It’s chilly out there. This cold snap should pass soon, but even after temperatures return to Bay Area Normal, there are steps you can take to prevent colds and flu before they start.
- Stay bundled up – tuck your shirts in to keep your waist warm and out of the wind, layer your clothing with extra jackets and sweatshirts.
- Reduce sugar and alcohol consumption. Sugar and alcohol both reduce immune function. If you feel like you might be vulnerable to a cold or flu, cut down or eliminate sugar and alcohol from your diet. It doesn’t have to be permanent, but it’s a smart idea during this season.
- Get your Vitamin C from leafy green vegetables. Citrus fruits are delicious and good for you, but consumed in excess they can create dampness and phlegm. Moderate your intake of oranges and grapefruits and balance it with kale, chard, spinach and collards, all of which have very high levels of Vitamin C, as well as other stuff that’s good for you!
- Add ginger and garlic to your stir-fry and other cooking. These two wonder plants have broad spectrum antibacterial and antiviral properties. In terms of Chinese medicine they are warming and acrid and increase immune function.
Lots of people know about Yin Qiao San. For many years acupuncturists and herbalists have recommended it “at the first sign of cold or flu.” This is a mistake and may lead to overall less confidence in our medicine.
Yin Qiao San is a traditional Chinese herbal formulation, but it’s a very specific kind of herbal formulation for a very specific type of influenza. It’s acrid and cold, clearing heat-toxin and dispersing wind. Chinese medicine categorizes colds and flu in many many different ways – there are literally dozens if not hundreds of herbal formulas for all the variations. Just off the top of my head, there’s: Ma Huang Tang, Gui Zhi Tang, Sang Ju Yin, Jing Fang Bai Du San, Ren Shen Bai Du San, Ge Gen Tang, Xiao Chai Hu Tang, and on and on and on.
So if you get sick, get yourself to an herbalist for a consultation so they can give you the right thing. Yin Qiao San MIGHT be the right thing for you, but it’s quite possible that it isn’t the right thing. Often a short phone conversation can help clear things up – give me a call at 510-516-3478 and we’ll sort it out. If you live near Chinatown sometimes the herbalist will examine you for free if you buy the medicine at the store.
