{{Short description|Pathology in Chinese traditional medicine}} '''Shanghuo''' ({{zh|c=上火|hp=shàng huǒ|l=fire elevates}}), also known as '''Reqi''' ({{zh|c=热气|hp=rè qì|l=hot air|j=jit⁶ hei³}}) or '''Heatiness'''<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|url= |title=Quantization and diagnosis of Shanghuo (Heatiness) in Chinese medicine using a diagnostic scoring scheme and salivary biochemical parameters|first1=Sijun|last1=Liu|first2=Zhaosheng|last2=Huang|first3=Qingguang|last3=Wu|first4=Zhangjie|last4=Huang|first5=Lirong|last5=Wu|first6=Wenli|last6=Yan|first7=David Lungpao|last7=Chang|first8=Zheng|last8=Yang|first9=Zongwei|last9=Wang|date=January 4, 2014|journal=Chinese Medicine|volume=9|issue=1|page=2|via=BioMed Central|doi=10.1186/1749-8546-9-2|pmid=24386887|pmc=3891990 |doi-access=free }}</ref> is a concept related to Traditional Chinese Medicine that involves an imbalance in internal energy that causes negative health effects on the body. It is a widely held belief among East Asian people, although it is not accepted by science.
== Description == In traditional Chinese beliefs, there are five elements: earth, wood, water, metal and fire. When Yin and Yang are out of balance in a person, this causes fire to be elevated in the person's body producing effects such as fever, sore throat, preference for cold drinks and/or other effects.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Cite web| title=Quantization and diagnosis of Shanghuo (Heatiness) in Chinese medicine using a diagnostic scoring scheme and salivary biochemical parameters | url=https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/11879605/3891990.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926163224/https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/11879605/3891990.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y | archive-date=2021-09-26}}</ref>
== Causes == The consumption of certain foods are commonly thought to cause shanghuo in people. Some examples of the foods linked to shanghuo are durian,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rafflesmedicalgroup.com/health-resources/health-articles/five-myths-about-durians/|date=14 July 2015|first1=Abel|last1=Soh|first2=Bibi|last2=Chia|last3=Chew|first3=Hong Gian|publisher=Raffles Medical Group|title=Five Myths about Durians}}</ref> raw pineapples,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://health.people.com.cn/n/2015/0619/c14739-27182749.html|title=吃菠萝上火吗 菠萝的食用禁忌--人民网健康卫生频道--人民网|website=health.people.com.cn}}</ref> pomegranates<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pingguolv.com/sl/yingyang/196371.html|title = 吃石榴会上火吗_吃石榴的注意事项_苹果绿}}</ref> and spicy food.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.commonhealth.com.tw/article/article.action?nid=70389|title=吃辣會上火？誤會大了！ - 康健雜誌|website=康健}}</ref>
== Treatment == In order to treat the condition of shanghuo, different foods are commonly recommended to be consumed that are "cold". By this is not necessarily meant foods that are physically cold (as in temperature), but rather foods that put out the internal "fire" related to the shanghuo condition. Among such foods include bitter gourd, watermelon, cucumber, eggplant, strawberries, and many others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://baike.pcbaby.com.cn/qzbd/7372.html|title=【上火怎么办】上火吃什么好_上火的症状_亲子百科_太平洋亲子网|website=baike.pcbaby.com.cn}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcbaby.com.cn/shipu/128/1288053.html|title=上火吃什么水果_上火吃什么水果降火快_上火吃什么好_食谱大全_太平洋亲子网|website=www.pcbaby.com.cn}}</ref>
Certain less common foods are also used to treat shanghuo. For example, turtle jelly, traditionally made from turtle shells, is also believed to be a good food to consume to deal with shanghuo.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.7y7.com/jiankang/47/318447.html|title=龟苓膏降火吗 龟苓膏有降火之效 - 7丽女性网|website=www.7y7.com}}</ref> In traditional Chinese medicine, ground minerals like gypsum and calcite are believed to have cooling effects, and they are commercially available in preparations like Three Legs Cooling Water.
In southeastern China, it is traditional to drink Chinese herbal tea ({{zh|c=凉茶|hp=liáng chá|l=cool tea}}) to treat shanghuo.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pan |first1=Ming-Hai |last2=Zhu |first2=Si-Rui |last3=Duan |first3=Wen-Jun |last4=Ma |first4=Xiao-Hui |last5=Luo |first5=Xiang |last6=Liu |first6=Bo |last7=Kurihara |first7=Hiroshi |last8=Li |first8=Yi-Fang |last9=Chen |first9=Jia-Xu |last10=He |first10=Rong-Rong |title="Shanghuo" increases disease susceptibility: Modern significance of an old TCM theory |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |date=25 March 2020 |volume=250 |article-number=112491 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2019.112491 |pmid=31863858 |s2cid=209440516 |language=en |issn=0378-8741|doi-access=free }}</ref>
==See also== *Inflammation
== References == {{Reflist}}
Category:Traditional Chinese medicine