Fitness & Wellbeing

Li Xia (立夏) Solar Term – Diet and General Wellness Guidelines

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Li Xia solar term

We will be going into the Li Xia (立夏) solar term (节气) starting from 5 to 20 May 2025. Li Xia is the 7th solar term out of the entire 24 and it is also the first solar term of the summer season.

During Li Xia, the Yang energy in our environment will further increase, which means temperatures will continue to be on the rise. It will also be accompanied with rain at times (especially if you are living in tropical countries). 

During this period, the warmth and dampness in our environment will cause some people to have poorer appetite (as dampness will affect our spleen).

If you find that your appetite is affected, you can try to eat some 茶叶蛋 (tea eggs) or dried tangerine peel. Dried tangerine peel can help to improve appetite and regulate stomach Qi at the same time.

The dietary direction in this solar term is 养心安神 (calm our minds). The reason is that the heart (in TCM, it also represents the mind) will accumulate fire (心火) easily during this period (as summer aligns with the organ – heart). 

When a person has heart fire (心火), the following symptoms will occur (not all at the same time):

  • Insomnia
  • Irregular/heavy heartbeat
  • Giddiness
  • Ulcers on the tongue (especially near the tip)
  • Feeling frustrated

The following are some recommended foods to consume during this period to calm the mind and reduce heart fire (心火):

Lily Bulb (Chinese name: 百合) – Lily bulb is one of the best foods to reduce heart fire as its main property is nourishing heart Yin energy. When the heart’s Yin energy is sufficient, the heart is less likely to be in a heaty state. You can purchase dried lily bulb at most TCM retail shops or fresh ones at the supermarket.

Bitter Gourd (Chinese name: 苦瓜) – Bitter gourd is one of the ideal vegetables to be consumed during this period as it helps in clearing body heatiness and it also has the property of brightening the eyes.  

Mung Beans (Chinese name: 绿豆) – Also known as green beans. You can easily prepare a mung bean drink in 5 minutes, which helps to clear summer heat in the body. It also has the property of quenching thirst, detoxing and reducing dampness. This makes it an ideal drink during this period.

Lotus Seeds (Chinese name: 莲子) – Lotus seed is good for calming the mind. Heart fire can disrupt the mind and affect sleep quality. Lotus seed is a natural remedy to counter this, which is similar to the next food, Fu Ling.

Fu Ling (Chinese name: 茯苓) – Fu ling is excellent for strengthening the spleen and improving sleeping quality. During this summer period, the spleen can be easily affected and thus, Fu Ling will be a good addition to your diet in the upcoming months.

General Wellness Recommendation

In the next two to three months, the heart can easily accumulate fire (心火), resulting in insomnia, dizziness, feeling frustrated, and/or irregular/heavy heartbeat.

The main lifestyle recommendation is to reduce the heart fire or prevent it from going into an excessive state.

Meditating is an effective way to reduce heart fire. Do consider meditating before sleep. It can help to reduce the heart fire and calm the mind.

For best results, you can enjoy a book after meditation (instead of using mobile devices) and go to bed once you start to feel sleepy.

Another important thing to note during this period is to avoid doing strenuous exercises.

The reason is that such exercises will make you sweat a lot and in TCM, there is a saying “汗为心之液” – which means the sweat is actually fluid from the heart. This also means that excessive sweating will deplete the heart’s Yin energy and thus, making one’s heart easily go into the heart fire (心火) state. Try to go for light exercise so you won’t sweat so much.

If you have been sweating a lot during this period, make sure you add some lily bulbs (dried or fresh) to your diet as lily bulbs can help to replenish your heart Yin energy.

Another simple way to replenish heart Yin energy is to drink more water. But if you’re unable to do so for practical reasons (especially during work), then consuming lily bulb will be a better way.

Hope this information helps!

Do take care of yourself and the people around you during this Li Xia solar term!

Gu Yu (谷雨) Solar Term – Diet and General Wellness Guidelines

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Gu Yu solar term

We are into the Gu Yu (谷雨) solar term (节气) starting from 19 Apr to 4 May 2025. Gu Yu is the 6th solar term out of the entire 24. Gu Yu is also the last solar term in this spring season, after which we will be entering the summer season. 

The reason why this solar term is known as “谷雨” is – “雨生百谷”. This means that the growth of many types of grains are dependent on the rainfall during this period.

Hence, more rainfall is expected during this solar term, while the temperature continues to rise further.

