In Chinese, watermelon is called 西瓜 (pronounced she gua). 西瓜 translates as western melon. In Chinese medical thought watermelon can be used to treat or prevent mild summer heat disease. Now you might be asking, what is summer heat disease? Summer heat disease usually manifests as a general aversion to heat, irritability, sweating, headache, scanty-dark urine, thirst, rapid pulse. The tongue tip and sides may also be red. The summer heat pathogen enters the body and cooks off the fluids in your body. One of the easiest ways to prevent this problem is to eat watermelon or drink the juice made from watermelon.
Here is some information on watermelon’s energetic properties:
Taste: Sweet
Temperature: Cold
Channels entered: Bladder, Heart, Stomach
Characteristics: Clears summerheat, generates fluids, relieves agitation, quenches thirst and promotes urination.
Eat watermelon at room temperature to get the best effect. If you have fresh watermelon that is best. If you have watermelon in the refrigerator let it sit out on the counter before you eat it. Allow it to come to room temperature. Eating it at room temperature will protect your spleen and stomach energy from being weakened. We as Americans only eat the red portion of the watermelon. You should eat some of the white part as well. The white part excels at promoting urination. One or two medium sized pieces of watermelon will suffice.
If you suffer from poor digestion caused by a weak spleen only eat a small amount of watermelon. The cold nature of watermelon will weaken your spleen and increase dampness. Some symptoms of spleen weakness and dampness are sluggish digestion, loose stools, fatigue, weak limbs, lack of appetite and abdominal distention.
Eating watermelon should be used as a preventative measure to keep cool in the summer. If you are suffering from heat exhaustion, heat stroke, dizziness, rapid breathing, fast pulse, fainting, or other serious symptoms associated with being over heated PLEASE CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR OR GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM IMMEDIATELY. This information is intended to prevent you from getting sick not as a treatment.
Enjoy your summer and stay cool.
Photo: Watermelon by Thomas Widdman courtesy of Creative Commons http://bit.ly/1qMRB43
