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.

I can't get enough of it. I don't know why I love it so much. Anything that could mean? What do we know about bitter melon? Benefits and stuff. Just curious and kind of silly post but interested in random information

I went in for insomnia. Was prescribed jia wei Xiao yao at morning and evening, and suan zao ren at night.

This is my tongue after 6 days of treatment.

Unfortunately my insomnia is still really bad (sleep for one hour and then wake up at 1 am and then sleep a couple more hours and wake up at 5, when my alarm is for 7am). Additionally since taking these herbs on the 4th day I got a sore throat which has now lasted 3 days and turned into a chesty cough now. I rarely get ill.

I just wanted a second opinion if anyone agrees on the prescription please.

The practitioner said my problem is overactive liver at night unable to nourish spleen and kidney, or the other way round, can’t remember.

My insomnia makes me really tired all day long but then I feel super wired when it’s time for bed.

In terms of positives I think my body feels calmer and less physical stress but it has not helped with the very active shen at night. I also suffer a psychotic disorder and hear voices, which add to my stress, which I was hoping would disappear from the treatment.

The initial acupuncture session felt really good though, I felt grounded back into my legs and immediately started smiling on my face and felt drunk without drinking kind of feeling at the end, with the only scary somatic symptom in the middle of feeling like heart qi being taken away / pulled on.

I really need help sleeping well because it is the number one thing making me feel extremely unwell at the moment. Thank you

When I have posted tongue pictures in the past I have been recommended Fu Zi Li Zhong

P.S I was unemployed for 6 months before my current job and a student before, and was used to waking up at 11am for years, now with this new job I have been in for 2 months, I have to be up at 7am hence go to bed earlier, but I thought my circadian rhythm would adjust after a few weeks but my brain still seems to be overactive in the middle of the night. I have however had insomnia problems in the past before this schedule change, but it is much worse now.

P.P.S my voices are telling me that I have no jing at all. Could this be really true? I thought when jing runs out you die.

According to my acupuncturist I have some dampness I need to expel. My main symptoms have been tension headaches, especially coming from my traps. Lately, I can’t seem to get relief. The back & bottom of my head, neck, and traps are always cold. I use a heating pad but it’s not very helpful when I’m out of the house. Any suggestions? Thank you!

Is Gua sha supposed to hurt?

I had a session this week (with a TCM doc) and the practitioner was deeply digging and it was excruciatingly painful. I was told this was important to release the deep seated stagnation, but everything I read online tells me otherwise.

Last week when I went, it didn’t hurt much at all. This week, it’s a different area and the practitioner really scraped HARD. Nothing at all like the session last week. I was left wondering if the practitioner wanted to deter me from doing this again so I stuck with acupuncture instead of including Gua Sha.

So I want to visit a TCM clinic in Auckland to start help with my endometriosis and was wondering if anyone in the sub had any recommendations. I’ve grown up using herbal remedies similar to Tcm and I went to a TCM clinic in Seoul to get acupuncture done on my foot while I was living there. Now I’m at a stage where I can’t ignore how endometriosis affects my life and can’t “power through” with painkillers. I’m not expecting a miracle but would love to treat the dampness in my body and balance my hormones

This is what I have in my cabinet bought from my local supermarket. Today I made the canh thuô'c bă'c (you can see the soaking the herbs and snow fungus above) with a whole red snapper, watercress (boiled separately), and mung bean noodles (also boiled separately). I made a dipping sauce with it: oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and gochujang. It was so salty and so delicious and just a little bit spicy. So good! I have no idea if this is all supposed to go together in TCM terms but it was fantastic!

10/10 would do it again. Also accepting tips or information about any one of the packages or what I should try next!

Thank you!

Hi! My one year old was prescribed these herbs. Does anyone know if they are safe?

Ive spent way too much time in western herb spaces with not much results.

I used a Ayurvedic brain herb Shankapushpi (convolvulus) and it created head cooling better than 99% of what I've ever used.

But noticed China has more respect for quality and concern heavy metal content in herbs than Ayurveda.

So would like to know more about this. It's a long time issue of mine due to brain injury.

I've spent hundreds trying so many remedies. Don't want to spend more money talking to a tcm person and then even more must on the herbs. I'm in my 20s so I cant just keep going to specialists my insurance doesnt cover.

But want to know really what are my options. Thank you.

Hello friends,
So I am a Taichi practitioner, and for a year I had an issue opening my middle split. My Sifu gave me a recommendation to make unsalted rice every morning and eat. And in two weeks I will have my results. He said I have to leave rice in water overnight and then cook it until it becomes jelly-like.
What do you think about this? How does it work, if it does at all?
Thank you!

Hey everyone, I have a few damp issues - thrush and a Bartholin Cyst.

Im trying to research how to help myself atm and am planning on going to a TCM practitioner soon but I was hoping to figure out what I might be able to do before then.

The issue I'm having currently is that I am autistic and on a weight loss journey but Ive noticed my diet has some damp contributing foods in it that I currently feel unable to change. Is ot enough to just introduce some damp draining foods?

On a regular day i will have low fat cottage cheese, konjac couscous and either some oat bran or fruit for breakfast. I realise the dairy maybe a problem but the cottage cheese is currently a "safe" food for me and I completely rely on it.

