Is Your Body Running Too Hot? A Beginner’s Guide to "Heat" in Chinese Medicine

If you’ve ever dipped a toe into the world of acupuncture, herbal teas, or holistic wellness, you’ve probably heard someone mention having too much "heat" in their body. Maybe you’ve even taken an online quiz that told you to "cool down" your liver or avoid spicy food.

But if you grew up in the Western medical system, this concept can feel confusing, even a little mystical. After all, if you don't have a fever, how can you have "heat"?

Let’s clear that up. In Chinese Medicine, heat isn’t about the number on a thermometer. It’s a poetic, practical, and surprisingly accurate way of describing how your body’s systems are functioning. Think of it less like a fever and more like a dashboard warning light.

Here is your complete guide to understanding "heat"—what it is, how to spot it, and what to do about it—without needing a degree in acupuncture.

The Engine Analogy: Your Body as a Car

To understand Chinese medicine, forget about germs and viruses for a moment. Instead, imagine your body is a car engine.

• A healthy body is an engine running smoothly at the ideal temperature.

• "Cold" is an engine that’s sluggish, has trouble starting, and burns fuel inefficiently.

• "Heat" is the opposite: your engine is revving too high. The pistons are moving too fast, there is too much friction, and things are starting to overheat and burn. If left unchecked, that friction can wear out the parts (your organs) and burn through your fuel (your energy) way too quickly.

When a practitioner says you have "Heat," they mean your body is in a state of overactivity, inflammation, or agitation.

How to Spot "Heat": The Symptoms

In the West, we treat symptoms in isolation—a headache gets Tylenol, a rash gets cream. In Chinese medicine, these individual signs are clues that point to a bigger pattern of "Heat." If you have several of these, your internal engine might be running hot.

Look for these signs:

• The Red Flags: A red face, bloodshot eyes, or angry, red, inflamed pimples (especially on the chin or between the eyebrows).

• The Mouth: Chronic canker sores, bleeding or swollen gums, bad breath, or a persistent thirst for ice-cold drinks.

• The Emotions: Feeling irritable, restless, agitated, or having a short fuse. (Ever felt "hot-headed" when angry? That’s not just a saying.)

• The Digestive Tract: Heartburn that feels like burning, constipation with hard, dry stools (like pebbles), or a burning sensation when you urinate.

• The Skin: Rashes that are bright red and hot to the touch, eczema flare-ups that feel fiery, or hives.

What Causes the Heat? (The Modern Lifestyle Connection)

Here is where Chinese medicine feels incredibly relevant to 21st-century America. The things that create "Heat" in the body are often the hallmarks of modern life.

1. The "Hot" Diet
Certain foods are considered "thermal" in nature. They literally add fuel to the fire. If you are eating a lot of these, you are likely stoking your internal flames:

• Spicy foods: Buffalo wings, hot sauce, jalapeños, curry.

• Grease & Oil: French fries, fried chicken, heavy fast food burgers, pizza.

• Stimulants: Coffee (a big one!) and excessive alcohol (beer, wine, and liquor are all heating).

• Sugar & Red Meat: Overloading on desserts and eating large quantities of beef or lamb.

2. Emotional Friction
Stress isn't just in your head. Chronic frustration, suppressed anger, and high-pressure anxiety are like flooring the gas pedal and riding the brake at the same time. This generates massive internal friction, which creates "Heat" that damages your body over time.

3. The Night Owl Effect
Your body has natural cooling fluids (called Yin). Staying up late night after night, staring at screens, is like letting your car run out of coolant. When the fluids are low, the engine naturally overheats. If you’re exhausted but feel "wired and tired" at night, that’s a classic sign of Heat from depletion.

How to Cool Down: A TCM Guide to Getting Your Chill Back

If you recognize yourself in the symptoms above, you don’t necessarily need medication. You might just need to give your body a "coolant flush." Here is how to bring the balance back using Chinese medicine principles.

1. Eat the Rainbow (of Cooling Foods)

Just as some foods heat you up, others are nature’s air conditioners.

• Hydrate Heavily: Reach for cucumber, watermelon, celery, and lettuce. These foods are high in water content and have a naturally cooling energy.

