Is the Lesser Heat the beginning of the dog days? What should we eat to maintain our health during the Lesser Heat?

On July 7 or 8 of the Gregorian calendar, the sun reaches 105° of the ecliptic longitude, which is the eleventh solar term of the twenty-four solar terms. It is also the end of the Wu month of the Ganzhi calendar and the beginning of the Wei month. So is the Xiaoshu the beginning of the dog days? What should we eat to maintain our health during the Xiaoshu period? Let's take a look at the introduction of the Encyclopedia Knowledge Network below!

Contents of this article

1. Is the Lesser Heat the beginning of the dog days?

2. What to eat during the Lesser Heat

3. How to maintain health during the Lesser Heat

Is Xiaoshu the beginning of the dog days?

Lesser Heat is the eleventh solar term among the twenty-four solar terms. There are the most thunderstorms during this period, which means the dog days are about to begin, but it has not yet begun. There is still a week before that. Only after entering Lesser Heat does it mean the dog days have begun. During Lesser Heat, people have the custom of drying quilts and books, etc. Lesser Heat is also the best time to eat lotus root.

What to eat for health in Xiaoshu

Stir-fried mung bean sprouts

Ingredients: 500 grams of fresh mung bean sprouts, a few peppercorns, and appropriate amounts of vegetable oil, white vinegar, salt, and MSG.

Preparation method: Wash the bean sprouts and drain them. Heat the oil in a pan, add the peppercorns and cook until fragrant. Add the bean sprouts and stir-fry for a few minutes. Pour in white vinegar and continue to stir-fry for a few minutes. Add salt and MSG when removing from the pan and serve.

Efficacy: Clears away heat, detoxifies, and treats sores.

Stir-fried bean curd

Ingredients: two pieces of bean curd, appropriate amounts of vegetable oil, salt, onion, and MSG.

Method: Cut the bean curd into strips, wash and cut the green onions into strips. Heat the oil pan to 60% hot, add the green onions and cook until fragrant, stir-fry the bean curd strips, then add salt and stir-fry for a few minutes, add MSG, drizzle with sesame oil, stir well and serve.

Efficacy: Tonifies the body and stops sweating. Suitable for people with excessive sweating, spontaneous sweating and night sweats.

Beef stew with broad beans

Ingredients: 120 grams of fresh broad beans or soaked broad beans, 250 grams of lean beef, a little salt, and appropriate amounts of MSG and sesame oil.

Method: Cut the beef into small pieces, blanch it in a pot of water, remove it and rinse it with water. Put an appropriate amount of water in a casserole. When the water is warm, put the beef in the pot and stew it until it is half done. Add the broad beans into the pot, turn to a low heat after the pot boils, and simmer with salt.

Stew until the meat and beans are cooked, add MSG and sesame oil, and serve.

Efficacy: Strengthens the spleen and eliminates dampness, replenishes deficiency and strengthens the body.

Watermelon Tomato Juice

Ingredients: half a watermelon and 3 medium-sized tomatoes.

Method: Peel and deseed the watermelon, blanch the tomato in boiling water, peel and deseed it. Squeeze the juice of both at the same time, combine the two liquids and drink as desired.

Efficacy: clearing away heat, promoting the production of body fluids, and quenching thirst. It is especially suitable for those suffering from summer colds, thirst, irritability, loss of appetite, indigestion, and red and hot urine.

Mung Bean Rice Porridge

Adding an appropriate amount of mung beans when cooking rice porridge can clear away heat, relieve summer heat, and remove plague toxins. It is especially effective on hot summer days.

How to keep healthy in the Lesser Heat

1. Don’t go shirtless

This is mainly for men. When it is hot, many men like to take off their shirts and go shirtless to enjoy the cool. But please note that this is actually not good for your health, because when the temperature is close to or higher than the body temperature, going shirtless does not make the body feel cool. On the contrary, because there is no clothes to block a certain amount of heat from contacting the skin, it is easier to feel hot.

The reason for this is that when the temperature is higher than the human body temperature, the body temperature mainly relies on skin evaporation to dissipate heat. If the temperature continues to rise, the skin cannot dissipate heat through radiation, but will also absorb heat from the external environment, making the human body feel even more stuffy.

2. Adjust your sleep time

Lesser Heat is a solar term in summer, which is characterized by long sunshine hours, early daylight and late night. In response, people's work and rest schedules should also be adjusted to adapt to seasonal changes.

It is recommended to go to bed between 10pm and 11pm, and get up between 5:30am and 6:30am. Add a 30-minute lunch break at noon to ensure that the body has enough rest time. The editor also reminds you to go to bed and wake up at regular times to protect your biological clock from being affected and disrupted.

3. Take timely precautions against heat stroke

After the Lesser Heat, we will soon enter the Dog Days, which is the hottest weather of the year. If you don't take precautions against heat stroke in time, the possibility of heat stroke will be quite high. Especially for those who need to work outdoors, it is important to take precautions against heat stroke. You must carry cooling oil and Huoxiang Zhengqi water with you. When you have a tendency to get heat stroke, take them out and apply or drink them to relieve the symptoms of heat stroke.