We are into the Han Lu (寒露) solar term (节气) starting from 08 Oct to 22 Oct 2026. Han Lu is the 17th solar term out of the entire 24.

During the Han Lu solar term, the air will continue to be dry, while the temperature difference between the day and night will be wider as compared to Bai Lu (two solar terms ago).

One of the things we should look out for during Han Lu is that the dry air may cause people to cough more frequently. Hence, we should try to consume more foods that can help to moisturize our lungs (润肺) during this period such as pears, white fungus, lotus root, lily (百合) and black sesame.

For people who have sinus issues or are sensitive to changes in air temperature, wearing a fabric mask in the morning can help warm the air you breathe in.

Diet Recommendations

During the Han Lu solar term, some regions have a tradition of eating sesame, which is believed to help warm and moisturize the lungs.

You can consider adding black sesame to your breakfast—either as a bread spread (black sesame paste) or as a beverage (black sesame powder)!

Han Lu is also the period when chrysanthemums blossom. In TCM, the best foods for people are those that are available in that season (应季食材). Thus, drinking some chrysanthemum tea is also highly encouraged during this time. Chrysanthemum has the property of relieving stagnant Qi in the liver (疏肝). From TCM perspective, we believe that the liver is closely linked to a person’s emotions.

If you experience symptoms like eye redness, dry eyes, and mild sore throat, try drinking some chrysanthemum tea for two to three consecutive days and it will help to relieve your symptoms.

When choosing chrysanthemum, you can consider the yellow type instead of the white type during this period. Click here to understand more about the different types of chrysanthemum.

General Wellness Recommendations

Lastly, and just as importantly, Han Lu is a time to be extra mindful of your own mental health and the well-being of those around you, as it is said that more people may get depressed during this period.

This is why the saying 防秋愁 (which means ‘prevent autumn sadness’) is often mentioned during Han Lu, reminding us to take care of our emotions and mental health.

One way to liven up a person’s mood and spirits during this period is to go hiking and drink some chrysanthemum tea or rose tea. This will help one’s mind to stay relaxed and composed.

We are into the Qiu Fen (秋分) solar term (节气) starting from 23 September to 7 October 2026. Qiu Fen is the 16th solar term out of the entire 24.

In Chinese, 'fen' (分) means divide—the Qiu Fen (秋分) solar term basically separates the first half and the second half of the Autumn season. This means after 23 September, we will enter the second half of Autumn.

After Qiu Fen, the days will gradually grow shorter while the nights become longer. Temperatures will also get cooler as we step into the second half of Autumn.

As the air becomes cooler and drier during Qiu Fen, more people may experience coughing as the lungs get easily irritated by the dry air. Hence, it is important for us to keep our lungs moisturized (润肺) by consuming foods such as white fungus, pear, etc.

Following are some diet recommendations that you can follow during this Qiu Fen solar term:

Diet Recommendation

One of the traditions during Qiu Fen is to eat yam biscuits. That said, you don't really need to go out and look for yam biscuits—you can simply consider adding yam into your diet, that will be good enough!

Yam is a nutritional food that most people can consume safely. It has a neutral thermal nature, which means people who have heaty or cold body constitution can consume it without worries.

The most significant property of yam is that it helps to strengthen our spleen. This is important during Qiu Fen because when people consume cold or raw stuff, these foods can weaken the spleen. Apart from strengthening the spleen, yam can also aid digestion and relieve constipation.

Do make sure that you cook the yam thoroughly to remove its allergens. A simple way to include yam into your diet is to add chopped pieces of yam into your rice cooker and cook it with your favorite grains or brown rice.

During Qiu Fen, the environment will be cool and dry (凉燥). Hence, we need to consume foods that have warm and moisturizing properties, such as black sesame, walnut, lotus root, pear, hawthorn, apple, lily (百合), and white fungus.

A good habit during Qiu Fen is to drink lightly salted water in the morning and take some honey at night. But do take note for people who already have sticky stools, you need to avoid taking honey as it will worsen the situation. For people with constipation, honey is a good supplement to take in the evening.

A note of caution is that during the later part of Qiu Fen, the temperature will get cooler and people with weak spleen may experience diarrhea or loose and sticky stools at times. It is best to avoid cold drinks and foods during the Qiu Fen solar term as it can cause stomach upset in people with weak spleen. You can consider eating chinese yam or si shen soup to strengthen your spleen.

