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Saturday 27 December 2008
Throat-Clearing Remedies
Winter can be nasty, especially on the throat. Yet with a little care and some simple TCM recipes, you can get relief from all the itching and scratching, writes Zhang Qian.
Winter can be nasty, especially on the throat. Yet with a little care and some simple TCM recipes, you can get relief from all the itching and scratching, writes Zhang Qian.
The dry air common during winter can take its toll on your throat.
But fear not. Some simple things can be done to help relieve the irritation, inflammation, scratchiness and soreness that may leave you feeling as if you just swallowed sandpaper.
About 70-80 percent of Chinese people have chronic pharyngitis, or inflammation of the back of the throat, according to Dr Zheng Ronghua, chief physician at the Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology Department of Longhua Hospital attached to the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
“It is not that people suddenly get pharyngitis in winter,” says Zheng. “In most cases, they already have this condition without knowing it, and it relapses easily in the cold, dry weather.”
Zheng says many other factors can also contribute to a raw throat that makes swallowing painful. Spicy and fried foods can irritate the throat. Speaking loudly for long periods, moving between rooms with a sharp difference in temperature and fatigue can also lead to an itchy and scratchy feeling.
The doctor recommends staying warm and avoid catching a cold, which will make a sore throat worse. Use a humidifier, if you have one, or put a basin of water in an air-conditioned room to help relieve damage caused by dry air.
And Zheng advises against clearing your throat too much. Though it may provide temporary relief from itchiness and pain, it will hurt your vocal cords and make your voice even rustier. Drinking warm water is the best way to clear your throat.
A good diet and lifestyle also contribute to a healthy throat.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, an inflamed throat is usually caused by pathogenic internal heat which may be due to dry weather, fatigue, a bad mood and irritating foods. Therefore, having enough rest is important.
TCM also recommends avoiding spicy or fried foods, cigarettes and strong wine. While eating “cold” herbs or foods may sound logical to counter internal heat, this is not always advisable during the winter.
“I suggest patients drink chrysanthemum tea to relieve a sore throat in the summer,” says Dr Zheng. “But it is too ‘cold’ in the winter. It will bring damage to the stomach and digestive system.”
Zheng suggests that foods such as pears be eaten if you have a sore throat. Pears will help nourish the yin energy, which is deficient in people with pharyngitis. Other foods good for the throat are soybean milk, turnip, lotus root, chufa and honey.
Pears are regarded the “golden fruit” for a beautiful voice as it not only helps nourish the lungs and promote fluids, but can also help relieve coughing, dissolve phlegm and dispel pathogenic heat.
Ligaotang (herbal pear syrup), a specialty in Shanghai, is well-known for relieving coughs and sore throats. It also tastes great.
Another effective remedy is chewing American ginseng slices. It can relieve an itchy throat and nourish the yin at the same time.
“I advise my patients to chew real ginseng slices instead of taking a ginseng tablet,” says Zheng. “There are some additives in the pills that may not help relieve your problem.”
Dry lips
Dry lips that hurt or crack are annoying in the winter. Some people tend to lick their lips when they feel dry, which only makes it worse as the saliva take more water from the lips when it evaporates.
Lip gloss only relieves the symptom temporarily. Restoring the balance inside your body is advised by both Western medicine and TCM.
Western medicine suggests eating more fresh vegetables to provide more vitamins while TCM suggests eating foods that benefit the spleen.
TCM theory states that the spleen rules the muscles and flesh. It opens into the mouth and its brilliance is manifested in the lips. Therefore, foods that benefit the spleen such as sweet potatoes, Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, soybean sprouts, turnips, jujubes and pearl barley are all recommended.
White fungus, jujube and rock sugar
Ingredients: white fungus (50g), 10 jujubes and rock sugar
Method: 1. Cook the ingredients together until jujube and white fungus are soft and rock sugar melted
2. Divide it into three portions and eat that day.
Herbal tea to help protect your throat
Recipe: Maidong (ophiopogon root, 3g), xuanshen (figwort, 3g) and two pangdahai (boat-fruited sterculia seed)
1 comment:
Throat-Clearing Remedies
Created: 2008-12-23
Zhang Qian
23 December 2008
Winter can be nasty, especially on the throat. Yet with a little care and some simple TCM recipes, you can get relief from all the itching and scratching, writes Zhang Qian.
