What foods can quickly reduce excessive internal heat (deficiency fire)?

Dec 24, 2024 Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Zhang Xiuhong
Introduction
Generally speaking, there is no established concept of "what to eat for excessive deficiency-fire to relieve fire quickly." For excessive deficiency-fire, one can consume foods such as watermelon, mung bean soup, bitter melon, kelp, and lemon. Additionally, medications such as Long Dan Xie Gan Wan (Dragon胆泻肝丸), Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan (知柏地黄丸), Liu Wei Di Huang Wan (六味地黄丸), Qing Re Jie Du Kou Fu Ye (清热解毒口服液), and Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan (天王补心丹) may be used under a doctor's guidance. In daily life, maintaining good living and dietary habits is also important.

Generally speaking, there is no such thing as "what to eat to quickly relieve excessive internal heat (deficiency fire)." People with excessive internal heat can consume foods such as watermelon, mung bean soup, bitter melon, kelp, and lemon. Additionally, under a doctor's guidance, medications such as Longdan Xiegan Wan (Dragon胆Liver Bitter Pill), Zhibai Dihuang Wan (Cortex Phellodendri and Anemarrhena Rhizome Rehmannia Pill), Liuwu Dihuang Wan (Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill), Qingre Jiedu Koufuye (Heat-Clearing and Detoxifying Oral Liquid), and Tianwang Buxin Dan (King's Heart Nourishing Pill) may be used. Specific details are as follows:

I. Foods

1. Watermelon: Watermelon is cold in nature and sweet in taste, possessing the effects of clearing heat, relieving summerheat, eliminating irritability, quenching thirst, and promoting urination. It can treat symptoms such as high fever, intense thirst, profuse sweating, and a large pulse. After consumption, fever subsides and body fluids are generated, sweating decreases, and the pulse returns to normal.

2. Mung Bean Soup: Mung bean soup has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting diuresis and reducing edema. Mung beans are a heat-clearing and detoxifying food; when cooked into a soup, they are more easily absorbed by the body, helping to reduce internal heat.

3. Bitter Melon: Bitter melon has the effects of clearing heat and summerheat, clearing the liver and improving vision, and detoxifying. It helps relieve heart and liver fire, keeping the body cool and refreshed even during hot weather.

4. Kelp: Kelp is rich in iodine, calcium, magnesium, and other nutrients, possessing effects such as clearing heat, resolving phlegm, softening blood vessels, and lowering cholesterol. Various minerals and trace elements in kelp help regulate the internal environment, balance yin and yang, thereby helping to reduce excessive internal heat.

5. Lemon: Lemon is rich in vitamin C and various minerals, possessing effects of promoting saliva production to relieve thirst and clearing heat while detoxifying. The sour taste of lemon helps stimulate saliva secretion, alleviating symptoms of dry mouth and throat, while its heat-clearing and detoxifying effects also help reduce internal heat.

II. Medications

1. Longdan Xiegan Wan: This medication consists of ingredients such as Gentiana (Dragon胆), Gardenia (Fructus Gardeniae stir-fried), Alisma (泽泻), Akebia Stem (木通), and others. It clears heat from the liver and gallbladder and removes damp-heat. It is used to treat symptoms such as dizziness, red eyes, tinnitus, deafness, flank pain, and bitter taste in the mouth caused by damp-heat in the liver and gallbladder.

2. Zhibai Dihuang Wan: This medication consists of ingredients such as Anemarrhena (知母), Phellodendron (黄柏), Cornus Fruit (制山茱萸), Tree Peony Bark (牡丹皮), among others. It nourishes yin and reduces fire, used to treat symptoms such as tidal fever, night sweats, dry mouth and sore throat, tinnitus, seminal emission, and short, dark urine caused by excessive fire due to yin deficiency.

3. Liuwu Dihuang Wan: This medication consists of ingredients such as Prepared Rehmannia (熟地黄), Cornus Fruit (酒萸肉), Tree Peony Bark (牡丹皮), Poria (茯苓), and others. It nourishes yin and tonifies the kidneys, used to treat symptoms such as dizziness, tinnitus, weakness and soreness of the loins and knees, tidal fever with bone steaming, night sweats, and seminal emission caused by kidney yin deficiency.

4. Qingre Jiedu Koufuye: This medication has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. It is used to treat symptoms such as fever, flushed face, irritability, thirst, and sore throat caused by excessive heat-toxin. It can alleviate symptoms such as restlessness, dry throat and tongue, mouth ulcers, and dry stools caused by excessive internal heat.

5. Tianwang Buxin Dan: This medication consists of ingredients such as Salvia Miltiorrhiza (丹参), Angelica Sinensis (当归), Schisandra Berry (五味子), Ophiopogon Tuber (麦冬), and others. It nourishes yin and blood, nourishing the heart and calming the mind, used to treat symptoms such as palpitations, forgetfulness, insomnia, and frequent dreams caused by heart yin deficiency.

In daily life, maintaining good living and dietary habits can help prevent and treat excessive internal heat.