Eat well - eat healthy: Doctor shows how to make 7 types of summer heat-relieving drinks

Coconut pennywort, green bean fish mint, monk fruit tea... are drinks that help quench thirst and cool down on hot summer days.

The hot summer makes the body susceptible to dehydration, generating internal heat, causing diseases such as heatstroke, prickly heat, acne, difficulty urinating, sore throat or constipation. To soothe the body from the inside, many people have used natural herbs that have cooling and diuretic effects - a solution that is easy to implement, safe and effective.

Below, Dr. Nguyen Phoi Hien, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City - Branch 3, shares 7 most common and easy-to-find medicinal herbs, along with how to make them into refreshing drinks at home.

Gotu kola combined with coconut helps to cool, detoxify, reduce inflammation, support the treatment of acne, hot liver, high blood pressure

Illustration: AI

Gotu kola - cools the liver, diuretic, brightens skin

Uses : Gotu kola is sweet, slightly bitter, neutral, helps clear heat, detoxify, reduce inflammation, support treatment of acne, hot liver, high blood pressure.

How to make : Coconut pennywort juice.

Ingredients : 300g pennywort, 1 fresh coconut, 50g sugar.

How to make : Wash pennywort, drain. Blend pennywort with fresh coconut water. Filter through a sieve, add sugar to taste, refrigerate or drink with ice.

Corn silk - choleretic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory

Uses : Corn silk has a sweet taste, neutral properties, is used as a diuretic, supports the treatment of hepatitis, kidney stones, edema, and painful urination.

How to make : Ginseng water cools the liver.

Ingredients : 1 handful of corn silk, cogon root, reed, pandan leaves (a little of each), 2 liters of water, rock sugar.

How to make : Wash the ingredients, cut into pieces. Boil with 2 liters of water for 30-40 minutes. Filter the water, add rock sugar to taste, drink cold or store in the refrigerator.

Fish mint - detoxifying, anti-inflammatory, good for digestion

Uses : Fish mint has a spicy taste, cool properties, and the effect of clearing heat, detoxifying, reducing inflammation, treating acne, constipation, hemorrhoids, and irregular menstruation.

How to make : Green bean fish mint smoothie.

Ingredients : 100 g fish mint, 50 g cooked mung beans, 1 tablespoon sugar, 200 ml water.

How to make : Wash the fish mint, drain. Put in a blender with mung beans and water. Blend until smooth, filter through a sieve, add sugar to taste, drink cold.

Monk fruit - expectorant, lung-clearing, laxative

Uses : Monk fruit has a sweet taste and cool properties, helps clear heat, moisten the lungs, treat dry cough, sore throat, constipation, and beautify the skin.

How to make : Winter melon monk fruit tea

Ingredients : 1 squash (with pollen), 2 monk fruit, 1 piece of sugar cane, a few pandan leaves.

How to make : Peel the squash, cut into pieces. Crush the monk fruit, cut the sugar cane into small pieces. Boil all with 2-2.5 liters of water for 1 hour. Filter the water to drink during the day, can be refrigerated.

Cogon grass - cools the liver, stops bleeding, diuretic

Uses : Cogon grass is sweet and cool, helps to relieve heat and thirst, treat hematuria, internal heat, and hemoptysis.

How to make : Cogon grass water - corn silk.

Ingredients : 1 handful of cogon grass, 1 handful of corn silk, reeds, pandan leaves.

How to make : Boil all ingredients with 2 liters of water for 30 minutes. Filter the water, let it cool and drink gradually during the day.

Green tea, lemon, honey have the effect of cooling, diuretic, reducing fatigue

Photo: AI

Green tea - increases alertness, anti-oxidant, cools the body

Uses : Green tea leaves contain many antioxidants, have cooling, diuretic and fatigue-reducing effects.

How to make : Green tea with lemon and honey.

Ingredients : 1 handful of fresh green tea leaves, 1 tablespoon honey, 1/2 lemon.

How to make : Wash the tea leaves, blanch them in boiling water to reduce the bitterness. Steep in 500 ml of hot water for 10 minutes. Add lemon and honey when the tea cools down. It tastes even better when served cold.

Aloe vera - cools the liver, aids digestion, nourishes the skin

Uses : Aloe vera has a bitter taste and cold properties, helps to cool, disinfect, aid digestion, and soothe the skin from within.

How to make : Blue pea flower aloe vera juice.

Ingredients : 1 large aloe vera branch, 1 pinch of butterfly pea flowers, 100 g rock sugar, 1/2 lemon, 500 ml water.

How to make : Peel the aloe vera, cut into cubes, soak in salt water then boil briefly. Cook the butterfly pea flowers with water to release the color, filter out the residue. Put the aloe vera into the butterfly pea flower water pot, add rock sugar and lemon. Drink cold.

Notes when using herbal medicine to cool the body

• Use in moderation, do not abuse.
• People with weak spleen and stomach (or cold stomach, diarrhea) need to be careful.
• Pregnant and lactating women should consult a doctor.
• Prioritize clean ingredients with clear origin.
• Use within the day, refrigerate if needed.

Doctor Phoi Hien noted that, in addition to using cooling drinks, don't forget to:

• Drink enough water every day (1.5-2 liters).
• Avoid the sun between 10am and 4pm.
• Eat lots of green vegetables and fresh fruit.
• Maintain personal hygiene and living environment.
• Light exercise, proper rest.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/an-ngon-an-khoe-bac-si-chi-cach-lam-7-loai-nuoc-giai-nhet-mua-he-185250502211051149.htm