Eating this thing excessively in summer can damage both the spleen and stomach yang qi! Traditional Chinese Medicine: If you don't want to leave the root of the disease, especially these 5 types of people, you should stay away from it!

After entering summer, the temperature gradually increased. Xiao Wang ate ice cream and iced drinks continuously while shopping because it was too hot. Suddenly, he vomited blood wildly and then had a severe headache. After going to the hospital for examination, the doctor told her that it was a migraine caused by excessive consumption of cold drinks. This situation is not uncommon in clinical practice. The hot summer has arrived, and the temperature continues to rise. More and more people like to use cold drinks to cool down. Young people call this kind of enjoyment "prolonging life", but can cold drinks really relieve fever? What price will the body pay for long-term consumption of cold drinks? Can consuming cold drinks really relieve fever?

Cold drinks only bring a brief coolness when first consumed. As the beverage enters the stomach, surrounding organs quickly heat it up, and the heat generated by digesting and decomposing the beverage ingredients gradually offsets the initial cooling effect. The strong cold stimulation of cold drinks can slow down blood flow, affect the efficiency of heat transfer, and mislead the nervous system, thinking that the body is already cool and reducing heat dissipation. In this way, more heat accumulates in the body, which actually increases the probability of heatstroke. So, the antipyretic effect of cold drinks is more of a psychological suggestion.

The effects of cold drinks on the human body

1. Stimulating the intestines

Cold drinks can cause intestinal peristalsis and absorption dysfunction after stimulating the intestines. The liquid entering the colon exceeds the absorption capacity of the colon, leading to an increase in water content in feces and diarrhea. Cold stimulation causes intestinal spasms, leading to abdominal pain.

2. Damage to blood vessels

Cold food passing through the digestive tract can cause rapid constriction of blood vessels and increase blood pressure. For people with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular problems such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, and arteriosclerosis, this can easily lead to worsening of the condition. Moreover, many ice drinks contain high sugar and calories, and drinking them regularly can easily lead to high blood sugar and high blood lipids, increasing the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

3. "Ice Cream Headache"

Rapid consumption of frozen foods such as ice cream can cause strong cold stimulation to the mouth and palate, leading to spasms and contraction of muscles and blood vessels in the head and face, as well as radiating pain to nerves. People with a history of migraine are more likely to experience acute headaches after consuming cold drinks, and those who are particularly sensitive can even induce pain by placing crushed ice directly on the palate or pharynx.

4. Aggravating Obesity

Some scholars believe that drinking cold drinks can help with weight loss, as cold drinks enter the body and require energy to be mobilized for consumption, promoting metabolism. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that a cold and raw diet can deplete yang qi, damage the digestive function of the spleen and stomach, and form a constitution of phlegm dampness deficiency and obesity. Long term consumption is more likely to lead to the occurrence or aggravation of obesity.

Traditional Chinese Medicine's views on cold drinks

1. Cold drinks have two characteristics: cold and sweet. Cold drinks have a strong stimulation on the gastrointestinal tract, which can easily damage the spleen and stomach yang qi and affect the digestion and absorption of food by the spleen and stomach. Sweetness and greasiness increase the digestive burden on the spleen and stomach, and overeating can easily cause damage to spleen and stomach function. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that "the spleen is the foundation of the postnatal life" and "a strong spleen prevents evil throughout the four seasons". Only when the spleen and stomach are healthy can nutrients be effectively absorbed and the whole body's qi and blood flow smoothly.

2. Damage to lung yang

In traditional Chinese medicine, there is a saying of "lung stomach correlation". The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon states: "When consumed in the stomach, the essence and qi flow out, and are transported upwards to the spleen, dispersing the essence and returning to the lungs." Overeating raw cold, cold food entering the stomach, transmitted through the spleen, can also make the lungs feel "cold evil", suppress the yang qi in the lungs, impair its function of promoting and descending, and cause the lung qi to reverse and cough. Therefore, people with weak lung qi or chronic respiratory diseases should especially avoid consuming cold drinks.

3. Impact on menstrual water

Women who consume cold drinks before and after their menstrual period are prone to cold blood clotting and blood stasis, which can cause dysmenorrhea or delay menstruation. Eating cold drinks after menstruation can damage Yang energy, causing symptoms such as fear of cold, diarrhea, and headaches in the body. Therefore, women should be cautious about consuming cold drinks before and after their menstrual period.

4. Damage to Yang Qi

Overconsumption of cold drinks can easily cause damage to the lungs, spleen, and Yang Qi. The lungs and spleen are important organs for water metabolism in the human body, and impaired function can lead to a decrease in "drainage" function. Sweet and greasy cold drinks can also aggravate dampness in the body. Many obese people already have the pathogenesis of "spleen deficiency and dampness obstruction", with difficulty in "drainage" and dampness obstruction, making it difficult to lose weight. The more they eat, the fatter they become.

Summary: Although cold drinks can provide a brief sense of coolness, their potential harm to the body cannot be ignored, especially for people with specific physical and health conditions, who should carefully choose cold drinks to cool down.

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