An Easy-To-Prepare Fruit Salad

During Qiu Fen, some elderly people may find their constipation worsening. If so, the following is an easy-to-prepare fruit salad that can help to relieve constipation during this period:

Ingredients:

• Banana 100g
• Apple 100g
• Mulberry 50g

Steps:
De-skin the banana and apple and cut it to small pieces. Wash and rinse the mulberries then mix them together with the apple and banana.

Banana has a strong property of relieving constipation. It can also moisturize and cool the lungs.

Apple can increase the movement of the intestines and help to relieve constipation too.

Mulberries have been known as a great fruit to nourish the Yin energy in our body, and Qiu Fen is a great time for Yin nourishment.

Important notes: Be sure to choose fully ripened bananas because bananas that are not fully ripe will promote constipation rather than relieve it! Also, apple skin has an ingredient that can stop diarrhea, hence if you are consuming apples for constipation relief, do remove the skin before eating it.

General Well-Being Recommendation

Exercising during the Qiu Fen solar term is beneficial for building up your body's immunity against flu and sinusitis, as temperatures can change rapidly during this period. Be sure to keep yourself warm at all times to avoid getting cold unexpectedly.

After a good exercise, you can consider consuming foods that moisturize the lungs like black sesame, pear, and white fungus.

If you sweat a lot during exercise, you can try drinking water with added salt to replenish the lost liquids.

I hope you find these recommendations useful for this Qiu Fen solar term!

We are going into the Bai Lu (白露) solar term, which is the 15th solar term of the year. Bai Lu starts on 7 September and ends on 22 September this year (2026).

During the Bai Lu solar term, the weather will start to turn cooler (though the intensity will vary depending on which part of the world you are living in). The difference in day and night temperatures will also start to widen.

The sudden temperature shifts during this season may trigger sinus discomfort and headaches for some. People who do not take care to keep themselves warm—especially at night—may also be more susceptible to catching the flu.

Here are some simple diet and wellness tips that you can consider to help strengthen your body’s resistance to the flu and keep you healthy during this time:

Diet Recommendation

In Fuzhou, China, there is a tradition of eating longan during the Bai Lu solar term, as it is believed to offer a stronger tonic effect than drinking herbal soups.

Based on the records of the TCM herbs and foods, longan can boost blood and Qi in the body, and hence, it is a good food for boosting immunity. You can read more about the benefits of longan in this separate post (which includes a recipe for longan porridge).

Having said that, longan may not be suitable for certain individuals. For example, people who are having a sore throat, fever or flu should avoid consuming longan.

If you find longan too heaty for your body constitution, you can add some lily bulb (百合) to your longan drink. Lily bulb is cooling in nature so it can help to neutralize the heaty effect of longan.

Additionally, lily bulb helps to nourish the lungs, calm the mind, and promote better sleep, thus making it ideal for evening consumption.

You can purchase fresh lily bulb from supermarkets or the dried form from TCM retail shops. If you are using dried lily bulb, make sure to soak it in warm water for 60 minutes before you cook it (cooking it for 15 to 20 minutes will be sufficient).

General Well-Being Recommendation

As the day and night temperature gap widens, we need to take care to keep ourselves warm, especially at night.

While sleeping, do ensure that your chest and stomach areas are covered. Leaving the stomach exposed during sleep may result in diarrhea/sticky stools the next morning, especially for some people with weak spleen. 

Having said that, it is also not ideal to keep yourself overly warm during this period as there is a saying, 春捂秋冻. Following this principle, it is important to ‘train’ your body to be resistant to the upcoming cooler weather as well. Thus, wearing just enough not to feel too cool is the recommended approach. 

Exercising is also good for improving your resistance to cooler weather ahead. Do consider this!

I hope you find this post useful!

We will be going into the Chu Shu (处暑) solar term (节气) starting from 23 Aug to 6 Sep 2026. Chu Shu is the 14th solar term out of the entire 24.

During this solar term, there is a tradition to consume duck meat. One of the reasons is because it has the property of 滋阴养胃，健脾补虚 (nourishing the stomach-Yin and strengthening the spleen), which makes it an ideal food for the 温燥 (warm-dry) conditions of this solar term.

