navel as the center.
2. Massage the Zusanli acupoint on the foot for 3 minutes.
3. Massage the reflex zones of the stomach, pancreas, and duodenum on the feet for 2 minutes each.
4. There is an acupoint called “Zhongkui Point” at the tip of the middle finger on the back of the hand, close to the proximal phalanx of the middle finger. Massaging this point has the effect of stimulating the appetite, invigorating the spleen, and tonifying the qi.
Loss of appetite during the hot summer is often related to coldness affecting the spleen and stomach. To improve the seasonal loss of appetite, one should first dispel the coldness from the spleen and stomach. Many foods have the effect of dispelling coldness and warming the stomach, and the most common one is ginger. There are many ways to consume ginger, such as making ginger soup, ginger porridge, adding ginger shreds when stir-frying, adding ginger slices when stewing meat or frying fish, or adding ginger powder when making fillings.
Having a poor appetite, not feeling like eating anything, for this seasonal loss of appetite, “attacking heat with heat” is also a good way of adjustment. Use a hot towel to wipe the face and body every day; soak your feet in hot water every day; drink more hot tea and hot porridge to invigorate the spleen yang. In addition, it is beneficial to drink some hot porridge and soup to improve the appetite.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, the abundance of yang energy in summer and inadequate sleep can lead to poor appetite. Eating more gourd vegetables, vegetables with high water content, can be beneficial as they contain over 90% water. Eating more cool-natured vegetables like tomatoes, eggplants, celery, bitter gourd, etc., can nourish fluids, clear heat, detoxify, and promote bowel movements. Consuming more foods that aid digestion, such as lotus roots, hawthorn, fennel, oranges, etc., and more bitter-tasting foods can provide various health benefits including antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, fever reduction, refreshing the mind, relieving fatigue, etc., such as dandelions, tea leaves, bitter gourd, etc.
1. Cooling and nourishing is preferred
In summer, especially for those with spleen deficiency, one should adopt the principle of nourishing qi, enriching yin, invigorating the spleen, nourishing the stomach, and dispelling summer heat and dampness in dietary care. For dietary care, choose fresh and tasty, mild-natured, easily digestible food that supplements without being greasy. When following this principle, avoid spicy and heating foods that promote yang and induce phlegm and dampness, but it is not necessary to avoid animal protein. For those with yin deficiency and weakness in arranging meals, lean pork, duck meat, rabbit meat, salted duck eggs, steamed fresh fish rich in high-quality protein can be chosen to increase protein intake.
2. Avoid overeating
In summer, due to the heat, gastrointestinal function weakens so dietary arrangements should be made to enhance spleen and stomach function. Coarse grains should be appropriately paired with fine grains, and thin and dry foods should be arranged appropriately. It is better to have two thin meals and one dry meal in summer. Have noodles and soy milk for breakfast, dry rice for lunch, and congee for dinner.
3. Pay attention to replenishing salt and vitamins
Nutritionists recommend supplementing 2 mg of vitamin B1 and B2 per day, 50 mg of vitamin C, and 1 gram of calcium during the high-temperature season of summer, which can reduce the consumption of carbs and tissue proteins and be beneficial to health. One can consume foods rich in the mentioned nutrients such as watermelon, cucumber, tomatoes, legumes and their products, animal liver and kidneys, shrimp skins, and also consume some fruit juices.
4. Do not forget to replenish potassium
On hot days with excessive sweating, the loss of potassium ions with sweat can lead to a condition of low blood potassium, causing symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, headache, loss of appetite, and heatstroke. The most effective way to prevent potassium deficiency during hot weather is to consume potassium-rich foods. Fresh vegetables and fruits contain more potassium, so consume more strawberries, apricots, lychees, peaches, plums, and vegetables such as green onions, celery, edamame which are also rich in potassium. Tea leaves also contain a substantial amount of potassium, making drinking tea on hot days a good choice.
5. Consume cold drinks in moderation
Consuming some cold drinks or beverages in hot weather can have a certain cooling effect. However, ice creams and popsicles made with milk, egg powder, sugar, etc. are not recommended for frequent consumption. Most beverages have low nutritional value, so it is better to consume them in moderation.
1. Mung bean porridge: Cook 200g of rice, 100g of mung beans with an adequate amount of water to make porridge. Mung bean porridge has the effects of invigorating the spleen, eliminating dampness, soothing the middle, and stopping diarrhea.
2. Job’s tears porridge: Cook 200g of rice, 100g of Job’s tears with an adequate amount of water to make porridge. Job’s tears have the effects of invigorating the spleen, alleviating numbness, promoting diuresis and reducing dampness.
3. Loofah porridge: Cook 100g of luffa, 100g of rice with an adequate amount of salt and water to make porridge. Loofah porridge has the effects of clearing heat, resolving phlegm, cooling blood, and detoxifying.
4. Wu Mei soup: Boil Wu Mei for at least 15 minutes, let it cool and then drink.
5. Green bean soup: Drinking green bean soup in summer can relieve heat, and it can be consumed with every meal.
Feel free to suggest more dietary therapy methods to enhance appetite in the comments. Please point out any errors in the above text. All images are sourced from the internet, contact for deletion if there is any infringement.
