When the heat rises—whether from summer temperatures or the burn of an intense workout—your body can feel the impact.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), maintaining internal balance is the key to long-term health and high performance. That’s where cooling foods come into play.
At JADA Studios, we work with athletes, entrepreneurs, and everyday warriors who push their limits. But pushing hard means managing recovery just as intentionally as your training.
Understanding how food influences your body’s internal temperature is a powerful tool in your performance toolkit—especially in warm climates or post-exertion.
Let’s dive into what cooling foods are, how they support recovery and performance, and which ones to prioritize for optimal results.
Understanding Cooling Foods in TCM
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, foods are classified by their energetic properties: hot, warm, neutral, cool, or cold. This doesn’t refer to the actual temperature of the food, but rather the effect it has on your body’s internal environment.
Cooling foods help to:
Disperse internal heat
Reduce inflammation
Calm an overactive system
Hydrate and moisten organs
Restore yin energy
In short, cooling foods are nature’s recovery protocol—helping you come down after intense output.
Why Cooling Foods Matter for Athletes
Athletes generate a lot of internal heat, especially during intense training, competition, or exposure to hot environments. This excess heat can show up as:
Muscle tightness
Irritability or poor sleep
Overheating and dehydration
Skin breakouts or inflammation
Digestive sluggishness or acid reflux
Cooling foods help clear that excess heat while supporting hydration, detoxification, and cellular repair. In TCM, this balance is critical for preserving Jing—your essence or vital energy that fuels performance and longevity.
Top Cooling Foods for Recovery & Performance
Here’s a curated list of cooling foods backed by TCM wisdom and modern nutrition science. Incorporate these into your post-training meals, summer snacks, or general wellness plan.
Watermelon
Known as the "natural sports drink" in TCM, watermelon quenches thirst, cools the blood, and detoxifies the body. Rich in electrolytes and water, it helps replenish what’s lost through sweat.
Quick Tip: Sprinkle a little sea salt into your post-workout drink to help your body absorb electrolytes more efficiently.
Cucumber
Cool and refreshing, cucumbers help flush out toxins, soothe internal heat, and support hydration for your lungs and skin. They’re ideal after cardio, hot yoga, or sauna sessions.
Try: Cucumber mint juice or sliced cucumbers with a squeeze of lime and chili flakes.
Mint
Cooling by nature, mint can soothe the stomach, reduce body heat, and calm the nervous system. It also refreshes the mind—perfect before or after a big game or performance.
Use it in: Smoothies, teas, or chilled water infusions.
Mung Beans
Highly valued in Traditional Chinese Medicine, mung beans help lower body heat, aid liver cleansing, and calm inflammation. They’re great for when the weather gets hot!
Recipe Ideas: Add mung beans to soups or throw them in a stir fry.
Leafy Greens (Romaine, Spinach, Watercress)
Greens tend to be cooling and blood-purifying. Watercress is great for helping to clear heat in the body, which is great for athletes.
Bonus: Watercress is high in nutrients, especially vitamin K.
Cooling Foods & Yin Energy
Cooling foods help restore yin, the calm, cool, and restorative force in the body. Athletes often operate in a yang-dominant state—fast, hot, intense. That’s great for output, but without enough yin, you risk burnout, injury, and hormonal imbalance.
Balancing with yin-nourishing, cooling foods helps:
Promote restful sleep
Regulate mood and stress
Improve endurance over time
Support hormonal recovery (especially adrenal and thyroid)
This is one reason we encourage high-performers at JADA Studios to rotate in cooling meals—especially during deload weeks or after competition cycles.
When to Be Mindful with Cooling Foods
Not everybody needs cooling foods all the time. If you tend to feel cold, sluggish, or have digestive weakness (e.g., loose stools or bloating after raw meals), you may benefit more from warming or neutral foods.
TCM is all about individual balance—and what cools one person might deplete another.
If you're unsure, a TCM practitioner can help evaluate your body's constitution and recommend the best seasonal or training-phase foods for you.
Bringing It All Together
At JADA Studios, we believe in integrating ancient wisdom with modern performance. Incorporating TCM cooling foods into your routine is a simple, natural way to enhance your recovery, protect your energy, and feel great year-round.
Whether you're an elite athlete, a weekend warrior, or just someone looking to feel better in the heat, try adding some of these cooling superfoods into your meals. Your body—and your results—will thank you.
Need personalized guidance? Our team works with high performers to integrate nutrition, red light therapy, acupuncture, and more for peak wellness. Reach out and let’s build your recovery plan.