by Andres Vergara, L.Ac. and Michele Collins, RH (AHG), MPH
On the January 29, 2013’s edition of Holistic Healing with Herbs and Chinese Medicine, we discuss the common cold, asthma, and allergies. We presented the causes of these conditions from a Chinese medical perspective, as well as how they can be treated and prevented with food and herbs. We are summarizing that information here.
Common Cold
What is a cold?
In Chinese medicine the explanation of why someone contracts a cold is different than the explanation we have in western medicine which is that someone was exposed to a germ or virus. Flus and colds are caused by viruses; bacterial infections can be things like strep throat and sinus infections. Chinese medicine is a system that is several thousand years old, so this was before the invention of microscopes and before germ theory was invented. Even so, Chinese medicine has an explanation for the cause of colds and flus but an herbal approach that can treat it and the symptoms efficiently and effectively.
Colds and flus are caused by energies that penetrate into the body, through the body’s protective perimeter or wei qi field. There are different translations for these energies, such as pernicious influences or external pathogens, or evils. There are 6 of these evils or external pathogens – each of the 6 being excesses of climate and season. There is wind, damp, cold, heat, dryness. There is a sixth and final one which is summer heat, which equates to heat stroke or heat exhaustion and we are not going to be talking about it tonight. At the acute or superficial level, these evils attack and enter through the skin, mouth, nose, muscles or organs (like the lungs).
These evils can combine together in different ways, however, wind tends to be the common denominator through which other elements can enter and invade the body. Understanding the nature of each of these elements gives you important clues as to how it will effect the body. As in most traditional systems of healing, in Chinese medicine nature was the teacher that show how heat or cold or wind affected the landscape of the body. The symptoms for each of these patterns follows this logic.
Wind – symptoms tends to migrate and move around the body, there tends to be an aversion to the wind blowing outside, sudden and rapid onset, itchiness of the skin or of the throat, body aches, stuffy nose, headache
Heat – high fever with mild chills, fear or aversion to heat, restlessness, throbbing headaches, sore swollen red throat, thirst, red skin, sweating, yellow mucus, constipation
Cold – sudden onset of strong chills, mild fever, body aches, clear to white mucus, runny or thing mucus, no thirst, mild sore throat, no sweating, fear of cold
Damp – fevers not relieved by sweating, no desire to drink, fullness in chest or abdomen, cloudy urine, heavy diarrhea
Dryness – fever, mild chills, aversion to cold, dry mouth, dry nose, dry throat, extreme thirst, cough with scanty or no sputum, dry tongue, headache, dry skin, dry lips, no sweating
Typically in the west we tend to contract wind heat but there can also be wind cold, wind damp, or even wind damp cold. Heat and coldness can often transform one into the other so a wind heat can transform into a wind cold. This is important because a cold can shift and change rapidly and should be treated with the appropriate herbs for the different stage it has transformed in to.
Which Herbs To Use and Why
The distinction of an energetic quality, such as dryness, dampness, heat, or cold, is very important to understand because it will guide which herbs and foods you will use. Classifying herbs and food according to their energetic effect on the body is one of the most important contributions of traditional systems of herbal medicine like Chinese Medicine. Foods and herbs all have a specific effect on the body, making it either warmer (like cinnamon or ginger), colder (like goldenseal or chamomile), dryer (like cinnamon), or moister (like slippery elm bark). You treat with opposites, meaning an energetically cold herb is used to treat an energetically hot condition like inflamed or sore throat.
The herbs you use differ based on the presentation of the imbalance. For example for wind cold, ginger and or scallions are good herbs to induce sweating because they are warming and diaphoretic (sweat-inducing). For a wind heat you would want a chamomile or elderberry flowers (sambucus nigra) because they are both cooling diaphoretics.
In Chinese medicine as in western or allopathic medicine, if your immune system is healthy, you will be less susceptible to catching a cold. But under certain conditions, lifestyle influences can create a situation that allow these energies to penetrate into the body. Lifestyle choices such as overwork, not getting enough rest, a bad diet, dressing poorly for the weather, and emotional extremes can all exhaust the immune system and weaken it making a person susceptible to any of these evils.
Treating a cold
At the acute stage the therapeutic method used to treat a cold is to induce sweating – you want the pathogen to exit the way it came in which is through the pores. At the first sign of cold, you can take herbs or use foods to deal with it in its acute presentation. The herbs that are used are referred to as diaphoretics because they help open the pores and induce a sweat. There are cold natured diaphoretics, such as elderberry flower, chamomile, and mint, as well as warm natured ones., like ginger root, garlic, or scallions.
