5 foods to cool you down this summer, according to traditional Chinese medicine
- These ‘heatwave foods’ will help you beat the hot weather, nourish your body and keep you hydrated
Watermelons are a summer-friendly food that can help you beat the heat and nourish your body. Photo: Xiaomei ChenIn Hong Kong, the scorching summer days bring intense heat and humidity, making people angry, stressed, and tired. Fortunately, according to traditional Chinese medicine, certain foods can cool us down. If you are seeking ways to beat the heat this summer, here are five refreshing options to help you stay cool and revitalised.
1. Watermelon
When it comes to crucial hot-weather foods, watermelon tops the list. Summer wouldn’t be perfect without it. A juicy slice of watermelon balances fluids and electrolytes on a sweltering day and can help lower blood pressure and regulate blood sugar levels. With its refreshing taste and variety of health benefits, watermelon is essential to the summer experience.
2. Sugar cane juice
Although technically a drink, not a food, sugar cane juice is perfect for summer. It is a traditional Chinese juice extracted from vibrant green sugar cane. With its refreshingly sweet and thirst-quenching taste, it’s adored by kids and adults.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, sugar cane juice is considered a yin that helps remove intense heat and humidity from the body. It is also a natural hydrator rich in nutrients, including calcium, potassium, magnesium, and iron.
3. Winter melon
Although it’s called winter melon, it’s commonly eaten in summer. Winter melon is often used to make nourishing soups with chicken broth, ginger, or dried shrimp. We’re sure every Chinese mum has made this soup before!
It’s rarely eaten raw. When cooked, it becomes soft and translucent, with a mild, refreshing flavour, creating a unique texture. According to Chinese medicine, it helps get rid of toxins and cool down the body. It works even better if you add pearl barley to the soup.
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4. Lotus root
Lotus root is delicious in many ways: raw, boiled, fried, in soup, or even as juice! It is very healthy, but raw and cooked lotus root has different benefits.
Raw lotus root tastes sweet and helps lower body heat. Raw lotus juice is good to have in the summer as it can clear away heat from your body and calm the nerves of people who are anxious or can’t sleep well. Cooked lotus roots mainly helps with digestion.
Both raw and cooked lotus roots have a crunchy, dense texture and a nutty flavour you will fall in love with.
5. Mung beans
Mung beans are very popular in China, especially during the hot summer. You can make all kinds of different dishes with them, such as mung bean cake, mung bean ice, or mung bean desserts.
The most common way to enjoy them is in sweet mung bean soup. It has a creamy, nutty, and sweet flavour. Mung beans help regulate body temperature, which makes them perfect for preventing heatstroke in the summer. You can find mung bean soup at traditional dessert shops in Hong Kong, but it is also easy to make at home.