How Traditional Chinese Medicine Can Help Keep You and Your Family Well During Cold and Flu Season
With winter rapidly approaching, flu and cold season is officially upon us. That means it’s more important than ever to do everything we can to bolster our immune systems. This is especially critical during a pandemic, when our bodies are exposed to a variety of different germs and pathogens. So how can we keep ourselves and our families well throughout the season? Read below to find out!
How does Traditional Chinese Medicine view cold and flu symptoms?
From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, disease and illness is caused by “pathogenic factors” outside the body. We use six different words to describe individual reactions to disease: Wind, Cold, Damp, Dryness, Heat, Summer-Heat. Most flus and colds are referred to as “wind invasions” and are associated with Wind-Cold and Cold-Heat reactions. When you have a cold or the flu, pathogenic factors have attached themselves to wind and attempted to enter your body. The fall and winter are conducive to wind and cold penetration, where wind enters the body from the outside, causing colds, flus, and viruses. Traditional Chinese medicine distinguishes between two types of wind diagnoses: Wind-Cold and Wind-Heat. Wind-Cold symptoms include sneezing, runny nose with clear or white phlegm, itchy throat, coughing up clear or white mucus, and body aches. The symptoms of Wind-Heat, on the other hand, include a sore throat, fever, thirst, nasal congestion with yellow phlegm, and coughing yellow mucus. Your individual diagnosis determines treatment for the cold and flu symptoms you’re experiencing.
Wind invasions can be complex illnesses to diagnose and treat, mainly because wind moves so suddenly and quickly. While most wind invasions resolve on their own, they can sometimes move deeper into the body and become a more serious disease if not properly treated. That’s why it’s important to be aware of your own body and start treating symptoms at the first signs of a cold or flu. Even better, you can strengthen the immune system itself, preventing wind from penetrating your body altogether.
Want to learn more about how you can protect yourself from cold and flu symptoms using traditional Chinese medicine? Read below to find out!
How can traditional Chinese medicine help with immunity to colds and flus?
Traditional Chinese medicine supports lung health. The lungs control the circulation of what’s called “Wei-Qi,” a defensive form of Qi that protects you from flus and colds. Wei-Qi moves between the skin and muscles to warm your body, and it’s a critical element of good health. When the lungs and Wei-Qi are weak, the skin and muscles will not be warm enough, causing chills. Weakness in lungs and the Wei-Qi can cause you to experience frequent colds. Typically, the transition into fall and winter is a time when the Wei-Qi is most unstable, which can result in cold symptoms. Now is the optimal time to strengthen the Wei-Qi in your lungs – click here to learn more about scheduling an acupuncture session with one of our doctors.
Traditional Chinese medicine supports digestive health. Maintaining good digestion is always critical to a strong immune system. In fact, 70% of the immune system resides in the small intestine. Similarly, in Chinese medicine the spleen and stomach organ system is responsible for breakdown of foods and fluids, which builds blood and is transformed into Wei-Qi (what we consider the immune system). When healthy digestion is compromised, so is your immunity, which can potentially cause more serious issues in your respiratory system as well. Maintaining the health of your spleen and stomach organ system will also support healthy lung functioning. Our doctors use moxa, a heat therapy made from dried mugwort, on “Stomach 36” (ST36). This boosts your immunity by strengthening the digestive system. In addition, moxa can stimulate circulation and maintain healthy white and red blood cells.
Traditional Chinese medicine modalities, like moxa, strengthen important organs for immunity and help prevent cold and flu. Moxa is also used on an acupuncture point called “Governing Vessel 14” (DU14), located on the seventh cervical vertebra of the spine (where the collar of a T-shirt sits on the neck). This bolsters the immune system of the entire body, and is a very effective treatment for colds, flus, and fevers. Targeting this acupoint will cause perspiration, helping to push invading pathogens out of the body. This also activates the circulation of blood and Wei-Qi, strengthening the skin and muscles so that they can’t be penetrated by germs and viruses. Moxa at this acupuncture point is also preventative and guards against colds and flues. Talk with one of our practitioners about if this treatment might be right for you.
What can I do to stay healthy during cold and flu season?
Take immune tonics. Jade Windscreen Formula is a 1,000-year-old Chinese herbal formula made up of just three herbs: Radix astragalus, Atractylodis macrocephalae, and Radix ledebouriellae. These three powerful herbs combine together to strengthen the immune and digestive systems (so that we can be sure to gain the nutrients from our food), and fortify the exterior of the body so that we can fight off wind-borne viruses and bacteria.
Wear warm clothing. Bundling up with thick scarves and sweaters will help protect the lungs, the organ most vulnerable to cold and wind. Wearing clothing that isn’t seasonally-appropriate can bring on cold symptoms, including coughing and a sore throat.
Eat warm, nurturing foods. Consuming warm foods, such as hearty soups, stews, and oven-roasted veggies, supports better digestion and immunity in the body. These foods keep the digestive system warm, enabling better breakdown of foods for proper absorption to boost immunity and energy. Fall is the perfect time to step away from crisp and raw ingredients and eat warm, cooked foods. You can start with simple swaps, like oatmeal for cold cereal or warm tea for iced coffee, and then trade raw salads for oven-roasted root veggies for larger meals. When you’re cooking, add in pungent foods that benefit the lungs, such as onions, ginger, garlic, or mustard. If you want something sweet, stick to seasonal fruits like apples, pears, figs, and persimmons.
Drink Ban Lan Gen Instant Tea. Ban Lan Gen is a popular antiviral herb used in Chinese common cold formulas. Drink a cup of this tea available in convenient single dose packages for prevention or when exposed to others that are sick with a cold.
Get a lot of sleep. With winter comes shorter days and more darkness. Be sure to get as much high-quality rest as possible, as this will allow you to replenish your energy and maintain the health of your immune system.
During cold and flu season, it’s important to do everything in our power to strengthen our immune systems and protect our bodies from illness. For more tips and treatments for preventing cold and flu symptoms, feel free to talk with one of our practitioners about if traditional Chinese medicine is right for you.
