I asked her what she ate for breakfast and lunch. It was now 4:30 P.M. She had a grilled cheese sandwich and coffee for breakfast and meat and rice for lunch.

It' summertime in CT, 80+ degrees, hot, especially in the nursing home room, with the AC turned off.

I asked her if her condition was worse in summer or winter. The answer was worse in summer.

In Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) the body builds up and breaks down largely according to food, nutrients provided via digestion, blood. Building foods (meat, cheese, eggs, etc.) heat up the digestive system, especially the liver, especially in combination with starch, the combination being very acidic, hot. Coffee overheats, over stimulates the heart , liver and kidneys. Heat rises, moves up and out.

When the body overheats due to internal heat, via too many building, acidic foods and or not enough cleansing, cooling foods (vegetables and fruits) and or external heat (hot summer, 80+ degrees) then it tends to expel the excess heat, energy via the pores, skin, perspiration. The hands and the feet are the most extreme points of the body. For excess heat to be blowing out the extremities requires a lot of heat, excess weight, liver congestion via a diet that is largely starch and protein, and not enough fruits and vegetables.

This is one case, however the cause which is very common. I recommended the following diet, meal plan, 2-3 times per day, preferably breakfast and lunch.

1/3 Protein and fat (meat, eggs, chicken, cheese, beans, etc.)

1/3 Grain (rice, noodles, bread, etc.)

1/3 Cooked vegetables (3-5, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, onions, kale, celery, etc.); fruit (1)

Spices (cumin, coriander, fennel, etc.), tea (peppermint) and or soup

Eat from hot (building) to cold (cleansing, fruit at the end of the meal).

Author, Hot and Cold Health Acupuncture Physician (FL 1992-2002) Owner, operator Food and Thought, health food store, Hollywood, FL (1984-2001) Questioned and counseled 30,000+ "What do you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner?" Web: http://www.hotandcoldhealth.net