Add a little bitterness to your summer

The weather is getting hotter and muggier. Symptoms that accompany the sauna-like climate include fatigue, loss of appetite and increased blood pressure. Looking for a way to mitigate these? Try some bitter foods!

Traditional Chinese medicine recommends eating bitter foods in the summer to lower the "heat" in our bodies. Chinese Master Chef Tony Wang of Holiday Inn Beijing Focus Square also encourages eating bitter foods for the summer, such as bitter melon, dandelion leaves and guiling jelly. Here are some well-known bitter foods often seen in Chinese c

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Bitter melons

Bitter melons are rich in quinine, a substance known for its anti-malarial and anti-inflammatory properties. Aside from quinine, bitter melons are also rich in protein, calcium, sodium, iron, beta-carotene and charantin, a hypoglycaemic substance that can help lower blood sugar. Bitter melons can be used in salads or soups. Stir-frying them with meat would cut down on the bitterness and makes them milder to the taste. In Chinese medicine, bitter melons are known for its effects in enhancing appetite and digestion, relieving "heat" and preventing fatigue.Oxalic acids in bitter melons prevent the absorption of calcium. To remove the acids, blanch the bitter melons before use.

Kuding Tea

Ilex leaves, a holly species, are often drunk as herbal teas in China. The young leaf buds are processed and used to make Kuding Tea, which can be roughly translated as bitter spike tea. Kuding Tea is rich in caffeine, aromatic oil and flavonoid, a potent antioxidant. Good quality Kuding Tea leaves a sweet aftertaste and will not cause insomnia. Available at most supermarkets and specialty tea stores, it is a highly recommended tea for the summer.