With much of the UK roasting in a heatwave at the moment, its a great opportunity to get to know the herbs and foods that will actually help your body to stay cool and fluster free in the heat. Herbs and foods that have this cooling action are called ‘refrigerants’ for obvious reasons and refrigerant herbs cool the body when taken as infusions or when applied to the skin.
These plants work in a few different ways – some have a diaphoretic action which encourages gentle perspiration thereby cooling the body, others work to keep fluids in balance in the body, act as Yin tonics and also slow down internal processes (metabolism) and soothe irritations and inflammations.
Hibiscus flower
In some Eastern traditional medicine sytems, ‘summer heat’ is seen as something that can also be problematic all year round if excess heat gets trapped in the deeper organs and tissues of the body. They encourage people to take refrigerant plants throughout times of great heat but also to keep consuming them for some time afterwards.
The diaphoretic herbs (herbs that make us sweat) can obviously help to cool us as via the evaporation of sweat from the skin. There are many diaphoretics (Elder flower, Yarrow herb etc) but use sparingly as too much sweating will lead to fluid loss and may increase the feeling and effects of heat. Yarrow is a good choice of diaphoretic for cooling as it has a great ability to balance fluids and move them judiciously around the body.
Sage is another interesting herb often taken by menopausal women and others to stop hot flushes and to reduce sweating. It can certainly act as a coolant if you are prone to being sweat drenched.
Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora)
Hibiscus flowers have been used to make a cooling beverage for millenia, the Pharoahs of ancient Egypt were very partial to Hibiscus tea and added Mint leaves for the ultimate drink to stay cool in the heat of North Africa. Sweet mint tea is still very popular in hot countries as an effective way to stay cool. Other refrigerant herbs that make delicious herbal infusions/teas include Lemon balm, Lemon Verbena, Chickweed, Rose petals, Chamomile, Marshmallow root, Horsetail, Ladys mantle, Red Clover flowers, Plantain, Sheeps Sorrel, Tarragon, Violet leaf, Gotu kola, Catnip, Sweet Wormwood (Artemesia annua) and Basil.
Infuse a handful of a few fresh herbs from the above list (half a handful if using dried) in a jug of water (boiling water or cold). You can leave the herbs in and stand overnight in the fridge for a strong tasting herbal infusion or just stand for 10 minutes or so, strain off the herbs and put the liquid in the fridge. When ready to drink, add a few fresh sprigs of something cooling and aromatic (like mint, lemon balm or fresh citrus peel) and you have a tasty and refreshing drink. Liven it up with a splash of sparkling water if fizziness is your thing. Pour into an old style Thermos flask and carry it with you to sip from whenever you need to hydrate and cool off.
Sweeten the infusion with a tiny amount of sugar (raw and unrefined if possible) or a dash of honey as the sweet taste has a cooling and moistening action on the tissues of the body.
You can even pour some of the infusion into a spray bottle and spritz the body with it when you feel the need to cool right down.
Delicous, refreshing and cooling infusion
Plenty of foods can also help the body stay cool – Mung beans are one of the best heat clearing foods and are easy to include in a salad or to make into a dhal. Cucumber and many others in their plant family such as watermelons and other melons are great foods to help keep us both hydrated and cool. All coconut products have a cooling action in the body, fresh coconut ‘meat’, the ‘milk’ or water, the ‘cream’ and also the oil can be taken daily throughout the hotter days.
Make delicious, cooling and water rich salads from the following ingredients …. tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, grapes etc as well as the pure refrigerant foods like coriander leaf, blueberry, pomegranate, lemons, limes, grapefruit, goji berries, asparagus and sprouted seeds or beans (especially sprouted mung beans).
Its worth noting that emotions like anger and frustration can also increase body heat so anything that dissipates anger can also have a deeply cooling effect on the body, Dandelion root being an excellent remedy for cooling liver fire and the feisty emotions that often accompany.
An overactive thyroid gland can also lead to a speedy metabolism and therefore a sense heat intolerance and this will obviously be a problem when the mercury rises. Anything that subdues the thyroid will also help with cooilng the body, Motherwort and Bugleweed as well as Lemon Balm will help here.
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