Cooling Foods for Summer

Summer is here in full force!  Although it is a beautiful time of year, unbearable heat can wear us down. Besides learning to pant like dogs what can we do to cool our bodies during this season?

Both Traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine classify certain foods to be either cooling or warming.  Virya, according to Ayurvedic wisdom, is one of the main properties in food that warms or cools the body. These warming or cooling effects occur outside of the temperature of the foods-they seem to be a form of energy that has been called ‘the nonnutritious compounds or properties’ of foods.

In Traditional Chinese medicine, the opposite concepts of yin and yang are balanced to achieve optimal health.  For instance, if you eat more yin foods, your body will produce more yin energy: darker, slower moving, and colder.  So, in the summer months, yin foods provide the body some relief from the effects of the heat.

Listed below are foods considered to be cooling in nature and therefore a good way to stay cool in the summer.  Eat a variety of these every day for maximum results.

• Raw fruits, vegetables, fruit & veg juices, cucumbers, bamboo shoots, vegetable broth, summer squashes, citrus fruits, raw tomatoes, papaya, grapefruit, lettuce, watermelon, pear, radish, strawberries, tangerines, pineapple, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini and leafy vegetables
• Soybeans/tofu, mung, great northern, navy, kidney and lima beans; sprouted grains & legumes tend to be cooling
• Sea vegetables
• Bulgur, Amaranth, Barley, Millet, Wheat

Cooling herbs/spices:

• Fresh ginger, marjoram, turmeric, cilantro, lemon balm, peppermint, and white peppercorn as well as herbal teas

– Eleanor Healy, Registered Holistic Nutritionist & Reiki Master/Teacher