Drinking ice water in summer to cool down and lose weight, but these 3 situations may harm your body? Traditional Chinese Medicine: Drinking ice water during menstruation may cause menstrual cramps

The Great Heat is the last solar term in summer and also the hottest time of the year. If you do not pay attention to sun protection when you are outdoors, you are likely to suffer from heatstroke and cause heat damage. There are many myths about cooling off, such as the saying that "hot weather causes poor appetite, so you will lose weight easily if you can't eat." There are also common myths such as "drinking ice water in hot weather can cool off, stimulate metabolism and help lose weight." Chinese medicine practitioners say that drinking ice water in three situations can cause discomfort, including menstrual pain, gastrointestinal discomfort, and even a decrease in immunity.

The Great Heat solar term falls in the middle of the three hottest days of the year, which is the hottest period of the year. "Collected Explanations of the 72 Solar Terms" records: "The Great Heat is in the middle of June. Heat means heat. Heat can be divided into small and large. The beginning of the month is small, and the middle of the month is large. Now the heat is still large." The so-called "large" means "the extreme heat." This year's "Great Heat" has brought six days of extremely high temperatures exceeding 36 degrees. Every day, people come to the Chinese medicine clinic for help with discomfort symptoms caused by "heat damage."

In this regard, Chinese medicine practitioner Qiu Guanzhong said that the Great Heat is the last solar term in summer and it is also the hottest time of the day. If you do not pay attention to sun protection when you are outdoors, you are likely to suffer from heatstroke and cause heat damage. There are many myths about cooling off, such as the saying that "hot weather causes poor appetite, so you will lose weight easily if you can't eat." There are also common myths such as "drinking ice water in hot weather can cool off, stimulate metabolism and help lose weight." In the hot summer, it is easy to have a strong internal fire. It is recommended to eat the following light or water-rich foods:

 Melons: Bitter melon and bamboo shoots can reduce internal heat and soothe nerves. Together with a large amount of dietary fiber, they can promote metabolism, avoid constipation, and promote weight loss.

Tomatoes: The lycopene in tomatoes can be antioxidant, help reduce cholesterol and increase metabolism. Eating it cooked makes it easier for the human body to absorb.

Beans: Ingredients such as mung beans and green beans have the effect of strengthening the spleen and eliminating dampness, and are suitable for consumption in summer.

You can also drink heat-clearing and dehumidifying tea containing the following ingredients:

Adzuki bean, Poria cocos: promote metabolism.

Pearl and coix seed: anti-oxidation and dehumidification.

 Codonopsis pilosula and Astragalus membranaceus: warming and nourishing Qi.

Licorice, Cassia Seed, Tangerine Peel: clear away heat and detoxify.

In addition, there are some common myths about cooling off in the summer. Chinese medicine practitioner Qiu Guanzhong reminds everyone to be careful not to let wrong ideas lead to physical discomfort or even obesity.

Myth 1: Sweating has the same effect as exercising, so as long as you sweat enough, you don’t need to exercise?

When we exercise vigorously or walk outdoors in the summer, our bodies sweat a lot. This is because the evaporation of sweat cools the body and prevents the body temperature from rising excessively. In other words, as long as the body is burning calories, you will sweat when the body temperature rises; but sweating does not mean burning fat, because there are many reasons for the rise in body temperature, such as: high ambient temperature, infection and inflammation of the body, the influence of drugs, etc. In addition, sweating only eliminates water, electrolytes and metabolic waste. Even if your weight decreases temporarily after sweating, it will return to normal after replenishing water. So sweating does not mean exercise, nor does it mean burning calories.

Myth 2: When the weather is hot, your appetite is poor and you can’t eat, so it’s easier to lose weight?

Hot weather can make people feel a loss of appetite. The most common reasons are:

1. Heat itself makes people uncomfortable and in a bad mood, and they develop an aversion to hot food.

2. When the weather is hot, you don’t want to move, so your activity level is relatively reduced, which also reduces your appetite.

However, a poor appetite does not mean that the calorie intake will decrease, because many people cannot eat regular meals in the summer, but eat a lot of high-calorie snacks such as ice cream, desserts, sugary ice drinks, etc., which actually causes them to store more fat.

Myth 3: Drinking ice water can relieve heat, stimulate metabolism and help lose weight?

Chinese medicine practitioner Qiu Guanzhong said that there is a lot of controversy about whether drinking ice water has an effect on weight loss. There is also a formula on the Internet that calculates whether ice water can help with weight loss. The theory is that one calorie can raise the temperature of 1000cc of water by 1°C. Therefore, after drinking 1000cc of 5°C ice water, the body needs to consume 32 calories to return to the central body temperature of 37°C. Therefore, it is inferred that if you drink this every day for a year, it seems that you can burn 1.56 kg of fat.

Drinking ice water in the following three situations, including during menstruation, colds and gastrointestinal discomfort, will cause discomfort.

But in fact, this is not true, because the complex adaptive system of the human body cannot be predicted by such a simple calculation method, and drinking ice water will cause discomfort when the human body encounters the following three situations:

1. During menstruation: Drinking ice water during menstruation can easily cause uterine contraction and induce menstrual pain.

2. During a cold: The immune system needs to increase body temperature to stimulate immunity. Drinking ice water will cause the mucous membrane temperature to drop, which is not conducive to the functioning of immune cells.

3. During gastrointestinal discomfort: Drinking ice water during gastrointestinal discomfort will cause the blood vessels in the gastrointestinal mucosa to contract, causing local ischemia and being invaded by bacteria and viruses.

In addition, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, when the gastrointestinal mucosa is stimulated by ice water, it will cause vasoconstriction, poor circulation and edema, which is called "spleen dampness" in traditional Chinese medicine, and is easily accompanied by diarrhea, indigestion and other discomforts. In the long run, spleen and kidney yang deficiency will lead to asthma, worsening eye, mouth and nose allergies, poor fat metabolism and weight gain.

Myth 4: If you eat more lettuce salad in hot weather, you will lose weight quickly?

In fact, eating too much ice cream, cold drinks, lettuce, sashimi and other cold foods and cold vegetables and fruits will stagnate the gastrointestinal digestion and absorption function, cause moisture to accumulate in the body, and block the spleen's transportation and transformation. Common symptoms may include back pain, persistent fatigue, joint and muscle pain, and unformed or sticky stools. At the same time, moisture retained in the body will reduce the body's metabolism and cause fat consumption to slow down, making weight loss difficult.

Myth 5: Obese people sweat a lot in the summer, does that mean they are healthy?

Body fat has the function of keeping warm. When the temperature is high in summer, having more fat is like covering the body with an extra layer of down jacket. At this time, the body must sweat more to cool down. Therefore, obese people sweat more, which has nothing to do with health. In addition, obese people usually have lower activity levels and poor circulation. If they do not drink enough water, they will easily suffer from heatstroke due to the inability to sweat and cool down smoothly. They need to be extra careful when facing high temperatures.