Did you know 18 days before the start of a new season is typically when people will start to get sick according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. As of today, September 4th, we are 14 days away from the beginning of fall cold and flu season.
Fall is a hard time on the body, specifically the lungs. They are the most exterior organ on the body and the one that gets hit the first when it comes to exterior pathogens entering the body.
Couple that with dry heat from our home heaters, leaf mold and more recently smoke from forest fires our lungs must stay moist and filter out those external stressors.
So how do we nourish and protect our lungs at the same time?
Ideally, we nourish our whole body starting with what we eat and drink.
There are foods and herbs that specifically nourish our lungs and help with dryness.
- Pears raw or stewed are a moist fruit and one that helps moisten the lungs.
- Bai He is a lily bulb when eaten fresh moistens dryness and targets the lungs specifically. Places like TNT have it in stock. You can use it to replace chestnuts in stir-fry’s.
- Apples are another great fall fruit. I personally am a big fan of watermelon to as its sweet and juicy and a great way to cool down the body especially after a day in the sun or after a hot spicy meal.
Adding eucalyptus to a diffuser or adding it to a humidifier also helps great to help stop coughing as well as break up phlegm in your chest – think Vics Eucalyptus Vapo Rub
I’m also a big fan of ginger tea with honey. Ginger warms the body and helps keep pathogens from going deeper into the body. Honey is great at soothing your throat and has been clinically proven to stop coughs.
Sleep, good diet and exercise are the best ways to prevent getting sick. But if you’re worried – dig out your Covid masks. The best defence against sickness is to also physically protect yourself from viruses.
If you do end up with a cold, or worse Covid, keep in mind that there are Chinese Formulas to help stop coughing and break up phlegm/congestion. I saw a number of patients who, although they were over Covid, still had ongoing lingering dry coughs. If this is you, come in and see me.
