The Health Preservation Chapter of the Major Heat Solar Term in the 24 Solar Terms

Liu Tingting: The Major Heat is the hottest solar term of the year. Its climatic characteristics are as follows: "When the Dou points to Bing, it is the Major Heat. The weather at this time is more intense than that of the Minor Heat, so it is called the Major Heat." The Major Heat falls around the Middle of the Dog days. In many regions of our country, temperatures often reach 40 degrees Celsius. During this sweltering season, heatstroke prevention and cooling measures cannot be ignored. The Major Heat period is the time when warm-loving crops grow the fastest and when there are the most crickets in rural fields. In some parts of China, people have the custom of fighting crickets for pleasure after meals. The Major Heat is also the season with the most thunderstorms. There is a saying that goes, "If lightning strikes in the east, not a drop will fall here; if it strikes in the west, the rain will come very quickly and there will be no time to avoid it." This means that in the summer afternoon, if lightning appears in the east, the rain won't fall here. But if it strikes in the west, the rain will come very soon and it will be too late to avoid it. People often refer to the thunderstorms in the afternoon of summer as "northwest rain" and describe them as "Northwest rain, falling on the road without cars." The lines such as "Summer rain separates the ridges of fields" and "summer rain separates the backs of oxen" vividly illustrate that during thunderstorms, it often rains on one side and is sunny on the other. Just as the Tang Dynasty poet Liu Yuxi once said, "It's sunny on the east side and rainy on the west side. If there's no clear weather, there's still clear weather." In summer, the climate is hot, with intense heat and frequent rain. The dampness of summer can easily take advantage of the situation and the heat is overwhelming, which can easily deplete the heart energy. Especially for the elderly, children, and those with weak constitutions and qi, it is often difficult to maintain good health, leading to diseases such as 疰夏 and heatstroke. If you experience obvious general weakness, dizziness, palpitations, chest tightness, inattention, excessive sweating, numbness in the limbs, thirst, nausea and other symptoms, it is mostly a precursor to heatstroke. Once the above symptoms occur, the patient should be immediately moved to a well-ventilated area to rest and given some light salted water or mung bean soup, watermelon juice, plum soup, etc. Methods to prevent heatstroke in summer: Arrange work reasonably and pay attention to balancing work and rest. Avoid direct exposure to the scorching sun. Pay attention to indoor cooling. Get enough sleep. Pay attention to food hygiene. For those who have the conditions, after entering summer, it is advisable to frequently consume some aromatic prescriptions that can dissolve turbidity and clear damp-heat, such as 10 grams each of fresh Agastache rugosa leaves and Eupia trifolia leaves, 30 grams each of talc and roasted malt, and 3 grams of licorice. Boil them in water and drink as tea. You can also take some Ren Dan and Shi Shui Shui during the hot summer season. The Major Heat is the time of the year when the temperature is the highest and the Yang energy is at its peak. In health preservation, there is often the saying of "treating winter diseases in summer". Therefore, for those chronic diseases that occur every winter, such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, bronchial asthma, diarrhea, rheumatic arthralgia and other Yang deficiency syndromes, it is the best time for treatment. Friends with the above-mentioned chronic diseases should be especially careful in their health preservation during summer and focus on prevention and treatment. Take chronic bronchitis as an example. Both internal and external use can be adopted. The specific method is as follows: Take internal medications such as Jinkui Shenqi Pills and Zuogui Pills, which warm the kidney and enhance Yang, twice a day, one pill each time, for a month. For external application, 20 grams of Baijie Zi, 15 grams of Yuanhu, 12 grams of Xinxin, and 10 grams of Gansui can be selected. Grind them into fine powder and mix with ginger juice to form a paste. Divide it into six portions. Each time, take one portion and spread it on an oil paper or plastic film with a diameter of about 5 centimeters. Stick it on the Feishu, Xinshu, and Geshu points on the back or on the Feishu, Bailao, and Gao Huang points on both sides, and fix it with adhesive tape. It is generally applied for 4 to 6 hours. If there is a burning sensation, it can be removed in advance. If there is a slight itch in the local area or a warm and comfortable feeling, it can be applied for several more hours. It should be noted that applying it once during each of the three dog days of summer (three dog days of summer), three times a year, for three consecutive years, can enhance the non-specific immunity of the body and reduce the allergic state of the body. This combination of internal and external treatments can effectively eradicate or alleviate symptoms. In summer, taking advantage of the nutritional benefits of diet to maintain health and prolong life is an effective guarantee for reducing diseases and preventing aging. The dietary adjustment in summer is based on the climatic characteristics of hot weather. Due to the hot climate in summer, it is easy to deplet body fluids and qi. Therefore, medicinal porridge is often chosen to nourish the body. The Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor has the viewpoints that "medicine should be used to eliminate it, and food should follow it" and "grains, meat, fruits and vegetables should be consumed to nourish it completely." The renowned medical expert Li Shizhen particularly advocated the health preservation of medicinal porridge. He said, "If you have a large bowl of porridge every day, when your stomach is weak, the grain energy will be produced. The nourishment is not fine and it is extremely soft and greasy, which is in harmony with the stomach and intestines. This is the most wonderful thing in diet." Medicinal porridge is suitable for the elderly, children and those with weak spleen and stomach functions. Therefore, the ancients said, "The most nourishing food in the world is porridge," and "eating two grams of rice a day is equivalent to a large bag of ginseng and astragalus." The Six Books on Medicine praise: "Glutinous rice porridge is a pill that nourishes the