The dry air common during winter can take its toll on your throat.
But fear not. Some simple things can be done to help relieve the irritation, inflammation, scratchiness and soreness that may leave you feeling as if you just swallowed sandpaper.
About 70-80 percent of Chinese people have chronic pharyngitis, or inflammation of the back of the throat, according to Dr Zheng Ronghua, chief physician at the Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology Department of Longhua Hospital attached to the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
“It is not that people suddenly get pharyngitis in winter,” says Zheng. “In most cases, they already have this condition without knowing it, and it relapses easily in the cold, dry weather.”
Zheng says many other factors can also contribute to a raw throat that makes swallowing painful. Spicy and fried foods can irritate the throat. Speaking loudly for long periods, moving between rooms with a sharp difference in temperature and fatigue can also lead to an itchy and scratchy feeling.
The doctor recommends staying warm and avoid catching a cold, which will make a sore throat worse. Use a humidifier, if you have one, or put a basin of water in an air-conditioned room to help relieve damage caused by dry air.
And Zheng advises against clearing your throat too much. Though it may provide temporary relief from itchiness and pain, it will hurt your vocal cords and make your voice even rustier. Drinking warm water is the best way to clear your throat.
A good diet and lifestyle also contribute to a healthy throat.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, an inflamed throat is usually caused by pathogenic internal heat which may be due to dry weather, fatigue, a bad mood and irritating foods. Therefore, having enough rest is important.
TCM also recommends avoiding spicy or fried foods, cigarettes and strong wine. While eating “cold” herbs or foods may sound logical to counter internal heat, this is not always advisable during the winter.
“I suggest patients drink chrysanthemum tea to relieve a sore throat in the summer,” says Dr Zheng. “But it is too ‘cold’ in the winter. It will bring damage to the stomach and digestive system.”
Zheng suggests that foods such as pears be eaten if you have a sore throat. Pears will help nourish the yin energy, which is deficient in people with pharyngitis. Other foods good for the throat are soybean milk, turnip, lotus root, chufa and honey.
Pears are regarded the “golden fruit” for a beautiful voice as it not only helps nourish the lungs and promote fluids, but can also help relieve coughing, dissolve phlegm and dispel pathogenic heat.
Ligaotang (herbal pear syrup), a specialty in Shanghai, is well-known for relieving coughs and sore throats. It also tastes great.
Another effective remedy is chewing American ginseng slices. It can relieve an itchy throat and nourish the yin at the same time.
“I advise my patients to chew real ginseng slices instead of taking a ginseng tablet,” says Zheng. “There are some additives in the pills that may not help relieve your problem.”
Dry lips
Dry lips that hurt or crack are annoying in the winter. Some people tend to lick their lips when they feel dry, which only makes it worse as the saliva take more water from the lips when it evaporates.
Lip gloss only relieves the symptom temporarily. Restoring the balance inside your body is advised by both Western medicine and TCM.
Western medicine suggests eating more fresh vegetables to provide more vitamins while TCM suggests eating foods that benefit the spleen.
TCM theory states that the spleen rules the muscles and flesh. It opens into the mouth and its brilliance is manifested in the lips. Therefore, foods that benefit the spleen such as sweet potatoes, Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, soybean sprouts, turnips, jujubes and pearl barley are all recommended.
White fungus, jujube and rock sugar
Ingredients: white fungus (50g), 10 jujubes and rock sugar
Method: 1. Cook the ingredients together until jujube and white fungus are soft and rock sugar melted
2. Divide it into three portions and eat that day.
Herbal tea to help protect your throat
Recipe: Maidong (ophiopogon root, 3g), xuanshen (figwort, 3g) and two pangdahai (boat-fruited sterculia seed)
Relieve a chronic sore throat and dry bowels
Recipe: xuanshen (figwort, 3g), shashen (Glehnia root, 3g) and honey suckle (3g)
Relieve chronic sore throat and coughing
Recipe: Gancao (liquorice, 2g), jiegeng (root of balloon flower, 3g) and honey suckle (5g)
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