Today marks Xiàzhì (夏至) , the Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year and the peak of Yang energy  in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). From this point, light slowly gives way to shadow, inviting a balance between movement and rest, brightness and depth . Welcome to Fire Summer - Summer belongs to the Fire element , linked to the Heart and Small Intestine meridians —governing joy, connection, sleep, and emotional clarity. But too much heat can lead to restlessness, an

And so again, I return to millet, my favorite grain and hopefully for my patients as well. Why? According to Chinese medicine it is a both cooling and drying, and in the 21st century diet, this can only be healthy (to most patients). For diabetics , for overweight people, for high cholesterol - all are manifestations of heat and damp-phlegm. And again I will repeat this - millet has no taste on its own – it will take whatever you give him. If you make a pot left unseasoned,

According to Chinese medicine, each season of the year belongs to one of the 5 elements, to a specific color, to a unique flavor, to a bodily organ or system. We too (as part of nature) are affected by the seasons, even if the air-conditioning has made us forget we’re in the heat of the summer. According to the 5 element theory, the summer season is the most Yang period in the year and belongs to the Fire element which symbolizes extreme, dynamism, red and fiery. Summer is a