What should you eat to reduce internal heat?
Disease description:
Recently, I've been getting mouth ulcers frequently, my gums are swollen, and I constantly feel dry-mouthed and thirsty, as if I'm suffering from excessive internal heat. I wonder if it's because I've been staying up late and eating too much spicy food lately. I'd like to ask everyone, besides adjusting my schedule, what foods can quickly help reduce this internal heat?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Zhang Xiuhong
In traditional Chinese medicine, "fire" often refers to excessive internal yang qi, which manifests as symptoms including dry mouth and tongue, sore throat, and constipation. To reduce this "fire," it is recommended to make dietary adjustments and consume more foods that clear heat and detoxify and promote fluid production to relieve dryness.
1. Mung beans: Cold in nature, they can clear heat and detoxify, promote diuresis and reduce swelling, making them an excellent summer heat-relieving food.
2. Bitter melon: Bitter and cold in nature, it has effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, improving vision, and promoting diuresis, making it suitable for individuals with a "hot" body constitution.
3. Winter melon: Cool in nature, it has functions of promoting diuresis and clearing heat and detoxifying, making it suitable for summer consumption.
4. Pears: Cool in nature, they can clear heat and moisten the lungs, promote fluid production and relieve thirst, helping to alleviate dry throat.
5. Green tea: Contains tea polyphenols and other components that can clear heat and detoxify and refresh the mind.
6. Fruits with heat-clearing, detoxifying, fluid-producing, and thirst-relieving effects: Such as pears, bananas, watermelons, and dragon fruit. These fruits are generally cold or cool in nature and can effectively alleviate internal heat pathogenic factors.
7. Coarse grains: Such as red adzuki beans, mung beans, and coix seed, as well as certain seafoods like sea snails and squid, also have certain heat-reducing effects.
