Disease Prevention in Summer
Prevention is better than cure, Tranditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) emphasizes making proactive adjustments in response to seasonal changes, rather than relying on reactive treatments after an illness has developed.
In summer, the hot humid weather creates ideal conditions for to invade the body. This invasion can lead to various heat-related ailments, ranging from general discomfort to heatstroke. Be mindful of warning signs, that include chest tightness, loss of appetite, limb weakness, fatigue, loose stools, mild fever, drowsiness, profuse sweating, and unintended weight loss. Certain groups are more vulnerable to these imbalances, including the elderly, children, those with weak constitutions, sedentary lifestyles, or poor diets especially with frequent intake of cold or greasy foods. 
To build resilience before summer begins, TCM physicians often suggest that vulnerable individuals consume specific foods or herbal remedies, which are chosen to tonify the lungs, strengthen the spleen, and replenish qi (vital energy), thereby preparing the body to handle the seasonal challenges ahead and reduce the risk of heat-related ailments. Then, once summer arrives, the focus shifts to management. Many Chinese people like to drink the cooling teas such as chrysanthemum or five-flower tea to clear heat and stay comfortable in the heat.
Summer is the time for enjoying more outdoor activities, and so has heat-related problems such as sweating, poor sleep, low appetite, sunburn and fatigue. Hydrating and cooling methods are essential, fruits juices, mung bean soup and traditional herbal drinks are favorable for this. Popular drinks to promote summer health include:
- Fresh patchouli leaves (10g), eupatorium leaves (10g), powered talcum (30g), roasted barley (30g), and licorice (3g). Decoct to drink daily as a tea. This herbal drink clears damp-heat and detoxify the body.
- Lophatherum herb, figwort root, chrysanthemum flower, platycodon root, hawthorn fruit, kudzu root, snakegourd root, tangerine peel, and baical skullcap root. Use 0.5–1g of each ingredient, steep in boiling water for 15 minutes, sweeten to taste, then chill and serve. This cooling drink is ideal for those working in high-heat environments. For such individuals, it’s also important to increase intake of salt and trace elements to stay balanced.
- Sour Plum Drink: The main ingredients include smoked plums, hawthorn fruits, dried tangerine peel, osmanthus flowers, licorice root, and rock sugar. This fragrant, slightly sour and sweet drink helps dispel summer heat and aids digestion.
- Mung bean soup: a traditional folk remedy for relieving summer heat. It is known for its ability to quench thirst and cool the body. The soup can be prepared in a variety of ways, offering a range of flavors and nutritional values. The most common combining ingredients include coix seeds, lily bulb, pumpkin and kelp.
- Reed rhizome drink: reed rhizome can relieve summer heat and promote fluid production, which helps resolve common summer ailments such as thirst, irritability, vomiting, and hot urine. The herb can be cooked alone or combined with other ingredients like pear, sugarcane, and coix seed to make a refreshing summer drink.
- Other fresh seasonal ingredients such as lotus leaf, lotus flower, bamboo shavings, watermelon peel and wax gourd peel are favorable choices to make regular drinks for cooling the body.
Cooling Tea Shop in Southern China
 emphasizes making proactive adju...){kind=link}