One of the popular duck dishes that people consume during this period is 百合鸭 (duck meat with lily bulb). Lily bulb (百合) is combined with duck meat as it has the property of 润肺止咳， 清心安神. It means lily bulb can help to nourish the lungs and relieve cough (due to dryness), as well as calm the mind and improve sleep quality.

For this solar term, the dietary direction is 润肺健脾, 养阴润燥 (nourishing the lungs and strengthening the spleen, as well as nourishing the Yin and moistening dryness).

The following are some foods that are highly recommended to be consumed during this solar term:

Duck Meat - As mentioned earlier, duck meat is a good food for nourishing the Yin energy in the body during this period.

Lily Bulb (Chinese name: 百合) – Lily bulb is one of the best foods to reduce heart fire as its main property is nourishing heart Yin energy. When the heart’s Yin energy is sufficient, the heart is less likely to be in a heaty state. You can purchase dried lily bulb at most TCM retail shops or fresh ones from the supermarket.

Goji Berries – Not only does Goji berry strengthen the kidneys, it also helps with strengthening the liver. In TCM, the liver affects one’s eyesight, thus goji berries are proven to help strengthen and protect our eyes from weakening and diseases. Goji berries are one of the best foods/herbs to nourish Yin.

White Fungus – White fungus can help to moisturize the lungs and dissolve phlegm. It can also help to nourish the stomach Yin, so it is a good food to add to your diet during this solar term.

Pear - Pear has a very good moisturizing effect on the lungs and it also helps to clear heatiness in our other organs. In fact, its lung-moisturizing benefits are even greater if you cook it! For recipe ideas, you can search for “小吊梨汤” on YouTube.

General Wellness Recommendation

As the summer heat effect (秋老虎) still lingers in the environment, this is not yet the time to let your guard down against the summer flu.

The following are some general guidelines to keep your spleen healthy and have stronger body immunity:

Avoid entering an air-conditioned room immediately after sweating from the heat. Instead, find a sheltered place to cool down and let the sweating subside before entering the air-conditioned area.

Avoid consuming cold drinks especially when you are feeling very warm and hot. It is best to drink room-temperature water so that it won’t hurt your spleen. This is the most common reason why people get summer flu.

Avoid consuming oily and sweet foods as they will burden and weaken your spleen and increase your vulnerability to summer flu.

We will be going into the Li Qiu (立秋) solar term (节气) starting from 7 to 22 Aug 2026. Li Qiu is the 13th solar term out of the entire 24. This also marks the end of the summer season and the beginning of the autumn season.

The weather will remain warm, but instead of warm and wet, it will gradually shift to warm and dry (with less rainfall).

The day and night temperature difference will also widen, especially in September/October.

According to《津门杂记·岁时风俗》, it says “立秋之时食瓜，曰咬秋，可免腹泻”. This means there is a tradition where people consume watermelon during the Li Qiu solar term, especially on the first day of (or the day before) Li Qiu. Consuming watermelon on either of these days is traditionally thought to prevent diarrhoea in the coming autumn season.

That said, individuals with weaker spleen may experience stomach discomfort after eating watermelon, so it is best to understand your own body constitution first.

Do note that it is important not to consume too much watermelon as it is very cooling in nature. You can consume more if you are experiencing heaty symptoms like feeling warm all the time, sweating a lot, and always feeling thirsty. But if you do not have any heaty symptoms, you can just consume watermelon once or twice a month.

There are two dietary guidelines to follow in this solar term:

1. Increase the intake of lung-Yin (肺阴) nourishing foods. The reason is that during this solar term, our lungs will be drier as compared to other periods of the year, so we should nourish and moisturize the lungs whenever possible.
2. Continue to consume foods that can clear the summer heat. Although the summer season is over, the summer heat effect will still linger in the environment for quite a while. Thus for the next two weeks, eating foods/fruits that help to cool the summer heat is recommended, especially for people who experience heaty symptoms.

Here are some recommended foods to eat during this solar term:

Pear – Raw pear is good for moisturizing the lungs, especially in warm and dry weather. Cooked pear is good for nourishing Yin, especially for people who are Yin-deficient. If you have heaty symptoms, go for raw pears. Otherwise, cooked pears are a better choice during this period.