body, generates energy, and nourishes the body. It is a wonderful product that warms and nourishes the stomach qi." It is evident that porridge is of great significance to human health. Although medicinal porridge is beneficial to the human body, it cannot be used universally. Appropriate herbs should be selected based on each person's different constitution and diseases to make porridge in order to achieve satisfactory results. In summer, water is also a very important and indispensable element for health preservation and longevity in the human body. As the saying goes, "Man is made by water," and this statement is not without reason. Water makes up about 70% of the human body weight. Traditional health preservation methods highly recommend drinking cold boiled water. The experimental results also show that. After a cup of ordinary water boils, cover it and let it cool to room temperature. During the process of boiling and cooling this kind of cold boiled water, the chlorine gas content is reduced by half compared to ordinary natural water. The physical and chemical properties of the water, such as surface tension, density, viscosity and electrical conductivity, all change. It is very similar to the water in biologically active cells, so it can easily pass through the cells and possess wonderful biological activity. According to folk experience and experimental results, drinking a cup of fresh cold boiled water every morning will have a miraculous effect of prolonging life after several years. Japanese medical experts once conducted a survey and statistics on 460 elderly people over the age of 65. Among those who had been drinking a cup of cold boiled water every morning for five years, 82% had a rosy complexion, were energetic, had loose teeth, and could walk 10 kilometers every day. None of these people had ever suffered from serious illness. From this, it can be said that the importance of water to the human body is absolutely true. Apart from water, wine, soup, fruit juice and so on can all be called beverages. Reasonable selection can all play a very good role in strengthening the human body and keeping fit. In the height of summer, as the Yang heat descends, 絪 is filled with steam and dampness, and water vapor rises. Therefore, more people are exposed to dampness during this season. In traditional Chinese medicine, dampness is regarded as a Yin pathogen. Its nature tends to descend, being heavy, turbid and sticky, which can easily impede the movement of qi and damage Yang qi. In dietary therapy and medicinal diets, it is advisable to clear heat and relieve summer heat. Here are several delicious dishes suitable for the Major Heat season. Mixed eggplant: [Ingredients] 500g tender eggplant, 15g coriander, an appropriate amount of garlic, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, fine salt, and Sichuan pepper. [Method] Wash the eggplants, peel them, cut them into small pieces, put them in a bowl, sprinkle a little salt, then put them in cold water to soak and remove the brown color. Take them out and steam them in a steamer until cooked. Take them out and let them cool down. Crush the garlic. Heat a wok over the fire, add sesame oil, stir-fry the Sichuan pepper until fragrant, then pour the oil into a small bowl together. Add soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, salt, monosodium glutamate and minced garlic, and mix well to make the sauce. Pour it over the eggplant slices. Wash the coriander thoroughly, cut it into sections, and sprinkle it over the eggplant slices. It's done. [Functions] Clearing heat and opening orifices, reducing swelling and promoting diuresis, strengthening the spleen and harmonizing the stomach. Note: Green beans contain hemagglutinin A, a toxic protein. Its toxicity can be greatly reduced after heating. So the green beans must be blanched thoroughly to prevent poisoning. Stir-fried mixed dish: [Ingredients] 1 block of tofu, 50g of tender green beans, 50g of tomatoes, 15g of black fungus, an appropriate amount of sesame oil, vegetable oil, fine salt, monosodium glutamate and chopped scallions. [Method] Cut the tofu, green beans, tomatoes and black fungus into small cubes. Add water to a pot and bring it to a boil. Blanch the tofu, green beans, tomatoes and black fungus thoroughly (the tomatoes should be slightly blanched), then remove them, drain the water and set them aside on a plate. Heat a wok over high heat, add vegetable oil, and stir-fry the Sichuan pepper until fragrant. Then, add the chopped scallions, salt, tomatoes, and monosodium glutamate, stir well, and pour over the blanched tofu, green beans, and black fungus. Drizzle with sesame oil and stir well. [Functions] Quenching thirst, invigorating the spleen, dispelling summer heat, detoxifying and eliminating dampness. Mung bean and Pumpkin Soup: [Ingredients] 50 grams of mung beans, 500 grams of old pumpkin, a little salt. [Method] Wash the mung beans thoroughly with clean water. While they are still moist, add a little salt (about 3 grams) and stir well. Let them marinate for a few minutes, then rinse them clean with clear water. Peel and deseed the pumpkin, wash it thoroughly with clean water, and cut it into 2-centimeter-square pieces for later use. Add 500 milliliters of water to a pot, bring it to a boil, then put in the mung beans and boil for 2 minutes. Pour in a little cold water and bring it to a boil again. Add the pumpkin to the pot, cover the pot, and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes until the mung beans bloom. Season with a little salt and it's ready. [Functions] Mung beans are sweet and cool in nature, capable of clearing summer heat, detoxifying and promoting diuresis. It is served with pumpkin to quench thirst and boost energy. It is the best diet for heatstroke prevention in summer. Bitter Gourd and Chrysanthemum Porridge: [Ingredients] 100 grams of bitter gourd, 50 grams of chrysanthemum, 60 grams of glutinous rice, 100 grams of rock sugar. [Method] Wash the bitter gourd, remove the seeds, and cut it into small pieces for later use. Wash the glutinous rice and rinse the chrysanthemums. Put both in a pot, add an appropriate amount of water, and cook over high heat. When the water boils, add the bitter gourd and rock sugar, then reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until the rice blooms. [Functions] Clearing summer heat, stopping dysentery and detoxifying. It is suitable for heatstroke with thirst, dysentery and other conditions. Note: When drinking this porridge, avoid all warm, dry, spicy, thick and greasy foods. From China.org.cn