As the saying goes, "Treat winter diseases in summer." Doing some things during the dog days can help maintain good health. How can we detoxify during the dog days? How can we get rid of cold and dampness? Let's take a look!
Diet Therapy to Expel Cold
During the dog days, it is advisable to eat some warm foods to dispel cold and avoid consuming cold foods. Lamb, crucian carp, Chinese yam, and goji berries are all warming foods. Adding garlic and ginger as seasonings when cooking can warm the spleen and stomach and expel cold pathogens.
Dog Days Patch
The "dog days patch" is based on the concept of "correspondence between heaven and humans," "treating internal diseases externally," and "treating winter diseases in summer" in traditional Chinese medicine. It uses traditional Chinese medicine to stimulate acupuncture points, adjust the balance of yin and yang in the body, and achieve the effects of disease prevention and health preservation. Patching is generally suitable for people who are weak and susceptible to diseases, asthma, rhinitis, joint diseases, cold uterus, and dysmenorrhea. It can enhance the immune system, especially for those who frequently cough and catch colds or have cold-related diseases.
Foot Bath to Expel Cold
The feet contain meridians and collaterals of the spleen, stomach, liver, and kidney. During the dog days, soaking the feet can stimulate the meridians, warm the organs, regulate organ functions, improve blood circulation in the pores, and accelerate the expulsion of body cold. The foot bath should not be too long, and it should not cause excessive sweating. Excessive sweating can damage qi and blood. Therefore, it is best to use warm water at around 40 degrees Celsius for foot baths, and the principle is not to sweat excessively.
Eating Ginger
Ginger contains volatile gingerol and gingerol, which have the functions of promoting blood circulation, dispelling cold, removing dampness, and inducing sweating. Ginger is especially beneficial for gallbladder, stomach, and bloating, and it can also prevent fishy odors and reduce edema. Fresh ginger is moisturizing without damaging yin, and when used with honey, it is beneficial for liver recovery. If you often feel cold in the stomach and have poor appetite, you can frequently consume fresh ginger slices to stimulate gastric acid secretion and promote digestion.
Moxibustion to Expel Cold
Moxibustion stimulates acupuncture points with heat and the effects of herbal medicine, warms the meridians, improves blood circulation, invigorates the spleen and stomach, and disperses cold. Moxibustion therapy can promote meridian circulation, regulate qi and blood, invigorate the spleen and stomach, and dispel cold.
Gua Sha
Gua sha is generally only suitable for the early and middle stages of a cold. It has the functions of dispersing wind and clearing heat, and dispelling wind and cold. The effect of gua sha is much weaker in the late stage of a cold. After gua sha, it is best to drink a large glass of warm water to help detoxify. The area where gua sha is applied should not be exposed to cold air.
Drinking Hot Water
Can drinking hot water during the dog days really expel dampness and cold? Many people have doubts about this, but it is indeed effective.
During the dog days, the human body is at the peak of yang energy. At this time, the body is in a state of "yang energy being strong on the outside but weak on the inside" to adapt to the season. The purpose of drinking hot water is mainly to induce sweating, which is known as the function of sweating and dispelling exterior pathogens in traditional Chinese medicine. However, this is only a health preservation method and requires long-term adherence. It cannot eliminate the internal dampness and cold in a short three dog days.
Cupping
Cupping can dispel cold and dampness, dredge meridians, and eliminate stasis. Cupping therapy can improve many diseases. The duration of cupping in summer should be controlled within about 10 minutes. For ordinary people, cupping should not be performed on areas with broken skin or prominent bones, as it may cause infection and other consequences.
Eating Lamb
During the dog days, the body accumulates heat. Drinking lamb soup with chili oil, vinegar, and garlic is a good way to induce profuse sweating, which can take away accumulated heat from the five viscera and eliminate toxins from the body, benefiting overall health. However, not everyone is suitable for "eating dog days lamb." People with a hot constitution, those prone to getting angry, and those who are prone to "boils and abscesses" are not suitable for "winter disease treatment in summer," including "dog days lamb."
Preventing Dampness and Strengthening Spleen and Stomach
Pay attention to the maintenance of the spleen and stomach. People with weak spleen and stomach should drink less cold drinks and eat fewer cold dishes. Pay attention to keeping the navel warm. The dog days are a season when digestive diseases are more common. In terms of diet, avoid irregular meals, unclean food, and excessive indulgence. Excessive consumption of cold drinks and cold food is not advisable. Everything should be done in moderation.
Exercise to Expel Cold
Movement generates yang energy, and the generation of yang energy can warm the body and dispel cold. People with a cold constitution especially need to improve their physique through exercise. Fast walking can stimulate the meridians and acupoints of the feet, promote meridian circulation, regulate qi and blood, and dispel cold.
Dog Days Health Tips
Avoid Excessive Drinking
During the summer, the human body is prone to accumulation of damp-heat. Excessive drinking of liquor can exacerbate the production of heat and dampness, which is like adding fuel to the fire.
Avoid Drinking Excessively When Thirsty
After heavy labor or exercise and sweating profusely, one should not drink a large amount of plain water. Instead, it is advisable to replenish with diluted salt (sugar) water. Excessive sweating causes excessive loss of salt, and if salt is not replenished in time, the proportion of water to salt in the body will be severely imbalanced, leading to metabolic disorders.
Keep Anti-heat Medications Handy
During the scorching summer, high temperatures and dryness can make people lose their appetite and have poor sleep, leading to symptoms such as dizziness, headache, fatigue, and even nausea and vomiting. To safely spend the summer, families should have some anti-heat medications ready. Common medications and foods include Huoxiang Zhengqi water, cooling oil, honeysuckle, chrysanthemum, lotus leaf, and watermelon, among others.
Learn to Take Good Naps
During the summer, with long days and short nights and hot weather, sleep time is reduced, and sleep quality is poor. Taking a short nap in the afternoon is like recharging the brain, which helps in physical recovery.
Exercise Moderately
"Life lies in movement," but elderly and weak people who are normally inactive should not engage in vigorous exercise, as it can be harmful. It is widely recognized that walking is the best exercise.
Hot Tea is More Effective than Cold Drinks
Medical research has shown that hot tea is more effective than cold drinks for preventing heatstroke and reducing body temperature, and its effects last longer. Tea contains abundant potassium. With increased sweating in summer, excessive loss of potassium ions occurs. Potassium and sodium together maintain normal osmotic pressure and acid-base balance inside and outside cells. They have an important impact on the normal function of nerves, muscles, and especially the heart. When the body lacks potassium, fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite, decreased heat resistance, and even heatstroke can occur. Drinking tea regularly in summer can supplement potassium in the body, improve heat resistance, and effectively prevent heatstroke.
