Beat THE HEAT

EVA GIZOWSKA TAKES A LOOK AT THE BEST FOODS TO EAT DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS TO KEEP COOL, ACCORDING TO TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE

- Eva Gizowska

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been around for more than 2000 years, according to TCM practitioner Jonquil Westwood Pinto. “The aim of this medical system is to prevent, diagnose and treat disease. It’s based on the idea that Qi (your body’s vital energy) circulates around multiple energy pathways called meridians.

“Unlike allopathic medicine in the West, TCM does not isolate symptoms, but looks at the body as a whole. Practitioners seek to find the root cause of health problems so they can work out how best to bring the person back into balance,” she says.

TCM is an umbrella term that includes a number of different therapies and modalities, a few of which are acupuncture, which improves energy flow through the meridians, herbs, diet, massage and mind-body exercises such as tai chi and qigong. Together, they help the body regain balance and stay healthy. It also considers everything in nature to be influenced by five elemental energies: wood, fire, earth, metal and water.

These are said to influence the types of foods we’ll crave at different times of the year, as they link to the energy of the season in question. “Each element has its own specific characteristics and is associated not only with a season, but also a colour, taste, organ and emotion,” says Greg Lampert, TCM practitioner and co-author of Chinese Dietary Wisdom. “TCM teaches that your diet should be modified to suit the time of year. The simplest way to do this is to eat food that’s in season. This will help you to stay healthy physically and emotionally,” he says. (See the panel over the page for the seasons and their associated elements and organs).

Keeping cool in the heat