Gu Yu solar term is one of the best times for drinking tea. According to “茶疏” (a Chinese classic record on tea), it says “清明太早, 立夏太迟”. This means that the previous solar term (Qing Ming) seems too early for tea drinking, while the next solar term (Li Xia) seems too late. Thus, Gu Yu is deemed as the best period for tea drinking.

During this period, you can consume more green tea as it can also help to quench thirst, improve alertness, reduce heatiness and brighten the eyes.

As for dietary recommendations, there are two main approaches depending on where you live.

If you live in the north where it is windier and there is lesser rainfall, you should focus on 清热润燥 (reduce heatiness and moisten dryness).

Some foods you can consume more of include white fungus, honey, mulberries and green tea.

If you live in the south or in tropical countries (where there is more rainfall), you should focus on 清热祛湿 (reduce heatiness and remove dampness).

Some foods you can consume more of are red bean, Chinese barley, winter melon and white radish.

General Wellness Recommendation

Similar to the previous solar term, our liver can easily go into an excessive state as spring aligns with the wood element (which is the same element as the liver). This can make a person easily frustrated and hot-tempered.

During this solar term, it will be good to spend more time in nature, such as going for a walk or hike in the park or forest. Do your best to go in the early morning or evening to avoid the strong sun exposure.

Doing some light exercises like brisk walking, jogging, taiji, qigong under the morning sun (ideally 7 to 8 am) will also help your body to strengthen its immunity and get rid of dampness (through sweating), especially during this solar term.

During this season, avoid consuming strong tonic foods (unless you have Yang deficiency) and try to eat more vegetables, especially spinach and celery to clear excessive liver heat.

EDIT: On 19 Apr 2024, it was noted that there was heavy rainfall in Dubai and Iran resulting in floods. This needs to be observed for another few years to see if this Gu Yu solar term is related to flash floods in certain countries.  

EDIT 2: On 22 Apr 2024, heavy rain descended upon the vast southern province of Guangdong in China.

EDIT 3: On the last day of Gu Yu 2024, Singapore triggered flash flood warnings across the island due to heavy rain.

Qing Ming (清明) Solar Term – Diet and General Wellness Guidelines

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We are into the Qing Ming (清明) solar term (节气) starting from 4 to 18 Apr 2025. Qing Ming is the 5th solar term out of the entire 24.

Most people are familiar with Qing Ming as it is also known as Tomb Sweeping Day (扫墓) or Ancestors’ Day.

Qing Ming also signifies 上清下明, which means the skies (上) are clear, with little or no clouds and hence the sun shines brightly (明) onto the ground (下) during this solar term.

The Yang energy will continue to increase in our environment, resulting in rising temperatures during this period.

While the temperatures are higher during the Qing Ming solar term, there is also a saying, “清明时节雨纷纷” — this means there will also be more rainfall in certain regions, depending on where you live.

With the rise in temperatures coupled with some rainfall during this solar term, the dampness in our environment will start to accumulate, especially in tropical countries. This also means that dampness (湿气) will start to accumulate in most people’s bodies starting from this solar term.

Therefore, it is best to avoid consuming foods with hot thermal nature such as mutton, ginger, ginseng during this period (unless you have Yang deficiency body constitution).

We should consume more foods that can strengthen the spleen (because dampness affects the spleen), as well as foods that have the property of removing dampness, such as Chinese yam (shan yao), Chinese barley and lentils.

During this solar term, it is also recommended to consume foods that can help to relieve liver Qi stagnation and strengthen the spleen and lungs. The reason is because if the liver goes into an excessive state (which is common during the Qing Ming solar term), it can hurt our spleen and lungs. Some of the recommended foods/drinks you can consider are rose tea, tangerine peel, chrysanthemum and Chinese yam.

Here are some of the top foods to eat during this Qing Ming solar term:

Chinese Yam (山药) – Chinese yam is very suitable to be consumed during this period because it can help to strengthen the spleen and improve its ability to get rid of accumulated dampness in our body.

Chinese Barley (薏米仁) – Another highly recommended food to eat during this period is Chinese barley as it has very strong properties to help with clearing dampness, especially if you have water retention issues in the lower part of your body.

Chrysanthemum Tea (菊花) – You can also increase your consumption of chrysanthemum tea (especially the yellow color type instead of the white color type) as it can help to clear liver heat during this solar term. Do be careful not to boil the chrysanthemum for too long as it will lose its properties. You just need to boil it for less than 10 seconds, then let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.

White Lentils (白扁豆) – White lentils have multiple properties that are beneficial to you during this solar term. It can help to strengthen your spleen, reduce heatiness and also get rid of dampness in your body. It is an ideal food to add to your grains or soup!