Black Sesame – Not only does black sesame have a Yin-nourishing effect, it also helps to relieve constipation (that some people may experience during this solar term). An easy way of eating black sesame is to spread black sesame paste on your bread for breakfast.

Lily Bulb (Chinese name: 百合) – Lily bulb is one of the best foods to reduce heart fire as its main property is nourishing heart Yin energy. When the heart’s Yin energy is sufficient, the heart is less likely to be in a heaty state. You can purchase dried lily bulb at most TCM retail shops or fresh ones at the supermarket.

Mung Beans (绿豆) – Mung beans are also known as green beans. You can easily prepare a mung bean drink in 5 minutes, which helps to clear summer heat in the body. It also has the property of quenching thirst, detoxing and reducing dampness. This makes it an ideal drink during this period.

White Fungus – White fungus can help to moisturize the lungs and dissolve phlegm. It can also help to nourish the stomach Yin, so it is a good food to add to your diet during this solar term.

General Wellness Recommendation

As the summer heat effect (秋老虎) still lingers in the environment, this is not yet the time to let your guard down against the summer flu.

The following are some general guidelines to keep your spleen healthy and have stronger body immunity:

1. Avoid entering an air-conditioned room immediately after sweating from the heat. Instead, find a sheltered place to cool down and let the sweating subside before entering the air-conditioned area.
2. Avoid consuming cold drinks especially when you are feeling very warm and hot. It is best to drink room-temperature water in this case so that it won’t hurt your spleen. This is the most common reason why people get summer flu.
3. Avoid consuming oily and sweet foods as they will burden and weaken your spleen and increase your vulnerability to summer flu.

Have a healthy Li Qiu solar term!

We will be going into the Da Shu (大暑) solar term (节气) starting from 22 Jul to 6 Aug 2026. Da Shu is the 12th solar term out of the entire 24.

In the coming two weeks, rainfall will be less frequent as we’ll be moving into the Autumn season come August. Typically, the Autumn season brings drier air and lesser rainfall.

Coming back to Da Shu, these two weeks will be very, if not, the most humid period of the year. The temperature will be higher than other solar terms and it will also be accompanied by some rain, which will make the environment very humid and affect many people’s spleen and digestive health.

The dietary direction for these two weeks is 健脾护胃 – which means strengthening the spleen, getting rid of dampness, and protecting the stomach.

To prevent further worsening of the spleen’s health, I suggest adopting a light diet (reduce or eliminate oily, processed foods, sweet desserts, etc).

The following foods are recommended to be consumed during the Da Shu solar term:

Watermelon – For most people, watermelon is a great fruit to eat during summertime because watermelon has a strong property of clearing summer heat and quenching thirst. But please take note that people who have sticky stools and/or experience stomach discomfort after eating watermelon should avoid it. This could mean that these people have a significant amount of dampness in their spleen and can’t take watermelon yet.

Adzuki Beans (赤小豆) – Adzuki beans are good for clearing summer heatiness as well as removing dampness from our body. It is one of the best foods to be consumed during this solar term.

Chinese Yam (山药) –  Chinese yam is very suitable for this period because it can help to strengthen our spleen and improve its ability to get rid of accumulated dampness in our body.

Winter Melon (冬瓜) – Winter melon is a recommended food for this solar term because it can help to remove the dampness in the body through urination. It can also reduce body heatiness due to the summer heat.

Mung Beans (绿豆) – (Also known as green beans) You can easily prepare a mung bean drink in 5 minutes, which helps to clear summer heat in the body. It also has the property of quenching thirst, detoxing and reducing dampness, making it an ideal drink for this period.

General Wellness Recommendation

During these two weeks, there will be an increase in cases of 暑湿感冒 (summer flu) as compared to the usual wind heat flu (风热感冒) or wind cold flu (风寒感冒).

The characteristics of summer flu are high and persistent fever, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and/or skin rashes.

Unlike wind heat and wind cold flu, people with summer flu will not find relief after sweating. Thus, some people may suspect it is dengue fever.

