Five Flavors Kitchen

Summer camp

Yes, it's hot, but along with 150 other Seido karate students I've been working out in the heat and sun. Hydration is key here and in general. Ice water is refreshing, but try not to have it before you eat. Cold foods or beverages slow digestion. You can keep hydrated just as well with cool or even warm liquids. Also try to add Yin foods to your diet. Veggies, fruit, fish and seafood are also good when things get hot. You can find these even at camp! I'm not sure about the chocolate pudding they had for lunch today though.

Sparkling Ginger Lime & Mint Cooler | Steamy Kitchen Recipes

via steamykitchen.com

Cold beverages can be somewhat tricky in Chinese medicine. Too much cold, after all, can adversely impact digestion. Remember, cold slows things down. Sometimes, though, when it's so hot out that the air conditioner can't bring the temp below 85, cool liquids seem just the thing. 

Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen has a perfect solution in her Ginger Lime and Mint Cooler. Here we have a cold liquid, but there are elements which "warm it up" energetically speaking thus protecting the Stomach and digestion.

Her ingredients:

Sparkling Ginger Lime Cooler

serves 6

1 (3-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, grated on micro-plane grater
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 6 limes)
6 cups sparking water or club soda
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

The key is ginger which warms the stomach (yes even when iced!). The linked recipe uses grated ginger, but you could also adapt it and use a home made ginger tea that you've cooled. (See March 1, 2009 post.) Mint is also cooling and relieves irritability. Lime juice is sour which which is astringent in nature - it helps retain fluids. Sugar also helps generate fluids but (warning) is also considered "sticky" . If you have a "Damp" constitution or health issue, you may want to cut back on the sugar or use another sweetener like honey or agave. Any sweet flavor can increase dampness, though, so you may want to experiment with different, variations in beverage strength. You may find you don't need much sweetener at all! The pinch of salt benefits the Kidney energy and the Kidneys are associated with the Water element. Finally the pinch of black pepper warms the Stomach and helps disperse Dampness.

The recipe has you blend everything together and strain over ice, but you may find you can drink it a bit less frosty. Make some of this and keep it in the fridge and see Steamy Kitchen for other beverage suggestions. Summer has just begun!

Ice Cream and Heart Pain

Frozen Treat, Lima Airport, May 2010

The ancient Chinese physician and alchemist, Dan Hua, held that there were 9 types of heart pain. When I first heard this my immediate response was "Wow, only 9 types, really?!". There are over 5 million Google hits for "heartache" and over 2 million for "heartbreak songs". I guess Dan Hua bunched a lot of things together.

Ice cream is a classic for  heart injury.  Ice cream  insulates and soothes, and ice cream is very cold.   In acute situations of heart heat we can appreciate the anesthesia. Ice cream, though, is kind of like a triplicate pharmaceutical prescription. One needs to understand it correctly for it to be used without risk.

First know that there is no strict prohibition of dairy in Chinese medicine. Dairy generates fluids, is neutral in nature and has an affinity for the heart, lung and stomach. The problem with ice cream is that the addition of cold with the already Yin nature of the dairy can slow things down a lot. While this is good for heart heat (read chill pill) it can create problems with digestion. Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, writes a great essay on the subject of dairy. Click here to see. The bottom line is, if you have a Phlegm condition, Dampness, weak digestion (or in English a common cold, for example) hold off on what acupuncture students call "congealed Phlegm." Frequent ice cream intake may cause some imbalances as well.

Generally, most people (unless lactose intolerant) can tolerate a little ice cream without ill effect, especially when it's hot out (and in)! Just so you know, though, a lot of people will disagree with this. So in an effort to balance this somewhat unpopular viewpoint, I would like to direct your attention to a politically correct ice cream source. Guerrilla Ice Cream  - gotta love it!

 

Guerrilla Ice Cream: A New Cart With Flavors Inspired by Social Movements

via newyork.seriouseats.com