T.E.A.M. Works

The name of the game is preparedness. What can we do to shore up against needless miserable couch time, missed days of work and play, bed rest or more serious illness sequelae? There is a lot we can do, starting with sleep. Recent studies confirm that missing out on an hour or two of sleep a night can seriously impact your immune system.

Words to live by: hydration is key. Drinking plenty of fresh clean water is important for vitality and immunity. Mix it up a little and make it easier on your digestive system by choosing to drink warm liquids at more often than not. Drinking cold fluids all the time is hard on your system, which has to warm those liquids up before absorbing them.

Herbal teas are a great choice and there are plenty out there that have added health benefit of being antioxidant rich and immune boosting, such a rooibos, green and white teas. Licorice and Ginger are frequently used in teas as well and are a great digestive aids. To make your own ginger tea, put a few thin slices of fresh ginger root into boiling water and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Let it cool and then strain. You can add honey or leave the ginger in if the taste suits you.

Exercise your body to maintain stamina and strength. These things are not secluded away in individual categories of immunity, cardio, muscular, endurance etc. The whole body functions as a cohesive unit and when one aspect is sluggish, the others will fall in suit before too long. Get out in the cold or rain if you must and get moving (with a scarf and coat of course), spend some time on a treadmill or doing a routine in your living room while watching your favorite show.

Stay warm and protect yourself from the elements. A note on the scarf and coat – in Chinese Medicine all pathogens are carried in to our bodies by the wind, and we are most vulnerable to their attack through the back of the neck. Remember your mom or dad telling you to put on a scarf before going out, and to not sleep next to that drafty window? Well, they were hip to this and we should be as well.

Figure out how to relax and nurture yourself. Stress has a huge impact on our health and well being . While some amount of stress is a good thing, too much can cause a cascade of hormonal and chemical reactions in the body, the repercussions of which are nut fully understood . Whether it is a quiet walk or some time with your favorite music set list, keeping up with friends, writing, reading, or roller derby, make time for it.

Take time to stare at the ceiling. Seriously, try it, even for a few minutes a day. Meditation is one valuable way of emptying the mind and relaxing, which allows us to achieve greater focus and clarity later. If you are new to meditation or it seems like too much for you, just take a few minutes a day to check out. Let your mind be clear and when those thoughts arise as they inevitably will, of your to-do list or nagging projects, just let them slide away like clouds passing in the sky. Set the timer for 5 minutes and see how refreshed you are at the end.

Now let’s talk about your medicine cabinet.  It’s a good idea to keep some important immune boosters on hand, already stocked, so you can load up as soon as you feel an illness making contact. Most of us know that Vitamin C is helpful in the early stages of a cold or flu, but what else can we do? Elderberry is available in tincture and capsule form and can be taken at the first sign of a cold or flu to help fend it off or reduce the severity. Zinc and Echinacea have also gained popularity in recent years as beneficial immune boosters.  Try them out and see what works for you.

Know your body. Take stock of how you are feeling every day and what is “normal” for you. Do you normally have a stiff neck and slight frontal headache? Is your throat normally a little sore in the morning? Does your skin normally feel overly sensitive to the touch and bothered by drafts or wind? Or are these slight changes an indication that you are just beginning to get sick? In order to stay well we should be able to recognize when we are not.

This is not meant to be alarmist or make you paranoid about every little thing. Take it in stride rather as getting a jump on warding off an illness. When you realize this first sign of illness take your supplements, be easy on yourself, get some rest and get well!

If you are an herbalist or very well versed with Chinese herbs or have access to a professional practitioner who can help you figure out which formula is right for your presentation of illness, there are some Chinese herbal formulas than can be most valuable to have on hand in these first initial hours of a pathogenic invasion. These terms and indications are subtle and some have different meanings under the paradigm of Chinese medicine than in western medicine. This is why it is not advisable to diagnose yourself if these systems are not familiar to you. After all, you would not walk into a pharmacy and try to figure out which meds to take for your condition. Well, the same goes with herbal medicine and the wrong formula or diagnosis could aggravate your symptoms or make them worse.

In Portland, we are lucky to have a few herbal pharmacies to choose from. Wing Ming Herbs often has these patent herbal formulas in stock.

Yin Qiao San – is a formula that is actually already used in a popular name brand immune supplement , Airborne, along with other vitamins and minerals. This formula is used in the first 24 hours of infection when the earliest symptoms of sore throat, general aching, red eyes, and (possibly) yellow phlegm are presenting.

Gan Mao Ling is often used both as a preventative when exposed or in the early stages of the common cold or flu. It can also be used in later stages of the common cold and flu although usually other specific symptoms would indicate a more specialized formula once the illness has taken hold. It is indicated with symptoms of flu, fever with chills, headache, sore throat, red eyes, stiffness of upper back and neck, nasal discharge, general aching, and swollen lymph glands. It is also useful in ear infection, sinus infection and viral pneumonia.

San Ju Yin is a good formula for a cold or flu in the beginning stages with cough and slight fever. In Chinese medicine we say that this formula releases the exterior (causes sweating) and stops cough by supporting Lung Qi. It is used in a similar way to Yin Qiao San, but with the addition of lung or cough symptoms. So the presence of a cough is what differentiates this from Yin Qiao San. Dosage can be increased in frequency to every 2-4 hours for up to 3 days.

Cang Er Zi San is the best formula when the main symptom is nasal congestion and phlegm. It is indicated for large amounts of foul nasal discharge, nasal obstruction, dizziness or frontal headache.

Chuan Xiong Cha Tiao San is used for cold and flu with any type of headache as the primary symptom, when accompanied by fever and chills, sinus congestion, vertigo or dizziness and aversion to cold.

A note about links: these are NOT meant to be explanatory and wrap up all lingering questions, but if they do, your knowledge of wellness and Chinese medicine rocks! Rather, they are meant to offer additional support on how to apply some healthier principles to life or illustrate the complexity of the herbal formulas.