The following are some suggestions to avoid getting summer flu in the next 4 weeks:

1. Avoid entering an air-conditioned room immediately after sweating from the heat. Instead, find a sheltered place to cool down and let the sweating subside before entering the air-conditioned area.
2. Avoid consuming cold drinks especially when you are feeling very warm and hot. It is best to drink room temperature water in this case so that it won’t hurt your spleen. This is the most common reason why people get summer flu.
3. Avoid consuming oily and sweet foods as they will burden and weaken your spleen and increase your vulnerability to summer flu.
4. Consume foods that help to strengthen your spleen and clear dampness in the body (such as those mentioned earlier in this post).

For someone who has gotten the summer flu (with the above mentioned symptoms), he/she can try to take 藿香正气丸. This is a proven TCM formula for summer flu that you can purchase in any TCM retail shop.

Have a healthy Da Shu solar term!

We will be going into the Xiao Shu (小暑) solar term (节气) starting from 7 to 21 Jul 2026. Xiao Shu is the 11th solar term out of the entire 24.

With the arrival of Xiao Shu, we are about two weeks away from the most humid time of the year, Da Shu (大暑).

In these two weeks, some people may experience weaker digestion and/or poor appetite due to the humidity.

The dietary direction for this solar term is 消暑健脾, 养阴生津. This means reducing summer heatiness, strengthening the spleen, as well as nourishing the Yin to encourage the production of fluids in the body.

The following are foods you can consider to consume more often during this period:

Adzuki beans (赤小豆) – Adzuki beans are good for clearing summer heatiness as well as helping to remove dampness in our body. It is one of the best foods to be consumed during this solar term.

Chinese Yam (山药) –  Chinese yam is very suitable for this period because it can help to strengthen our spleen and improve its ability to get rid of accumulated dampness in our body.

Winter Melon (冬瓜) – Winter melon is a recommended food for this solar term because it can help to remove the dampness in the body through urination. It can also reduce body heatiness due to the summer heat.

Lotus Seeds (Chinese name: 莲子) – Lotus seed is good for calming the mind. Heart fire can disrupt the mind and affect sleep quality. Lotus seed is a natural remedy to counter this.

General Wellness Recommendation

In the next 4 weeks (2 solar terms), there will be an increase in cases of 暑湿感冒 (summer flu) as compared to the usual wind heat flu (风热感冒) or wind cold flu (风寒感冒).

The characteristics of summer flu are high and persistent fever, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and/or skin rashes.

Unlike wind heat and wind cold flu, people with summer flu will not find relief after sweating. Thus, some people may suspect it is dengue fever.

The following are some suggestions to avoid getting summer flu in the next 4 weeks:

Avoid entering an air-conditioned room immediately after sweating from the heat. Instead, find a sheltered place to cool down and let the sweating subside before entering the air-conditioned area.

Avoid consuming cold drinks especially when you are feeling very warm and hot. It is best to drink room temperature water in this case so that it won’t hurt your spleen. This is the most common reason why people get summer flu.

Avoid consuming oily and sweet foods as they will burden and weaken your spleen and increase your vulnerability to summer flu.

Consume foods that help to strengthen your spleen and clear dampness in the body (such as those mentioned earlier in this post).

For someone who has gotten the summer flu (with the above mentioned symptoms), he/she can try to take 藿香正气丸. This is a proven TCM formula for summer flu that you can purchase in any TCM retail shop.

Hope this information helps!

We will be going into the Xia Zhi (夏至) solar term (节气) starting from 21 Jun to 6 Jul 2026. Xia Zhi is the 10th solar term out of the entire 24.

Xia Zhi is the best period to boost one’s Yang energy, especially if you can’t withstand cooler weather during year end. The reason is that Xia Zhi has one of the highest levels of Yang energy in the environment compared to other solar terms.

By leveraging the high Yang energy in the environment during this time, people with Yang deficiency can benefit from consuming Yang-boosting foods such as walnuts, chinese chestnuts, ginger tea (in the morning), and cherries.

This also aligns with the Chinese saying “冬病夏治”, which means any winter-related illness/discomfort can be treated during summer time.

Side note: People with Yang deficiency have a lower tolerance to cooler/cold weather, tend to fall sick more often and some may feel weakness/soreness in the lower back or knee area.

As the weather will continue to be warm and humid, the general dietary direction for this solar term is 食宜清淡，不宜肥甘厚味 – which means to adopt a light diet, and avoid oily and sweet stuff.

