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Summer: Clearing Heat Without Chilling the Spleen — The TCM Playbook

seasonal tcm traditional chinese medicine
By the TCMHH editorial team Not medically reviewed How we work Updated 6 Oct 2026
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Chinese medicine reads the year the way a farmer does: each season has a job, and health means doing your part of it. Summer heat drains fluids and appetites, but iced drinks injure the spleen; the art is cooling the outside of the body with warm fluids inside.

The herbs of the season

The shortlist for this season: Green tea, Dandelion, Pomegranate. Each covers a different corner of the seasonal picture, and you rarely need all of them at once.

Green tea (Lu Cha) is cool in nature, and in the clinic it lifts the spirit and sharpens the head and eyes.

Dandelion (Pu Gong Ying) is cold in nature, and in the clinic it benefits the eyes and soothes a hot, sore throat.

Pomegranate (Shi Liu) is warm (peel), neutral (fruit) in nature, and in the clinic it the juice nourishes yin and quenches thirst.

How to keep it simple

Pick one herb and one habit rather than rebuilding your whole routine. The seasonal logic works through consistency: small correct choices, repeated for the length of the season, is what the tradition means by prevention.

Start low, watch how your body responds, and give it a fair run of a few weeks before judging. If something feels wrong, stop; that feedback matters more than any article.

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Sources and further reading

We cite classical materia medica and modern reference works. This article is health education, not medical advice.

  • Shennong Bencao Jing (The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), Han dynasty.
  • Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen, 1578.
  • Chinese Pharmacopoeia, current edition — identity, quality and safety monographs.
  • NCCIH and WHO reference material on traditional medicine safety.

Spotted an error or a better source? Tell us — corrections are logged on our editorial policy page.

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Spring: Freeing the Liver — The TCM Playbook The herbs of the season The shortlist for this season: Dandelion , Green tea , Peppermint. Winter: Deep Warming and Storage in Chinese Medicine What to eat and avoid in winter, according to Chinese dietary theory: this is when warming tonics land best and when late nights cost the most. Autumn: Moistening Dryness — The TCM Playbook Each covers a different corner of the seasonal picture, and you rarely need all of them at once. Food Therapy in TCM: Why the Kitchen Comes Before the Pharmacy Food Therapy in TCM: Why the Kitchen Comes Before the Pharmacy: a plain-language explanation of the concept and why it matters in Traditional Chinese Medicine practice.

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