May 21st, 2011. "Grain Fills", the 2nd small Summer season arrives

      "Grain Fills" is the 2nd small summer season and the 1st small hot season. The celestial longitude reaches 60 degree. From now on the temperature will reach a new high level. But meanwhile the amount of rain will increase too, and it can still be cold during early morning and at night, also after rain. Make sure still cover yourself well during sleep to avoid catching cold.

  
      It is recommended to go to bed later but get up earlier. Here the "late" only means about 10pm in ancient time, or soon after sunset. As the sun rises early, so should we. This will guarantee us to take full advantage of the summer Yang energy. However, in these days if we do so, some of us may feel sleepy or tired during daytime. One way to adjust it is to take short naps during day time. That is noon nap for most of us. It doesn't need to be long and try to lie down instead of resting your head on the table or desk. Resting or sleeping on desk can cause temporary low blood pressure and lower the blood supply in the brain, which can make us even more tired. If you really don't have the luxury to take a good nap, you can at least take a short walk or meditate.
      
      Besides the heat, this is also a season with high humidity and sometimes wind. One common issue is skin problem such as rashes and rubella. TCM considers these issues have several causes:

1. Internal humidity meets external heat wind or cold wind, the "battle" takes place under the skin level therefore causing reactions.
2. "Overheated" stomach meets harmful wind, internal heat "trapped" at the skin level then cause reactions
3. Taking too much rich or heavy food that produce too much fluid inside the body, then being heated by body heat, the fluid starts to surface thus cause reactions.

Although they seems to be different, we can still see the common reasons which are:

1. The skin doesn't "breath" right. This is usually caused by cold. When the skin is hit by cold, pores will close.The solution is to make sure stay warm even in a hot day so you can sweat well. That is to allow the skin "breath" better so you will not retain fluid either. Avoid too much cold drinks and possibly try not to use air conditioner too often.
2. Too much unprocessed energy stays inside of the body. This is usually caused by inappropriate food. The solution is simple, eat light and mild food meanwhile take good care of your digestive system.

      Recommended foods include red bean, barley, green bean, cucumber, celery, water chestnut, black wood fungus, carrot, tomato, water melon, yam and fish. Avoid heavy and rich food such as fat, too much seafood, deep fried food, strong spices (raw garlic, scallion, horseradish, hot pepper, etc), especially for those who are not in ideal health condition.