Spinach (菠菜) – Spinach is one of the few vegetables that can help to clear heatiness in the liver. Thus, people eat it to relieve liver-heat symptoms like headache, eye pain, giddiness and hot temper.

General Wellness Recommendation

Similarly to the previous solar term, our liver can easily go into an excessive state as spring aligns with the wood element (which is the same element as the liver). This can make a person easily frustrated and hot-tempered.

During this solar term, it will be good to spend more time in nature, such as going for a walk or hike in the park or forest. Do your best to go in the early morning or evening to avoid the strong sun exposure.

Doing some light exercises like brisk walking, jogging, taiji, qigong under the morning sun (ideally 7 to 8 am) will also help your body to strengthen its immunity and get rid of dampness (through sweating), especially during this solar term.

During this season, avoid consuming strong tonic foods (unless you have Yang deficiency) and try to eat more vegetables, especially spinach and celery to clear excessive liver heat.

Chun Fen (春分) Solar Term – Diet and General Wellness Guidelines

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chun fen solar term

We are into the Chun Fen (春分) solar term (节气) starting from 20 Mar 2025 to 3 Apr 2025. Chun Fen is the 4th solar term out of the entire 24.

With the beginning of Chun Fen, we are into the second half of the spring season. Hence the name of this solar term “Chun Fen” (春分), which means “dividing spring into two” in Chinese.

Chun Fen has the most well-balanced Yin and Yang energy in the environment, thus this solar term is known to have perfect weather.

In Chinese, there is a saying “风和日丽”, which means that the weather is very suitable for staying outdoors as the winds are breezy and comfortable, and the sun is not as hot as the upcoming solar terms. 

With such good weather, Chun Fen is also known to be one of the best times to fly kites! It is also a tradition for people to fly kites during the Chun Fen period.

In terms of diet, we should focus on 以平为期. This means to avoid foods that have hot (mutton, deer meat, etc) or cold (bitter gourd, crab meat, etc) thermal nature, and choose foods that are of a more balanced (neutral) thermal nature instead.

It is also a good idea to balance out the thermal nature of foods that you eat. For instance, you can stir fry most vegetables with ginger. As most vegetables are cooling/cold in thermal nature, adding a little bit of ginger will help to create balance in the overall thermal nature of the dish.

Similarly when eating meat or other heaty foods, it is recommended to consume them together with vegetables of cooling thermal nature (such as cucumber) as vegetables can help to reduce heatiness and inflammation caused by the meat. 

During this solar term, we should also increase the intake of foods that can help to strengthen our spleen and reduce liver heat.

The following are the top 5 foods that you can eat more frequently during this Chun Fen solar term:

Chinese Yam (山药) – Chinese yam not only has great benefits for the lungs and kidneys but also helps to strengthen the spleen and allow better absorption of nutrients in our body. Chinese yam has a balanced (neutral) thermal nature.

Carrot (胡萝卜) – Carrot is a very common vegetable but its benefits should not be underestimated! Not only does carrot help to strengthen our spleen, it also nourishes our liver and brightens our eyes. Some people may experience a yellowish skin color after consuming too many carrots, in which case you should stop consuming them and the symptoms will subside.

Chives (韭菜) – Chives have beneficial properties to various organs such as the kidneys, stomach and liver. It is one of the rare vegetables that encourages the growth of Yang energy. You can commonly find chives as part of the ingredients in baos and dumplings.

Sprouts – Bean sprouts and pea sprouts are some examples of vegetables in the sprout category that are ideal to be consumed during this solar term. As sprouts signify growth, they can help to play the role of encouraging the outward growth of energy in our body.

Spinach – Spinach is one of the few vegetables that can clear heatiness in the liver. Thus, people eat it to relieve liver-heat symptoms like headache, eye pain, giddiness and hot temper.

General Wellness Recommendation

In this season (Chun Fen and the next two solar terms), our liver will easily go into an excessive state as spring aligns with the wood element (same as the liver). This can make a person easily frustrated and hot-tempered.

One way to prevent this is to consume foods that are sweet in flavor (as mentioned above).

Another way is to get close to nature. This is the perfect time to go for a walk in the park or hike in the forest, and take time to relax in nature.

Doing some light exercises like brisk walking, jogging, taiji, qigong under the morning sun will also help your body to strengthen its immunity and get rid of dampness (through sweating) especially during this solar term.

During this season, avoid consuming strong tonic foods (unless you have Yang deficiency) and try to eat more vegetables, especially spinach and celery to clear excessive liver heat.

Hope you find this blog post useful!

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