We will be going into the Xiao Shu (小暑) solar term (节气) starting from 6 to 21 Jul 2024. Xiao Shu is the 11th solar term out of the entire 24.
With the arrival of Xiao Shu, we are about two weeks away from the most humid time of the year, Da Shu (大暑).
In these two weeks, some people may experience weaker digestion and/or poor appetite due to the humidity.
The dietary direction for this solar term is 消暑健脾, 养阴生津. This means reducing summer heatiness, strengthening the spleen, as well as nourishing the Yin to encourage the production of fluids in the body.
The following are foods you can consider to consume more often during this period:
Adzuki beans (赤小豆) – Adzuki beans are good for clearing summer heatiness as well as helping to remove dampness in our body. It is one of the best foods to be consumed during this solar term.
Chinese Yam (山药) – Chinese yam is very suitable for this period because it can help to strengthen our spleen and improve its ability to get rid of accumulated dampness in our body.
Winter Melon (冬瓜) – Winter melon is a recommended food for this solar term because it can help to remove the dampness in the body through urination. It can also reduce body heatiness due to the summer heat.
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.
General Wellness Recommendation
In the next 4 weeks (2 solar terms), there will be an increase in cases of 暑湿感冒 (summer flu) as compared to the usual wind heat flu (风热感冒) or wind cold flu (风寒感冒).
The characteristics of summer flu are high and persistent fever, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and/or skin rashes.
Unlike wind heat and wind cold flu, people with summer flu will not find relief after sweating. Thus, some people may suspect it is dengue fever.
The following are some suggestions to avoid getting summer flu in the next 4 weeks:
- Avoid entering an air-conditioned room immediately after sweating from the heat. Instead, find a sheltered place to cool down and let the sweating subside before entering the air-conditioned area.
- Avoid consuming cold drinks especially when you are feeling very warm and hot. It is best to drink room temperature water in this case so that it won’t hurt your spleen. This is the most common reason why people get summer flu.
- Avoid consuming oily and sweet foods as they will burden and weaken your spleen and increase your vulnerability to summer flu.
- Consume foods that help to strengthen your spleen and clear dampness in the body (such as those mentioned earlier in this post).
For someone who has gotten the summer flu (with the above mentioned symptoms), he/she can try to take 藿香正气丸. This is a proven TCM formula for summer flu that you can purchase in any TCM retail shop.