What’s more refreshing than sinking your teeth into a big juicy sweet piece of watermelon on a hot summer day? We’re into the full swing of summer, which means hot days, lots of sunshine, outdoor parties and bbqs, concerts, hiking, and plenty of other outdoor fun in the sun.  How do you beat the heat and protect yourself from overheating and dehydrating? In Chinese Medicine one of the ways we do it is with watermelon. Watermelon, known as xi gua in Chinese, is a fruit from the cucurbitaceae family.  It’s cold and sweet by nature; quenches thirst, builds body fluids, relieves irritability, dispels summer heat problems, promotes diuresis, moistens the intestines, and detoxifies the body.  It’s used to treat thirst, dry mouth, canker sores, summer heat irritability (ya know when you get overheated and it makes you a little irritable), jaundice, edema, difficult urination, and kidney and urinary tract inflammations. Did you know that watermelon is 92% water? Yep, it sure is, which makes it a great choice for helping keep you hydrated in those hot temperatures.  Watermelon also has many other nutrients to help you keep healthy. Watermelon contains thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin, B-1, vitamin B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, choline, betaine, and is high in lycopene and vitamin C. Being that it’s high in lycopene it may help lower your blood pressure and may reduce your risk of having a stroke. **If you have weak digestion or problems with excessive urination you might want to limit your consumption. Not that into watermelon?  Here are some other foods that will help you beat the heat and stay cool from the inside out! Apple, asparagus, banana, broccoli, cabbage, celery, cucumber, egg white, grapefruit, lemon, lettuce, millet, mint, olive, peppermint, potato, radish, salt, seaweed, spirulina, tomato, and wheat A Cool Refreshing Watermelon Cooler Slushy Recipe 4 cups cubed seedless watermelon ¼ cup sugar (optional and probably not necessary if you have a sweet juicy watermelon) 1/8 teaspoon salt 10 ice cubes 1/3 cup fresh lime juice Place watermelon and ice in a blender.  Pour in lime juice, sugar (optional), and salt. Blend until smooth Yum!