Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment for Colds and Flu
If you were to swab for germs at almost any grocery store or public location you would find all sorts of bacteria, viruses, and various pathogens that are blamed for many various illnesses. In Chinese medicine, we believe it is very important to focus on the individual’s body strength and balance. If our systems are strong and balanced the internal and external bacteria and viruses we have all around us and in our systems will stay in check; they can get out of control when they have the right environment for these pathogens to flourish.
Chinese medicine considers our environment one factor for catching colds or flu; such as if we are getting too much cold, heat, dampness, or wind, these can cause our systems to be weakened and invaded. However, not only is the external an issue but also internally there are factors for getting invaded or catching colds or flu. Eating a diet that is too hot, cold, or damp is the primary internal cause of imbalances in the body. Damp is one of the most common problems, eating things like sugar, dairy, and white flour products, causes our bodies to become too damp. Thus making them more susceptible to being invaded or overrun by various pathogens that may or may not already be present in the body or that we are being exposed to.
Traditional Chinese Medicine divides cold into four categories according to pathogenic causes: cold, wind, dampness, and heat. The most common types are wind cold and wind heat. Once it is determined whether symptoms are "hot" or "cold." In Chinese Medicine "cold" symptoms include sneezing, runny nose with clear or white phlegm, itchy throat, coughing up clear or white mucus, and an achy body. If you have them, Chinese Medicine says the pathogen is "wind-cold." "Hot" symptoms include sore throat, more fever than chills, thirst, nasal congestion with yellow phlegm, and coughing up yellow mucus. These symptoms mean the pathogen is "wind-heat." This knowledge will help you to know how to proceed with foods and herbs.
Chinese herbal medicine can be extremely helpful to ease common cold symptoms. Many Chinese herbs to treat cold and flu are foods and plants that are very easy to buy in supermarkets or you may have them at home. For wind-cold, you need to have foods such as ginger, and garlic. For wind-heat, you need to have foods such as spinach, and peppermint.
Drinking a hot ginger, onion, and garlic soup, then going to bed under thick quilts will promote sweating. It is one of the common methods to relieve cold symptoms in Traditional Chinese Medicine, especially fever.
Chinese Herbs for first signs of Colds and Flu
Yin Chiao Cold Remedy or Gan Mao Ling are two of the best formulas to relieve symptoms of the common cold and flu by helping to boost bodies Wei Qi (pronounced "chee") or what most of us know as the immune system.
To Strengthen your body to prevent getting sick
Chinese Medicine instructs us to tone the Defensive Qi (pronounced "chee")
Keep your skin clean and healthy, your skin is one of your first defenses against pathogens, be it a virus, bacteria, or wind-cold or wind-heat.
Get plenty of sleep. Ideally, try for eight to nine uninterrupted hours each night.
Eat foods that are easy to digest and nourishing to the body. Homemade broth-based soups, stews, and stir-fries, with cooked grains, vegetables, and organic meat. Eat slowly, and chew your food well, be mindful of what you are eating and how it is nourishing your body (thinking of the life force of your food supporting your life force).
Take deep breaths, try to set aside 5 minutes daily for deep breathing, meditating, or other ways to manage your stress.
Cover your neck, (Chinese medicine believes this is a more vulnerable area for illness to invade). Bundle up in warm clothes that keep your skin, neck, chest, and nose protected from the wind.
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