There are 4 beautiful ingredients in this lovely, refreshing Summer recipe which all have their own individual health benefits and useful biochemicals, as some that are used traditionally as Chinese herbs.
The Fabulous 4
1. Pomegranate juice
Pomegranate is a delicious, sweet & sour tasting exotic fruit that has been used as a culinary item in many different cultures. Its history is vast and diverse, and it features in the stories and myths of ancient Greece, was left as offerings in ancient Egypt and was part of the ancient pharmacopoea in herbal & food medicine. Read more about the rich history & mythology of Pomegranates here. And also here, because this one is so good I could not miss it! While pomegranate juice is delicious, it’s also 100% optional. You can still make a lovely pink drink if you only use the other stuff.
The HOW: Put about 200ml of chilled pomegranate juice in a large 750ml glass or drinking jar with a couple of ice cubes (but only if you have an internal Heat condition like post menopause, or if the temperature is over 30 degrees. To drink this drink it doesn’t have to be Summer, but to add ice to it, it must be hot outside).
2. Hibiscus Flowers
These beautiful red coloured flowers from the Hibiscus sabdarifa plant not only dye your mineral water pink and look fantastic in your hair, but also contain some amazing natural, bioactive natural ACE inhibiting chemicals that help to lower your blood pressure. The research on several species of Hibiscus, also including Hibiscus rosa-sinensis as antihypertensive, is extensive and its effects are diverse. It’s also known to regulate blood sugar, lower triglycerides and cholesterol. A combined systematic and literature review from Food, Science & Nutrition in November 2025 (Raza, et al, 2025) has analysed 300 studies about efficacy, pharmacological mechanism of action, and describes these different properties in great detail. It’s worth a read if you can burrow through the scientific mumbo-jumbo and get to the guts of the story. It’s a Chinese herb called Luo Shen Hua and is sour which means it travels to the Liver meridian to calm you down, and it’s most commonly used as tea rather than as a herb in a formula. Flowers in Chinese herbal medicine usually send any formula upwards and act as a lifting element for the spirit. There is also lots of history and mythology about Hibiscus from other cultures, including the Caribbean.
The HOW: Put 3-4 hibiscus flowers in the glass, with the pomegranate juice, depending on the level of sour that you want. These flowers steep for ages, and can be continuously topped up all day and still hold some flavour.
3. Local mineral water
If you’re lucky enough to live in a region that is rich with mineral springs like Daylesford, you can use some of that to mix the punch with. Otherwise, store-bought mineral water is great. It gives a different flavour and texture to the drink plus you get all those lovely added minerals.
The HOW: Pour in enough mineral water to reach the top of the glass, mix it in with the rest of the ingredients.
4. Mint leaves
Ok, this one is just really for flavour but also in the TCM herbal medicine world, it is a cooling, Heat clearing herbal that targets the Exterior (or skin/pore level) to open up the pores and promote sweating, thereby cooling you down and relieving the effects of Summer Heat. In this drink, it’s hardly used as more than a garnish but if you like its minty-licious flavour you can definitely add more, and also increase the release of minty pungent (smelly) volatile oils by crushing it slightly with a mortar & pestle or the back of a knife on a cutting board.
The HOW: Add a few mint leaves still attached to the stem to the drink and push it to the bottom of the glass. You can use it as a stirrer. The green really sets off the red colour of the drink.
If you LOVE Dr Bec’s recipes, please book a time to see her about your diet and nutritional questions. You can just book it as a herbal medicine consult and let us know that you would prefer diet therapy only. Or you can ask as part of your normal acupuncture & Chinese herbal medicine treatment.
Central Highlands Chinese Medicine 