What to eat during a San Francisco "Summer" day

I thought it would be worthwhile to start this online newsletter with food, since it is a daily ritual that we all share. More specifically, what to/not eat during "Summer" in San Francisco from a Chinese Medicine point of view, as we are soon approaching the Summer Solstice at the end of this month. San Francisco specifically tends to be plagued with cold foggy weather when the rest of the bay area is hot. So what does your acupuncturist say you should eat?

There is a lot of information about diet in Chinese Medicine. In order to be in balance, we have to be conscious of the weather. The Chinese use common sense...when it is hot outside eat cooling food, when it is cold outside eat warming food. So, even though our grocery stores are overloaded with cooling summer foods like watermelons, salads, and raw foods, we should make sure the weather is appropriate to ingest them.

What would happen if one consumed cold foods during cold weather? Well, the body absorbs all of that cold energy. The cold energy will douse the life-giving fire that we have, and over time, it will leave us running cold. It may create other issues such as "cold pain" (arthritis), cold stomach (difficulty with digestion), low sex drive, and many other issues. The point is that you don't want to become inbalanced according to Chinese Medicine.

A common culprit during the "warmer" times in the city are iced/smoothie drinks as well as ice cream. Often when drunk at inappropriate times, it will create a very strong painful feeling soon after consumption. This is a direct strike of cold to the stomach.

The point of this article is help give you a consciousness about eating with the seasons since you also do not want to be eating "cooling" foods in the winter/fall. At those times stick to soups, stews, and warming foods. You can also eat these warming foods if it is cold, foggy, and as you know a typical San Francisco summer day.