• Go Green: Leafy greens like spinach, kale, and Swiss chard are excellent coolants. Green tea (especially jasmine or mint) is a perfect replacement for that second cup of coffee.

• Embrace Bitter: Bitter flavors act like a cold shower for internal heat. Try arugula, dandelion greens, or even a squeeze of grapefruit.

• The Mung Bean Trick: In many Asian cultures, mung bean soup is the go-to summer cooler. You can find mung beans at health food stores—cook them simply with a bit of celery for a cleansing meal.

2. The "Cooling Off" Period

Try a 7-day experiment: Cut out or drastically reduce coffee, alcohol, fried food, and added sugar. Replace that morning coffee with green tea, and swap the late-night beer for sparkling water with mint. Many people are shocked at how much calmer, clearer, and cooler they feel within a week.

3. Manage the Mental Friction

If your mind is racing, your body is heating up. Intense, sweaty workouts like CrossFit or hot yoga can actually generate more Heat. If you are trying to cool down, switch it up. Try swimming, a slow walk in the woods, yin yoga, or meditation. You need to cool the engine, not rev it higher.

4. Protect the Coolant (Get Some Sleep)

You cannot cool down a "Hot" body without sleep. Aim to be in bed by 10:30 or 11:00 PM. The hours before midnight are crucial for replenishing your body’s cooling fluids. Turn off the phone an hour before bed—the blue light is like adding kindling to a fire.

The Bottom Line

"Heat" in Chinese medicine is your body’s way of signaling inflammation, overstimulation, and imbalance. It’s a holistic concept that connects your dinner plate to your emotional state.

You don’t have to abandon Western medicine to benefit from this wisdom. Think of it as a new lens: the next time you feel irritable, have a breakout of red pimples, or feel that burning in your stomach, don't just reach for the nearest pill. Look at your life.

Ask yourself: Am I running too hot? And what can I do today to cool down my engine?

Net Weight: 60g
Country of Origin: Malaysia

Body heatiness is a common symptom of body imbalance caused by unhealthy habits and lifestyle such as too much spicy or fried foods

About this Product
Body heatiness is a common symptom of body imbalance caused by unhealthy habits and lifestyle such as too much spicy or fried foods, lack of sleep, dehydration and stress. It is the root cause of many illnesses. Balance and cool your body with a cup of Ho Yan Hor Gold Tea and let yourself enjoy its refreshing effects any time of the day.

Ho Yan Hor Gold Tea is :

A special 29 herbal blend that reduces the discomfort of 'heatiness' in the body and relieves a sore throat
The tea base - premium pu erh - with antioxidant effects and is mild to the stomach
Combined with herbs that have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, mild expectorant properties to accentuate the therapeutic effects
Drink Ho Yan Hor Gold Tea as the first sign of “heatiness” and throat discomfort, to experience the feeling of relief.
About Ho Yan Hor
The history of Ho Yan Hor herbal tea began in the 1940s on Treacher Street Ipoh, Perak Malaysia. The founder of Ho Yan Hor Herbal Tea, Dr. Ho Kai Cheong, was a Chinese medical practitioner who graduated from Canton Wah Lam National Physicians Medical School. With the intention of helping people, he formulated a unique concoction of 23 specially chosen herbs and created Ho Yan Hor Herbal Tea at the age of 35. It was effective in relieving heatiness and cures a common cold, by allowing self-healing. Post-WWII, Ho Yan Hor herbal tea became a popular alternative to western medicine because of its fast relief of common cold. In 1957, the Flu Epidemic spread throughout the world and killed millions of people. At this time, Ho Yan Hor herbal tea offered an effective solution and became the most sought-after household brand. In the 1980s, Dr. Ho Kai Cheong’s eldest son Mr. David Ho Sue San, who graduated as a pharmacist, inherited the business and started modernizing the manufacturing process of the herbal tea. Mr. David Ho led the manufacturing of Ho Yan Hor into a new chapter. Today, the manufacturing plant is GMP-certified which assures the high quality of herbal tea produced. With a passion for innovation, Mr. David Ho has developed Ho Yan Hor Gold Tea and Ho Yan Hor Night Tea which continues to bring benefits to the new generation.