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External Causes of Illness
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External Causes of Illness: The Heat Devil
Think about those hot sticky summer afternoons-when you just want to stop the world and float in a pool, sipping iced tea. This kind of weather isn't only uncomfortable, it can wreak havoc on your nervous system.
Even when it only lasts a few days, one-hundred-degree weather can be a formidable foe, causing high fevers, skin eruptions, headaches, and, most dangerously, a loss of body fluids. The Heart is the power center most sensitive to elevated temperatures, so if it becomes overheated, you may face troublesome behavioral symptoms, from fainting and palpitations to delirium and disturbed sleep.
To avoid these symptoms, there are a number of things you can do during hot weather. Above all, avoid alcohol and spicy foods. They cause your core temperature to rise, an effect comparable to pouring gasoline on a fire.
It may seem self-evident, but try to stay in the shade and drink at least six glasses of water a day. Eat cooling foods, such as chilled, juicy vegetables and fruit (for example, cucumbers and tomatoes). These foods can act as an internal air conditioner, keeping your system cool and hydrated.
In China, watermelon has been used for centuries to cool the body and clean out toxins. When I was a child, summer didn't begin until the truck delivered a load of melons to our house. We looked forward to those first bites of the juicy red fruit. Little did I know that, years later, watermelon would actually save my life.
One day not long after graduation, I was interning at a Shanghai hospital when I nearly collapsed. I felt hot and achy, and I couldn't understand why. As it turned out, I had contracted a dangerous formof viral hepatitis, and soon found myself quarantined and confined to bed rest. I was given an IV and prescribed acupuncture and Chinese herbs. I was also put on a diet consisting of watermelons to reduce the fever and jaundice. The seeds help the Kidneys to function at their highest level and act as a diuretic, and the fruit and rind help to release Heat and toxins. After a month of who knows how many watermelons, the virus was beaten back, making this an excellent lesson in the healing power of a wonderful fruit.
External Causes of Illness: The Dry Devil
To understand the effects of dryness on the human body, imagine you are on a trip to the eastern corner of California. Picture yourself standing in a 140-mile-long former lakebed. The sandy earth is cracked and dry; the temperature is 130 degrees and rising. This b...
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