SUMMER, the season of FIRE in Chinese Medicine
CommentsWe are full force into summer – the season filled with abundant energy, long days and sunshine. This is the most yang time of year (winter is the most yin). Summer is about expansion, growth, activity and creativity.
- Element: Fire.
- Color: Red.
- Nature: Yang.
- Organs: Heart, Small Intestine.
- Emotion: Joy.
The Fire Element
There are 5 elements in Chinese medicine – Fire (Summer), Earth (Late Summer), Metal (Fall), Water (Winter) and Spring (Wood). Summer belongs to fire, and is symbolic of maximum activity or greatest yang. It is a time of heat, expansion, and moving outward in nature and in our lives.
The Fire element is associated with the heart, which is more active during the summer. This is the organ to focus on the most now. The heart is in charge of your blood circulation and helps send oxygen and nutrients to the rest of your body. Exercise that gets your blood and muscles moving is a great idea for a heart healthy summer.
In Chinese medicine, mental activity is associated with the heart and therefore our memory, thought processes, emotional well-being, and consciousness are also attributed to the heart and fire element. This is a time to nourish and pacify our spirits, and to pay attention to our heart’s yearning as we find joy in our hot summer days and warm summer nights.
Your heart is also linked to sleep functions. At night, the heart stores the “shen,” a Chinese term for “spirit” or “conscious awareness” that refers to the mental, emotional, expressive, and organizing force within you. If your heart fails to house the shen at night, you will suffer from insomnia.
When the fire element is in balance, the heart is strong and healthy, the mind is calm and sleep is sound.
When the fire element is imbalanced, we may either lack joy (depression) or have an excess of joy (mania). Those who suffer from an imbalance in the fire element may experience agitation, nervousness, heartburn, or insomnia.
Sage Summer Health Advice
To prevent summer ills and remain in harmony with the environment of summer, ancient Chinese physicians advised:
- Awaken earlier in the morning
- Go to bed later in the evening
- Rest at midday
- Drink plenty of fluids
- Add pungent flavors to your diet
- Look for the joy in your life and be grateful
- Visit a Chinese medicine practitioner
Summer and cooling foods
In summer, heat may induce indigestion. Eating light and keeping away from grease and fat will best remedy this. Summer is the perfect season to introduce some cooling, yin foods into your diet. You may have heard the term yin and yang and you may be familiar with its black and white circular symbol commonly seen on t-shirts and posters, but did you know that Chinese medicine classifies foods into these categories as well?
Yin refers to substance, deep materials, the shade, the dark, tangible matter. Yang is expansive, outward, light and airy, energetic. Yin contracts; yang expands. Yin is cooling; yang heats.
Chinese nutrition classifies food according to its energetic qualities of temperature, taste, and how it moistens and strengthens the body. Yin foods clear heat, reduce toxins, and generate body fluids. Yang foods warm and heat the body, and dry up excess bodily fluids. In the summer, we naturally gravitate towards cooling – yin – foods. In the winter, we want to conserve energy, and heat our bodies, so warming yang foods are preferred.
Foods in season are best in taste, are economical and good for our health. This summer, we have bountiful, local organic fruits and vegetables available which cool the body. In general, cooling foods tend towards the green end of the spectrum — lettuce, cucumbers, and watercress are some of the coolest vegetables. Few vegetables are warming, though root veggies will help the body conserve energy. Fish and seafood are cooling, while most meats are warming. Eat local, organic fruits and vegetables, noting that watermelon, apricot, cantaloupe, peaches are some of the most cooling fruits. Cilantro, dill and mint are cooling herbs.
See the recipe at the end of this newsletter for Watermelon Gazpacho, a perfect summer food.
Other helpful tips for the summer season
- Keep a pitcher of water with slices of lemon and/or cucumber with you and sip it throughout the day.
- Eat in moderation. Over consumption of any food, especially cooling foods, can lead to indigestion, sluggishness and possibly diarrhea.
- Do not leave your food out of the fridge for too long. The hot weather tends to increase food spoilage.
- Stay away from dairy, heavy, greasy, and fried foods.
- Avoid strenuous exercise during the heat of the day. After exercising, take a cool or slightly warm shower – never a hot shower when overheated.
- Be aware of the signs of heat exhaustion – the elderly and the very young, and the infirm, are most susceptible to this. Symptoms are listed below.
Heat Exhaustion
is the body’s response to an excessive loss of the water and salt contained in sweat. Those most prone to heat exhaustion are elderly people, young children, people with high blood pressure, and people working or exercising in a hot environment.
Warning signs of heat exhaustion include:
- Heavy sweating
- Paleness
- Muscle cramps
- Tiredness
- Weakness
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Nausea or vomiting
- Fainting
- Hot dry skin
- Cold damp skin
The skin may be cool and moist. The victim’s pulse rate will be fast and weak, and breathing will be fast and shallow. If heat exhaustion is untreated, it may progress to heat stroke, where the symptoms are similar, but more severe than mentioned above, and could include unconsciousness. Seek medical attention immediately if the symptom are severe, or if the person has heart problems or high blood pressure.
Otherwise, help the victim to cool off, and seek medical attention if symptoms worsen or last longer than 1 hour. Cooling measures that may be effective include the following:
- Cool, nonalcoholic beverages
- Rest
- Cool shower, bath, or sponge bath
- An air-conditioned environment
- Lightweight clothing
Supporting Your Fire Energy
The human being is a reflection of the universe – a microcosm within the macrocosm – and this holistic viewpoint allows Chinese medicine to heal the whole person. Acupuncture is a great way to bring your health to its maximum function. Insomnia, heart-related issues (whether physical or psycho-emotional), musculo-skeletal aches and pains are among the many seasonal health challenges that acupuncture can remedy.
If you’re not feeling your best this summer or are lacking some of that fire energy, don’t let the season go by without listening to your body and attending to its needs.
