The summer sun is here to stay for the next few months. It’s no surprise that in Traditional Chinese Medicine summer is associated with the fire element. This very yang, active energy can serve us well to accomplish goals that we set earlier in the year and make positive changes in our lives. However, we have to be cautious of being scorched, literally by the sun, or figuratively by the heat of excessive activities.

Being back in the clinic over the last few weeks, I have seen my fair share of people suffering from illnesses that we often associate with Winter: cough, common cold, fever, headache, chills, sore throat, etc. Illness happens and regardless of the time of year that it occurs in, it is not so much about x virus or y bacteria as it is how our body is able to respond to it.