The following are some of the foods that you can consider consuming more during this time:

Lily Bulb (Chinese name: 百合) – Lily bulb is one of the best foods to reduce heart fire as its main property is nourishing heart Yin energy. When the heart’s Yin energy is sufficient, the heart is less likely to be in a heaty state. You can purchase dried lily bulb at most TCM retail shops or fresh ones at the supermarket.

Chinese Yam (山药) –  Chinese yam is very suitable to be consumed during this period because it can help to strengthen the spleen and improve its ability to get rid of accumulated dampness in our body.

Mung Beans (绿豆) – You can easily prepare a mung bean drink in 5 minutes, which helps to clear summer heat in the body. It also has the property of quenching thirst, detoxing and reducing dampness. This makes it an ideal drink during this period.

Chinese Barley (薏苡仁) – Another highly recommended food to eat during this period is Chinese barley as it has very strong properties to help with clearing dampness, especially if you have water retention issues in the lower part of your body.

General Wellness Recommendation

In the next 6 weeks (3 solar terms), there will be an increase in cases of 暑湿感冒 (summer flu) as compared to the usual wind heat flu (风热感冒) or wind cold flu (风寒感冒).

The characteristics of summer flu are high and persistent fever, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and/or skin rashes.

Unlike wind heat and wind cold flu, people with summer flu will not find relief after sweating. Thus, some people may suspect it is dengue fever.

The following are some suggestions to avoid getting summer flu in the next 6 weeks:

1. Avoid entering an air-conditioned room immediately after sweating from the heat. Instead, find a sheltered place to cool down and let the sweating subside before entering the air-conditioned area.
2. Avoid consuming cold drinks especially when you are feeling very warm and hot. It is best to drink room temperature water in this case so that it won’t hurt your spleen. This is the most common reason why people get summer flu.
3. Avoid consuming oily and sweet foods as they will burden and weaken your spleen and increase your vulnerability to summer flu.
4. Consume foods that help to strengthen your spleen and clear dampness in the body (such as those mentioned earlier in this post).

For someone who has gotten the summer flu (with the above mentioned symptoms), he/she can try to take 藿香正气丸. This is a proven TCM formula for summer flu that you can purchase in any TCM retail shop.

Have a healthy Xia Zhi solar term!

We will be going into the Mang Zhong (芒种) solar term (节气) starting from 5 to 20 Jun 2026. Mang Zhong is the 9th solar term out of the entire 24.

This solar term can also mean '忙'种, which translates to 'busy farming'. This is one of the busiest periods of the year for farmers, hence, the name of this solar term.

Similar to the previous solar term, we will experience rainfall with high temperatures during these two weeks—this combination will result in a very humid environment.

As the environment is humid, it is very easy for the body to accumulate dampness (湿邪). The spleen will be the first organ to be affected by this dampness. Excessive dampness in the body will lead to poor appetite, chest tightness, loose stools, low energy and/or feeling frustrated easily.

Hence the dietary direction for this solar term is to adopt a light diet with easily digestible foods. Do your best not to eat too full, and avoid fatty, flavorful and spicy foods so as not to add more burden to your spleen during this period of time.

This solar term normally coincides with the Dumpling Festival (端午节). You can choose to consume some dumplings (粽子) if possible, as glutinous rice strengthens the spleen, while the leaf (荷叶) that is wrapped around the dumpling reduces heaviness and clears dampness in the body.

The following are some recommended foods that you can consume during this solar term:

Glutinous Rice (糯米) – Glutinous rice can help to strengthen the spleen and relieve excessive sweating. It is no coincidence that during this solar term (which typically coincides with the Dumpling Festival), the tradition is to consume dumplings (粽子) that are made of glutinous rice. Just make sure not to eat too many dumplings as too much glutinous rice can cause indigestion. Remember to eat all foods in moderation.

Mung Beans (绿豆) – Mung beans are also commonly known as green beans. You can easily prepare a mung bean drink in 5 minutes, which helps to clear summer heat in the body. It also has the property of quenching thirst, detoxing and reducing dampness. This makes it an ideal drink tpo consume during this period.

Winter Melon (冬瓜) – Winter melon is a good food to eat during this period because it helps to remove the dampness from the body through urination. It can also reduce body heatiness due to the summer heat.