You can take herbs to induce sweat. For wind cold, fresh ginger root tea or miso soup with scallions are excellent. For damp cold, add honey and lemon to the ginger root for good effectiveness at eliminating excess dampness. For heat you can take chamomile tea or elderflower tea or combine them together or with other herbs such as mint. There are other techniques, such as taking a hot bath or a sauna. Although with therapies such as these designed to raise the body’s temperatures, it is important to keep the head and the male genitals cool with a damp cloth because too high a temperature can destroy brain cells and could cause sterility in men. Anyone who is weak, or pregnant, menstruating or with a chronic disease or health issue would want to be careful with any extreme form of inducing a sweat and would be advised to consult with an herbalist or practitioner of Chinese medicine.
Coconut water is especially good when you are running high fevers and sweating because it can help you stay hydrated and restore electrolyte levels. Coconuts also have anti viral and anti microbial properties, making this drink effective at boosting your immune system and help fight viruses and colds. Coconut water is very high in potassium and has natural sugars that can help replenish the body if you have sweated. It is far better than Gatorade or other sports drinks because it doesn’t have refined sugars or high fructose corn syrups.
There are also herbal formulas such as Yin qiao san, used for wind heat. Typically this formula is used within the first 1-2 days as acute prevention to help keep a wind heat condition from developing into a more serious situation. This formula has herbs for sore throat like Forsythia suspensa and honeysuckle or lonicera japonica that are both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory.
When do you go see an herbalist or Chinese Medicine practitioner?
When you first become sick you can visit an herbalist or Chinese medicine practitioner who can give a you a specific formula to address your combination of symptoms such as damp, wind, or heat or cold. Also, if a condition is not resolving by itself or with your initial efforts, it is best to go see an herbalist or practitioner of Chinese medicine trained in herbs. A pathogen can penetrate more deeply into the body, which means that the way to expel becomes more complicated herbally. This means you have passed that acute stage and need a different approach and really need to see someone who can diagnose which stage you are and give you a customized herbal prescription. If you experience any of the following, it is good to see a Chinese herbal medicine practitioner: low energy, no appetite, mucus and congestion, feeling lousy or bad, alternating fever and chills, nausea, rib side pain, irritability, but mainly prolonged cold and flu that is not resolving itself.
Preventing Colds and Flus
What is immunity from a Chinese perspective? The superficial immunity is called the wei qi field and is literally considered to be a protective field around the body generated by the lungs that keeps unwanted things out of the body. Here are some simple and easy things that you can do in your daily life to prevent colds and flus:
1. Herbs – There are herbs that help strengthen the wei qi field. The most notable one and one that is very common and easy to find is astragalus membranaceus or huang qi. Astragalus is a vetch or legumme. The root is used and typically comes in long thin slices and looks like a tongue depressor. This herb has become popular in the treatment of cancer and HIV for boosting immunity levels. In essence, it has the same value in western as it does in Chinese. This herb can be added in to cooking – we recommend getting it powdered and adding it into soup stocks or foods like oatmeal. It is also extremely safe – it is a tonic herb meaning it does not have toxicity when it is taken consistently and in large doses.
Importantly though if you are sick with a cold, stop taking astragalus because it can trap the pathogen deeper inside the body. Because it strengthens the wei qi field or protective immunity of the body, it is best not to strengthen this immunity preventively, when you are not actively sick.
Astragalus is one herbs of three in a famous formula called Jade Wind Screen, which is a formula to literally prevent wind from penetrating into the wei qi field. We recommend this formula to people who do not want to take the flu shot because it strengthens the immunity and blocks pathogens from entering the body. Click here for a good article about Michael Tierra about this important formula.
Garlic is another notable herb to include in diet. This herb is anti-viral, anti-bacterial, diaphoretic, expectorant (helps expel mucus with a cough), antibiotic, antifungal, antispamodic, all actions that make this an extremely useful and practical herb for colds and flus and the symptoms that accompany them. It is spicy and hot. Test tube studies have shown it to be very effective at killing both viruses and bacteria. One study in the Chinese Medicine Journal by Guo NL, Lu DP, Woods GL, Reed E, Zhou GZ, Zhang LB, Waldman RH in 1993, studied it’s effects with human cytomegalovirus found it is most effective when applied continuously. We take this to mean it is best to incorporate into your diet on a daily basis. Cook with fresh garlic. Also, here is a great recipe for garlic syrup that can be effective for both acute cases and for long term prevention.
