Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

In this part of the world December ushers in winter, showing daylight to the exit earlier every day until the winter solstice on December 22nd. It?s a tough month. It gets colder, the days shorten and the rains (usually) lengthen. Instead of taking it easy (like TCM suggests) many of us are caught up with the pressures of the holiday season, including parties, shopping and/or travel. The rationale behind winter celebrations is hardly a secret. Cold days with little sunlight do little for your mood, so over the years mankind has found numerous excuses to imbibe, indulge and forget for a while, the dreariness of that part of the year replete with barren trees, frigid nights, chilly mornings, and few fresh fruits and vegetables.

Winter is characterized by cold. Often including wind and (here) damp. When you?re up high in the mountains dry replaces damp. Winter here in central California is a bit more subtle than in much of the world. We have nothing remotely resembling the fierce winters in places like Harbin, China, where the average winter temperature is too cold to mention (Google the ?Harbin Ice Festival? to see their incredibly beautiful solution to the winter doldrums), but we are nonetheless affected by the seasonal change. In the seasonal spirit of giving, allow me to share a few seasonal survival tips from traditional Chinese medicine.

Cold depletes our resources and wind is the precursor to the common cold (among other ailments). Eating warming foods (like chicken, beef or lamb) and avoiding cold foods (pretty much anything you would eat to cool down in the summer) is a good start. Your digestive system works best with warm, cooked foods to begin with, so this means skip the ice cream desserts, cold cereal for breakfast and cooling fruits like watermelon. Instead, take this time to enjoy warming spices like pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and fennel, warm cereals with walnuts, dates and apples, and hot mulled wine. Avoid chilled drinks and ice. Drink the darker teas over the green and white varieties and enjoy cooked winter vegetables like kale and squash.

While you may have heard of the concept of qi, you?re less likely to know there is more than one type. The most exterior qi is called wei qi, or defensive qi. This is the one that protects us from colds, invasions from the exterior. When you find yourself easily bothered by the wind or a draft, your wei qi is weak, and you are more susceptible to catching a cold. While there are specific formulas in TCM to bolster your wei qi, much can be achieved by simply balancing your activity with the proper amount of food and rest. Avoid excessive sweating as this depletes the wei qi. To help bolster the wei qi try baked apples prepared with copious amounts of cinnamon. Finally, mom?s advice to wear a scarf and keep you neck covered is/was better advice than you?d have thought, given that the neck is the most vulnerable place for wind attack.

Simple countermeasures to wind and cold will go a long way to keeping you healthy. Eating the right foods in moderation, getting the right amount of rest and dressing for the weather all help keep us healthy. The one other challenge is mitigating the emotional stresses of the season, and this is where acupuncture excels. If that?s not an option, regular light exercise, and teas made with chamomile, lavender, citrus peel and mint will help take the edge off, as will backing off of your caffeine intake.

[tags]Winter Wellness, traditional Chinese medicine[/tags]

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