Lily Bulb (Chinese name: 百合) – Lily bulb is one of the best foods to reduce heart fire as its main property is nourishing heart Yin energy. When the heart’s Yin energy is sufficient, the heart is less likely to be in a heaty state. You can purchase dried lily bulb at most TCM retail shops or fresh ones at the supermarket.

Chinese Yam (山药) –  Chinese yam is very suitable to be consumed during this period because it can help to strengthen the spleen and improve its ability to get rid of accumulated dampness in our body.

General Wellness Recommendation

During this period, the heart can easily accumulate fire (心火), resulting in insomnia, dizziness, feeling frustrated, and/or irregular/heavy heartbeat.

The main lifestyle recommendation is to reduce the heart fire or prevent it from going into an excessive state.

Meditating is an effective way to reduce heart fire. Do consider meditating before sleep. It can help to reduce the heart fire and calm the mind.

For best results, you can enjoy a book after meditation (instead of using mobile devices) and go to bed when you start to feel sleepy.

Another important thing to note during this period is to avoid doing strenuous exercises.

The reason is that such exercises will make you sweat a lot and in TCM, there is a saying “汗为心之液” – which means the sweat is actually fluid from the heart. This also means that excessive sweating will deplete the heart’s Yin energy and thus, making one’s heart go into the heart fire (心火) state easily. Try to go for light exercises so you won’t sweat so much.

If you have been sweating a lot during this period, make sure you add some lily bulbs (dried or fresh) to your diet as lily bulbs can help to replenish your heart Yin energy.

Another simple way to replenish heart Yin energy is to drink more water. But if you’re unable to do so for practical reasons (especially during work), then consuming lily bulb will be a better way.

We will be going into the Xiao Man (小满) solar term (节气) starting from 21 May to 4 Jun 2026. Xiao Man is the 8th solar term out of the entire 24.

The reason it is called Xiao Man is because during this period, grains like barley (大麦) and winter wheat (冬小麦) start to get fuller (饱满). However, the grains still need more time to become fully ripened. Hence it’s called ‘Xiao Man’ (小满, on its way to being fully ripened) instead of ‘Man’ (满, meaning fully ripened).

During this solar term, we can expect to see more rainfall and high temperatures at the same time. This means the environment will be very humid, resulting in dampness (湿邪) developing in the body.

When the body has too much dampness (湿邪), the person will experience symptoms like poor appetite, bloated stomach, lack of energy or not having the urge to drink water.

The dietary direction for this solar term should be 健脾化湿, which means strengthening the spleen to remove dampness.

Before we go into the recommended list of foods, I strongly recommend you to avoid consuming cold drinks and sweet stuff during this period as it will worsen the dampness in the body.

The following are the top 5 foods recommended during this solar term:

Green Beans (绿豆) – Green bean (also known as mung bean) not only helps to clear heatiness in our body, but they can also remove dampness from our body by increasing our urination frequency. Green beans have stronger heat-clearing and anti-inflammatory properties than red beans.

Red Beans (红豆) – Red beans have the properties of clearing heatiness and removing dampness in the body. This is the reason why some people like to mix Chinese barley with red beans for dampness removal purposes. Red beans have stronger dampness removal properties than green beans.

Winter Melon (冬瓜) – Winter melon is a good food to eat during this period because it helps to remove the dampness in the body through urination. It can also reduce body heatiness due to the summer heat.

Chinese Yam (山药) – Chinese yam is very suitable to be consumed during this period because it can help to strengthen the spleen and improve its ability to get rid of accumulated dampness in our body.

Chinese Barley (薏苡仁) – Another highly recommended food to eat during this period is Chinese barley as it has very strong properties to help with clearing dampness, especially if you have water retention issues in the lower part of your body.

General Wellness Recommendation

During this period, the heart can easily accumulate fire (心火), resulting in insomnia, dizziness, feeling frustrated, and/or irregular/heavy heartbeat.

The main lifestyle recommendation is to reduce the heart fire or prevent it from going into an excessive state.

Meditating is an effective way to reduce heart fire. Do consider meditating before sleep. It can help to reduce the heart fire and calm the mind.

For best results, you can enjoy a book after meditation (instead of using mobile devices) and go to bed when you start to feel sleepy.