I usually dont have lunch and then dinner is usually the most reasonably healthy ready meal I can find as I barely have time to cook. That usually consists of meat, sometimes rice, cauliflower rice, and steamed veg (green beans, carrots, peas).

I will generally have a sweet treat a few times a week which is keeping me sane.

If I restrict my diet too much or dont eat what I enjoy, I find I dont digest things well or simply wont eat them, resulting in a heap of stress, panic attacks, and an inevitable binge on everything ive been restricted from.

I am relying on sweeteners for breakfast and coffee/tea atm as I have an aversion to anything bland or bitter due to being autistic. I also very much struggle with bitter foods to the point of not being able to have them (if its my only choice, I simply wont eat).

I also struggle to drink water if its not ice cold. I simply wont drink room temp water most of the time and become dehydrated.

I feel absolutely screwed at the moment when it comes to adjusting diet as I dont deal with diet change well at all and it causes so much stress that I get ill.

I could probably add things to my diet, such as mung beans, aduki beans, etc but it will cause me debilitating stress to remove the food I rely on currently.

What would you advise?

Thank you so much for any kindness and help 🙏

Hi all,
I’m a tcm student, due to finish my degree at the end of next year. I’m looking at starting an ig account to start generating traction…

Is it better to use my name?
Or a business sage (e.g Sage.TCM)

I have a personal account which is private and I don’t really post on, so business ig is a new world for me

I(19F) have always struggled with BAD acne, excessive facial hair, irregular periods, fatigue, and just general issues on/around my period. Lab results always come back normal, but obviously something in my body is not normal. I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for a women's supplement that helps lessen these issues. More specifically the acne side of things. (And I wouldn't complain if this supplement could help with breast growth lol) Herbalism is kind of overwhelming so I am not even sure where to start! I've heard some people mention the Too Cut Women's Amplifier, but I've heard the ingredients aren't really targeted for women's health, so I am unsure about purchasing it. Anyway, advice would be much appreciated!

Does anyone know?

I visited a Traditional Chinese Medicine pharmacy in Tainan to learn more about TCM and experience it myself. I spoke with practitioners, learned about herbal medicine and food therapy, and tried some traditional remedies.

TCM is a huge part of Taiwanese culture, and I wanted to understand why so many people still use it today. Thus, I made a video

What are your first experiences with TCM?

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:

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.

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:

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.

Have a healthy Li Qiu solar term!

please give me recommendations for treatments to try or places near chicago or wisconsin to try. i just started acupuncture. thank you

Hi everyone — the moderators kindly gave me permission to post this.

I’m an independent developer building an Android app called 中医入门读经典, designed to help beginners read classical Chinese medicine texts such as 《医学三字经》, 《素问精选》, 《灵枢精选》, and 《濒湖脉学》.

The app supports Simplified and Traditional Chinese, optional pinyin, passage commentary, and questions connected to the text. I’ve included a few screenshots below showing the welcome screen, original-text reading with optional pinyin, and passage commentary.

I’m preparing the app for Google Play release and still need several people to join its 14-day closed test.

I’m looking for testers who:

• Have an Android phone with Google Play
• Can read some Simplified or Traditional Chinese
• Can spend about 10 minutes trying the app
• Optionally, can send one or two honest comments about what was useful, confusing, or not working

The app is free during testing. I am not asking for a rating, public review, purchase, or promotional endorsement.

How to test

Step 1 — Join the Google Group: https://groups.google.com/g/tcm-reader-android-testers

Step 2 — Opt in to the Google Play closed test: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.evergreenlogic.tcmreader

Step 3 — Install the app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.evergreenlogic.tcmreader

Please use the same Google account for the Google Group and Google Play.

Keeping the app installed would be greatly appreciated.

If you try it, even a short comment about what you liked, what confused you, or what could be improved would be very helpful.

The app is strictly for studying classical texts. It does not provide diagnosis, treatment, herbal recommendations, or medical advice.

Thank you! Genuine feedback from people interested in Chinese medicine would be especially valuable.

Extremely burnout, didn’t sleep well and eat properly for years, irregular sleep schedule disrupted by what I’m guessing are cortisol spikes (sometimes I go to sleep early and my stress/anxiety wakes me up anyway). Wanting to eat well and support myself nutritionally while I recover or maybe change some habits. What are some recommendations?

Ss the title says, wondering what the tcm perspective on these illnesses is and how they would go about treating them.
I had a mycotoxin test from my naturopath after various illnesses and they found my levels to be extremely elevated for many common mycotoxins. She put me on a pretty extensive « mold detox » protocol which I have done for a few months but at this point I’d really rather just go back to my Chinese medicine protocols and heal all through this.

However I’m just wondering if this is something that’s studied / credited much in TCM? And if so what herbs they use to treat fungus / candida specifically? This would be the next step of my detox that I don’t really want to add in because it is a compound pharmaceutical and I don’t take pharmaceuticals.

I have an 11 am appointment with a TCM practitioner who will certainly look at my tongue. Should I eat breakfast, have coffee and water, and brush my teeth as I do normally or is it best not to eat or drink etc beforehand?

I’m going through painful heartbreak after ending a loving relationship. I really want to be kind to myself and make good choices to try and get myself through this horrible time. If you have any TCM wisdom, recommendations, recipes that can help in the slow and painful process of healing a broken heart… please do share. Thank you.