It's mid-Summer in Beijing and the hottest days of the year is here. We sometimes experience 40C+ temperatures - definitely hotter than Malaysia. We often hide indoors to escape the summer heat - and for those who can afford it, take a vacation to a place with a cooler climate.

However, sweating out during summer is beneficial to our health. I am translating this article titled "Summer Sweat is Worth Its Weight in Gold" from Chinese - text at the end.

Summer Sweat Is Gold

We have arrived at the 3 periods of mid-summer - early summer (mid-July), middle summer (late-July to early-August) and late summer (mid-August). Everyone is complaining about the heat and want to escape summer. But let me remind everyone, summer is not merely avoiding the heat, summer sweat is worth gold.

Why is it so? The word Summer (暑) consist of two Sun words on top and below, and in the middle is Earth. In the Five Elements / Five Energies theory, Fire gives birth to Earth. There is a saying, "A right-handed turn is the way of heaven." The word Summer refers to a special period and condition in natural laws and its impact to all living beings: it is the most important growth period for animals and plants throughout the year. The blistering summer heat is the necessary condition for the renewal and growth of heart tissues. To reject the summer heat is to deny natural growth.

Don't worry if you do not understand. The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor explains that during Summer, everything naturally emanate upward and outward. The illnesses in our body, the diseases in our bone marrow surfaces, they lose their foundation. But if you use air conditioner your pores will close up. The diseases leave the bone marrow but cannot be expelled from the body and will be wandering outside of the bones and within the skin. Therefore you will feel ache and discomfort from the top of your head to your toes and miserable all the time - can't sit well and can't sleep well.

If you do not experience the summer heat and sweat it out, it will soon be cold during Autumn and Winter. And you are planting the roots for thrombosis, stroke, dementia and other hematoma related illnesses. Because Summer is the period of growth for all living things, avoiding Summer heat is going against the natural way.

So what should we do? Open up the pores! Expel the acidic (harmful) sweat and fluids from the body. Eliminate the poisonous Qi and odour from your body. During the Summer period, avoid any raw or cold food, exercise appropriately, sweat out more often and discharge the extraneous moistness from the body. That is the most effective way to cultivate your health.

These are the Summer periods for 2019

Initial Summer：13th July - 22nd July
Mid Summer：23rd July - 1st August
Late Mid Summer:  2nd August - 11th August
End Summer：12th August - 21st August

In these 38 days, avoid iced and cold drinks and food because they will cause cold Qi to enter your body and fail to be removed. As a result you will be afraid of the cold during Winter. Failing to take care of your body during the Summer period will cause coldness in your feet. Think of ways to eliminate the cold Qi from your body. Please persevere and avoid cold drinks, drink ginger and jujube tea and warm water. That will help to expel the cold Qi that has accumulated in your body for years.

Summer period only comes once a year, so cherish it! Have hot water foot bath daily, massage your meridians and try to sleep at fixed hours and avoid staying up late. Cherish these limited 38 days. Let yourself, your friends and family be healthy always.

Original Chinese Text

 进入三伏天了，大家都在说：热啊热啊热啊！避暑避暑避暑啊！……但我想提醒大家：暑天不避暑，暑汗赛黄金。怎么讲呢？
“暑”字上下两“日”，中间为“土”，火能生土；一撇右旋，实乃天道。“暑”字诠释了自然界一段特殊的时空状态，乃至它
看不明白的别急，《黄帝内经》讲了个道理，到夏天的时候万物是向上向外发散，人体内的病、骨髓里的病都浮上来了，它失去了根基，但如果你吹着空调，毛孔关闭，病走出了骨髓，却不能排出身体，就会在骨之外、皮之内游荡，所以感觉浑身那么酸、那么难受，坐不好，躺不下。
所以，夏不炎热，不出透汗，秋冬必然寒凉，为今后的血栓、中风、痴呆等一系列瘀阻之证埋下祸根。因为暑期是万物生长的季节，避暑是逆“天”而行。
怎么办？把毛孔打开！使酸性的汗液走出去，使身上的毒气和味道散发出去。
三伏天请远离一切生冷寒凉，适当运动，，把汗出透，把湿气排出，才是最重要的养生事项。今年三伏时间表

初    伏：7月13日-7月22日
中    伏：7月23日-8月  1日
闰中伏 :  8月  2日-8月11日
末    伏：8月12日-8月21日
         38天时间请您不要喝冰镇一类的水饮料和食物，会使寒气入侵不能排出，冬天之所以怕冷、脚凉都是三伏天不注意导致，要想使体内的寒气排出，请坚持在伏天喝热水，姜枣茶，常温水，会把体内多少年深入骨隨的寒气逼出来。
         一年一度的伏天请您珍惜！（温暖传递）每天热水泡脚，经络按摩、尽量按时睡觉，不熬夜！珍惜这短短38天。让自己的身边人，自己关心的和关心自己的人身体健康！
对生物的影响：暑期是动植物生长一年之中的最重要时段，暑期的炎热是人身心细胞生长更替的必要条件，排斥炎热即是否定生长。