Another important thing to note during this period is to avoid doing strenuous exercises.

The reason is that such exercises will make you sweat a lot and in TCM, there is a saying “汗为心之液” – which means the sweat is actually fluid from the heart. This also means that excessive sweating will deplete the heart’s Yin energy and thus, making one’s heart go into the heart fire (心火) state easily. Try to go for light exercises so you won’t sweat so much.

If you have been sweating a lot during this period, make sure you add some lily bulbs (dried or fresh) to your diet as lily bulbs can help to replenish your heart Yin energy.

We will be going into the Li Xia (立夏) solar term (节气) starting from 5 to 20 May 2026. Li Xia is the 7th solar term out of the entire 24 and it is also the first solar term of the summer season.

During Li Xia, the Yang energy in our environment will further increase, which means temperatures will continue to be on the rise. It will also be accompanied with rain at times (especially if you are living in tropical countries).

During this period, the warmth and dampness in our environment will cause some people to have poorer appetite (as dampness will affect our spleen).

If you find that your appetite is affected, you can try to eat some 茶叶蛋 (tea eggs) or dried tangerine peel. Dried tangerine peel can help to improve appetite and regulate stomach Qi at the same time.

The dietary direction in this solar term is 养心安神 (calm our minds). The reason is that the heart (in TCM, it also represents the mind) will accumulate fire (心火) easily during this period (as summer aligns with the organ – heart).

When a person has heart fire (心火), the following symptoms will occur (not all at the same time):

- Insomnia

- Irregular/heavy heartbeat

- Giddiness

- Ulcers on the tongue

- Feeling frustrated

The following are some recommended foods to consume during this period to calm the mind and reduce heart fire (心火):

Lily Bulb (Chinese name: 百合) – Lily bulb is one of the best foods to reduce heart fire as its main property is nourishing heart Yin energy. When the heart’s Yin energy is sufficient, the heart is less likely to be in a heaty state. You can purchase dried lily bulb at most TCM retail shops or fresh ones at the supermarket.

Bitter Gourd (Chinese name: 苦瓜) – Bitter gourd is one of the ideal vegetables to be consumed during this period as it helps in clearing body heatiness and it also has the property of brightening the eyes.

Mung Beans (Chinese name: 绿豆) – Also known as green beans. You can easily prepare a mung bean drink in 5 minutes, which helps to clear summer heat in the body. It also has the property of quenching thirst, detoxing and reducing dampness. This makes it an ideal drink during this period.

Lotus Seeds (Chinese name: 莲子) – Lotus seed is good for calming the mind. Heart fire can disrupt the mind and affect sleep quality. Lotus seed is a natural remedy to counter this, which is similar to the next food, Fu Ling.

Fu Ling (Chinese name: 茯苓) – Fu ling is excellent for strengthening the spleen and improving sleeping quality. During this summer period, the spleen can be easily affected and thus, Fu Ling will be a good addition to your diet in the upcoming months.

General Wellness Recommendation

In the next two to three months, the heart can easily accumulate fire (心火), resulting in insomnia, dizziness, feeling frustrated, and/or irregular/heavy heartbeat.

The main lifestyle recommendation is to reduce the heart fire or prevent it from going into an excessive state.

Meditating is an effective way to reduce heart fire. Do consider meditating before sleep. It can help to reduce the heart fire and calm the mind.

For best results, you can enjoy a book after meditation (instead of using mobile devices) and go to bed when you start to feel sleepy.

Another important thing to note during this period is to avoid doing strenuous exercises.

The reason is that such exercises will make you sweat a lot and in TCM, there is a saying “汗为心之液” – which means the sweat is actually fluid from the heart. This also means that excessive sweating will deplete the heart’s Yin energy and thus, making one’s heart easily go into the heart fire (心火) state. Try to go for light exercise so you won’t sweat so much.

If you have been sweating a lot during this period, make sure you add some lily bulbs (dried or fresh) to your diet as lily bulbs can help to replenish your heart Yin energy.

Another simple way to replenish heart Yin energy is to drink more water. But if you’re unable to do so for practical reasons (especially during work), then consuming lily bulb will be a better way.

Hope this information helps!

Do take care of yourself and the people around you during this Li Xia solar term!