Why should you nourish your heart in summer?
The weather is hot in summer, the days are long and the nights are short, and the climate is dry. Chinese medicine believes that summer belongs to fire in the five elements, and the corresponding viscera is "heart". Therefore, the key to keeping in good health in summer is to cultivate the "heart", but the "heart" mentioned by Chinese medicine does not just refer to the "heart", but the whole nervous system including the heart, and even mental and psychological factors.
The solstice in summer is really hot, and the amount of sweating is far greater than other solar terms. In summer, the way of TCM health preservation thinks that sweat is transformed by body fluid, and blood and saliva are homologous, so there is a saying that "blood and sweat are homologous", and blood is the master of the heart, so there is also a saying that "sweat is the liquid of the heart". The solstice in summer is connected with the heart, and sweating in summer is easy to relax the heart, so Chinese medicine has the theory of "nourishing the liver in spring, regulating the heart in summer, nourishing the lungs in autumn and nourishing the kidney in winter".
The so-called "heart is connected with summer qi" means that the human heart corresponds to summer, and the physiological function of the heart in summer is relatively strong, which is embodied in the fact that the heart controls the blood, and the blood is vigorous and runs smoothly; Increased sweat excretion; Yang is full, floating outside, functional activities are also strengthened and energetic. Therefore, in order to better maintain health from summer diet, we must grasp the relationship between seasons and viscera, and replenish the energy consumed by the heart purposefully to protect the heart.
"Nourishing the heart" not only conforms to the concept of keeping in good health in summer in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, but also has very obvious practical significance because high temperature can easily make people nervous and fluctuate psychologically and emotionally in summer. In addition, high temperature reduces the immune function of the body, and patients are likely to have myocardial ischemia, arrhythmia and elevated blood pressure. Even healthy people may have emotional irritability. Therefore, nourishing the heart is also a good way to prevent emotional ups and downs and even prevent diseases.
Modern medicine has also found that when the temperature exceeds 33℃, human metabolism will be significantly improved, thus increasing the workload of the heart. At the same time, when the weather is hot, sweat glands open to dissipate heat, sweat too much, blood volume decreases and viscosity increases, making it more difficult for the heart to pump blood. In summer, the heart is very tired, and its own nutrition supply is poor, so it is easy to have problems if you are not careful. Therefore, keeping in good health in summer focuses on nourishing the heart.
How to nourish the heart in summer?
Chinese medicine believes that "the heart governs the gods", that is, people's spiritual activities are dominated by the heart. The heart corresponds to "summer". In hot summer, people are more prone to fidgety, anger and bad temper. Therefore, summer health care should pay attention to "rest", keep a happy mood, and avoid exultation and anger.
You can do some relatively peaceful sports, such as Tai Ji Chuan, walking, jogging, painting, fishing, calligraphy and so on. During exercise, you should also be careful not to sweat excessively and replenish water properly.
Sweating in summer can lower the body temperature, and can also eliminate the garbage and toxins in the body, but sweating is the fluid of the heart. Excessive sweating will damage the heart yang and affect the heart function. If you don't sweat in summer, you can't get out of the body with damp heat, which will affect other internal organs and cause spleen and stomach diseases and heatstroke. Therefore, you can't stay in an air-conditioned room in summer without sweating, and it is not appropriate to exercise vigorously and sweat a lot in a high temperature environment.
The principle of summer diet is "nourishing yang in spring and summer", and the emphasis is on nourishing the heart. Nourishing the heart can eat more fruits and vegetables, coarse grains, drink more milk, eat more soy products, chicken, lean meat and so on. It can not only supplement nutrition, but also play a role in strengthening the heart.
Summer is trapped by high temperature and high humidity, and the function of the spleen and stomach is weakened. We should eat less and eat more meals to reduce the burden on the stomach. Eat more vegetables and fruits that can remove fire, such as melon, bitter gourd, watermelon, pear, adzuki bean and mung bean. Eat less fat and greasy things and have a light diet.
Adequate sleep can also ensure peace of mind. Therefore, in summer, we should go to bed early and get up early to adapt to the changes of yang excess and yin deficiency in nature, and at the same time take a nap appropriately to supplement the lack of sleep and prevent the occurrence of heart diseases such as coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. Learn to sleep at noon, that is, sleep before noon (23: 00) and take a nap at noon (1 1 ~ 13: 00).