Disease Inquiry, Health Guidance, Classic Health Preservation, No Need for Doctors When Sick
As the saying goes: “Eat radishes in winter and ginger in summer, no need for a doctor’s prescription.” With the arrival of the hot summer, the climate becomes hot and humid, leading many to experience issues such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, colds, and eczema flare-ups.
In fact, these seasonal minor ailments can be resolved with a piece of ginger, which can be used both internally and externally to dispel wind, relieve the exterior, promote sweating and cooling, warm the meridians, and the stomach, thus preventing and alleviating common summer illnesses.
There are many considerations for using ginger for health in summer: how to eat it properly, how to use it most effectively, and what to avoid?
Here, I have compiled a simple and practical ginger health guide that is essential for summer wellness.
Internal Consumption Method
Chewing Vinegar-Pickled Ginger: Nourishing Yang Qi
In summer, Yang Qi rises to the surface, leading to internal cold and external heat, which can easily cause digestive issues and diarrhea. At this time, eating ginger slices, especially vinegar-pickled ginger, can gently warm the spleen and stomach, and consolidate the vital energy.
Ginger is warm in nature and is an excellent food for nourishing Yang Qi. The acetic acid in vinegar helps to prevent ginger from dispersing too much, which could harm the body’s fluids, thus complementing each other and nourishing both Yang and Yin.
Method: Buy half a pound of ginger, slice it, place it in a jar, and then cover the ginger with rice vinegar. Let it soak for three days before consuming.
Special Reminder: It is recommended to eat vinegar-pickled ginger during breakfast. This is because ginger is best at promoting the Yang Qi of the Yangming meridian, and from 7 to 9 AM, the body’s Qi and blood flow through the Yangming stomach meridian. Eating ginger at this time can best elevate Yang Qi and promote digestion.
Ginger and Jujube Tea: Dispelling Damp Heat
Summer is the season when the body is most prone to damp heat, and many people’s eczema tends to flare up during this time.
Additionally, being in air-conditioned environments daily can easily lead to the invasion of cold pathogens, causing discomfort. At this time, everyone can brew a cup of ginger and jujube tea to disperse external cold and clear internal dampness, preventing dampness and colds.
Method: Take a piece of fresh ginger, slice it finely, and combine it with an appropriate amount of red dates in a pot. Add water and simmer, then add an appropriate amount of brown sugar before serving.
Red dates are warm in nature and can tonify the spleen and stomach; brown sugar nourishes Qi and blood, and supports the righteous Qi; ginger dispels cold and warms the stomach. The combination of these three ingredients is highly effective.
External Application Method
1. External Application of Ginger to Alleviate Pain
During the hot and humid summer, many elderly individuals experience joint pain. What can be done? You can still seek help from “ginger”.
Method: Cut ginger into 1 cm thick slices, boil them in concentrated salt water until cooked, then apply the hot ginger slices to the lower back and knee joints, repeating several times.
This method can relax the muscles and promote blood circulation, alleviating pain, and is particularly effective for lower back pain and knee pain caused by sudden changes in weather during the rainy season.
2. Rubbing Ginger Slices: Removing Scars
Ginger can also be used externally to remove scars.
Method: Gently massage the scar area with ginger slices for about 10 minutes each morning and evening. After massaging, do not wash the skin immediately; wait until the skin has fully absorbed the ginger before washing. This should be done consistently for 2 months or more. Its effects include detoxifying and moisturizing, and it can help remove freckles and acne scars.
However, ginger slices can be somewhat irritating, so it is recommended to consult a professional physician before use.
3. Ginger Moxibustion: Warming the Meridians and Dispelling Cold
Ginger moxibustion not only nourishes Yang Qi but also warms the meridians and dispels cold.
By using the heat from moxibustion to transfer the medicinal properties of ginger into the body, it serves to warm the interior and dispel cold, making it particularly suitable for summer-related abdominal pain, diarrhea, dysmenorrhea, and vomiting.
For those without experience, it is advisable to seek treatment at a hospital or perform the procedure under the guidance of a physician.
Method: Take a piece of ginger, cut it into slices about 0.3 cm thick (approximately the thickness of a one-yuan coin), adjusting the size according to the acupoint location and the size of the moxa cone used. Puncture several holes in the center with a toothpick.
During moxibustion, place it on the acupoint, add an appropriate amount of moxa cone, and light it. When feeling a local burning sensation, slightly lift the ginger slice and move it to a nearby acupoint, or replace the moxa cone and continue moxibustion, aiming for local redness.
Additionally, for various pains such as stomach pain, dysmenorrhea, and shoulder periarthritis, ginger can be applied externally to the painful areas, taking care to avoid exposure to cold.
Ginger Consumption Guidelines
Individuals with a Cold Constitution Should Consume Ginger
Individuals with a cold constitution often experience symptoms such as fear of cold, cold hands and feet, and diarrhea after consuming cold foods. These individuals should consume more ginger, as ginger is warm in nature and can warm the interior, dispel cold, and nourish Yang Qi.
Individuals with Yin Deficiency Should Avoid Ginger
Not everyone is suitable for consuming ginger; those with Yin deficiency are prone to “internal heat,” irritability, and emotional fluctuations, so this group should avoid excessive consumption of ginger.
Individuals with Yin deficiency can consume some cooling and nourishing foods, such as fresh vegetables, fruits, and high-fiber foods like yam, lotus seeds, lilies, black fungus, and white fungus, which are great for stewing soups or porridge, as they can nourish Yin, replenish blood, and clear the heart and reduce internal heat.
Follow Mai Mai Health to inquire about the following diseases (Disease Search)
Pediatric fever, pediatric diarrhea, night crying, pediatric massage, pediatric knowledge, lower back pain, male health, kidney tonifying diet, strengthening waist exercises, lumbar disc herniation, back pain, leg pain, cervical spondylosis, liver disease, liver health, hangover relief, stomach disease, constipation, abdominal protrusion, gynecology, menstrual care, breast hyperplasia, breast cancer, postpartum care, acne, white hair, hair loss, breast enhancement, beauty, skin diseases, gallstones, pharyngitis, gout, toothache, snoring, oral ulcers, rhinitis, eye diseases, hands and feet, colds, coughs, insomnia, hemorrhoids, cerebral hemorrhage, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, food properties, blood tonifying, weakness, obesity, slim legs, slim waist, dampness, meridians, Chinese patent medicine, hiccups
Diagnosis: Differentiation, back examination, facial examination, acne, menstruation, tongue diagnosis, blue veins, sweat diagnosis, eye examination, nails, navel (finding the cause of illness)
Treating Various Illnesses: Meditation, stretching, back rolling, gua sha, tapping, cupping, gallbladder meridian tapping, earth muscle kneading, vinegar-pickled eggs, abdominal moxibustion, ginger, acupoint pressing, folk remedies, moxibustion, high leg raises