Blood heat can be very harmful to the body because of excessive internal fire, leading to excessive yang and damage to yin. Symptoms that patients may experience include restlessness, thirst, constipation, red face and ears, acne, and hot hands and feet. Women’s menstrual periods may also change, so patients must seek timely treatment. One effective measure is dietary adjustment, and the following is an introduction to the correct dietary methods for patients with blood heat.

The best way to extinguish fire is to eat bananas. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that bananas are sweet, cold, slightly astringent, and non-toxic, and have the effects of clearing heat and quenching thirst, cooling the stomach and cooling blood, moistening the intestines and relieving constipation, and lowering blood pressure and diuresis. They are especially good for people with yin deficiency and intestinal dryness, or blood heat and qi stagnation. However, for people with inherent weakness of the spleen and stomach or insufficient yang, eating bananas can have the opposite effect, making the虚 fire even stronger.

According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, ‘pear, as its name suggests, has the property of being beneficial, and its nature is to flow downwards and be smooth.’ Its medicinal properties include treating wind-heat, moistening the lungs, cooling the heart, resolving phlegm, reducing fire, and detoxifying. Pears also have the effects of lowering blood pressure and nourishing yin and clearing heat, so eating pears is beneficial for people with hypertension, hepatitis, and liver cirrhosis. They are sweet, cold in nature, and have the effects of moistening the throat, nourishing the dryness, clearing heat, resolving phlegm, nourishing the blood, and promoting muscle growth.

Watermelon is a good tool for extinguishing fire, and there is a saying that ‘eating two pieces of watermelon is better than taking medicine.’ It has a significant effect on relieving restlessness, quenching thirst, calming the mind, and nourishing the heart. However, it is not suitable for people with cold and weak spleen and stomach, cold accumulation and pain, loose stools, and clear urine.

People with blood heat should eat more foods with the effect of cooling blood. Cool blood foods include: duck meat, red bean, water caltrop, winter melon, fresh lotus root, shepherd’s purse, lotus seed, eggplant, jujube, Job’s tears, raw rehmannia, poria, yam, fresh fish, and fresh scutellaria root. In terms of diet, one should consume more cool and moistening foods, such as lotus root, which has the effect of clearing heat and cooling blood, and is most suitable for people with blood heat. It can be eaten in various ways, such as cold dishes, juice, or stir-fried.

In addition, people with blood heat should not engage in intense exercise, but rather do moderate exercises, such as yoga. Static exercises are beneficial for regulating blood circulation within the body and calming emotional fluctuations.

People with severe blood heat can take Chinese medicine for adjustment, or drink more chrysanthemum tea regularly. In case of necessity, one can brew water with 10 grams of raw rehmannia, 6 grams of moutan bark, 6 grams of flower of Sophora japonica, and 6 grams of chrysanthemum, or, under the guidance of a doctor, choose medications such as cow-bezoar detox tablets, sanhuang tablets, and Zhipei Dihuang pills according to specific symptoms.

In terms of diet, one should consume more cool and moistening foods, such as lotus root, which has the effect of clearing heat and cooling blood, and is most suitable for people with blood heat. It can be eaten in various ways, such as cold dishes, juice, or stir-fried. In addition, foods like pear, bitter melon, bitter herbs, luffa, fresh asparagus, mung bean, winter melon, black sesame, crab, and duck meat are also cool blood foods, and should be consumed more regularly. One should eat less food with warm and dry properties, such as lamb, chive, chili, and sunflower seeds, and should avoid hot pot and alcohol.