"What Foods Should You Eat to Nourish Your Heart in Summer?"

Summer Heart Nourishment Diet Tips

In summer, to nourish the heart, it is crucial to maintain a light and healthy diet. Avoid or minimize the consumption of fatty, greasy, spicy, and fried foods. Instead, prioritize low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar, low-cholesterol, and mildly stimulating foods that are cool and soothing for the heart, such as poria cocos, lotus seeds, lilies, and red dates. Additionally, increase your intake of nourishing foods that promote the production of body fluids, like lotus root powder, white fungus, watermelon, duck meat, pears, and apples.

1. Embrace the taste of "bitter" in summer, as bitterness nourishes the heart, nourishes yin, clears heat, and relieves irritability. Examples include bitter gourd, bitter vegetables, lettuce, and lotus seed cores.

2. Especially for middle-aged and elderly individuals, a light diet is more suitable. Avoid or minimize fatty, fried, and overly salty foods. Limit fat intake and consume more beans, fresh fruits, and vegetables.

3. Pay attention to hygiene; consume warm, cooked, and soft foods. Avoid or minimize raw and cold foods, especially sticky and hard-to-digest items. It is also beneficial to eat cool, water-rich fruits or vegetables like cucumbers, winter melons, loofahs, seaweed, mung bean soup, and chrysanthemum tea, which have heat-clearing, summer-heat-relieving, and yin-nourishing effects. However, be cautious not to overindulge. Eating too much spicy food like chili peppers can lead to internal heat and yin deficiency, akin to adding fuel to the fire, so it's best to consume them in moderation during summer. When eating, focus and chew slowly. Avoid taking a bath or engaging in strenuous activities immediately after meals.