Garlic Syrup
1 pound of peeled and minced garlic
3 cups distilled water
3 cups apple cider vinegar
Mix garlic with distilled water and apple cider vinegar in a glass jar with a lid. Leave in warm place for 4 days shaking several times a day. Add 1 cup glycerin and store for one additional day. Strain and filter the mixture using cheesecloth or muslin. Add 1 cup of honey and stir thoroughly. Store in cool place. Dosage: 1 TBSP 3x a day.
Garlic is great herb for acute treatment or prevention of cols and flus because of its anti-viral properties. Use it for sore throats, coughs, flu, earaches, colds, strep bacteria, and yeast infections.
2. Lifestyle – Proper rest is essential, especially in the fall and winter. As the days get shorter you need more rest and introspection. Do not overwork or over exert yourself – moderation is important. Stress relief and reduction are important to prevent emotional reactions and extremes. Stress is really a liver health issue because the liver detoxifies not only toxins and hormones but also emotions. Extreme emotions and stress deplete the liver and essentially weaken the body’s ability to detoxify itself and fight pathogens from penetrating more deeply into the body.
It is also important to dress appropriately for the season. If it is cold, dress warmly, being careful in cold weather to cover the kidney area in the back to prevent them from being too chilled. Also, cover the back of the neck because this is one of the places wind can use to enter the body. There is a acupuncture point called the wind gate at the back of the neck which is a good indicator of how Chinese medicine views this particular location. It is good to cover this point in the fall and winter and early spring with a scarf.
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4. Diet and food choices should be appropriate to the season – This is a longer topic that needs more attention. We will be addressing this issue in more detail on the February 5th episode of Holistic Healing with Herbs and Chinese Medicine.
Bronchial Asthma
Bronchial asthma is a disease that is often characterized by coughing, wheezing, panting and difficulty breathing. LIke colds, flus, and allergies, asthma is afflicts the respiratory tract. The lungs are known as a delicate organ because of their sensitivity to external influences. Asthma affects a wide variety of people and can be triggered by allergic phenomena. From a Chinese medical perspective causes of the disease can be faulty diet (or a diet that injures the spleen, such as excessive dairy and sugar), aging (which will weaken the kidneys and spleen over time, immaturity (spleen and kidney that did not mature properly) internal damage caused by excessive emotions (such as excessive joy, anger, worry, contemplation, sorrow, fear or shock), iatrogenesis (medicine-induced), external contraction of environmental excesses, which means excessive exposure to cold, wind heat, damp, cold, summer heat and dryness.
Very similarly to allergies the mechanisms of asthma are usually a spleen qi vacuity leading to weakened defensive qi (the same wei qi field mentioned earlier) and phlegm dampness. In Chinese medicine when the defensive qi or wei qi is weak, it is easier to get what are called invasions of “external evils” like wind, cold, damp which will then obstruct the easy functioning of the lungs. If external evils mix with deep lying phlegm in the lungs (which always exist in asthma) then the impairment of the lungs will be further increased. Many other patterns can appear with asthma including: phlegm heat which will mean the coughing up of thick, sticky phlegm and difficulty breathing this will occur when there is internally generated depressive heat which means that stress, emotional turmoil and/or the consumption of greasy and damp fatty foods will combine to create more phlegm and heat in the person evidenced by rales (whistling, crackling, or sloshing sounds coming from the lungs), dry throat, dark urine and other possible signs and symptoms.
A common complicating factor considered to occur overtime when there is stagnation of qi is blood stagnation. Blood stagnation will add a further layer of complication in the treatment of asthma which is important to address in order to help the treatment work more effectively. There are many herbs which address this, such as di long (earthworm) and dang gui (angelica sinensis). Also genetic predisposition, weakness associated with aging or illnesses can also lead to kidney vacuity and deficiency of either the yin or yang of the kidney. There are effective herbs at addressing these specific imbalances of the kidneys, such as wu wei zi (schisandra chinensis) or huo tao ren (walnut).
The main organs involved in the dynamics behind asthma are the lungs, kidneys, spleen and the liver. Herbal treatment can be very effective for asthma both in the acute and in the asymptomatic phase. The acute phase is focused on draining “evils” which is a Chinese word meaning an acute invasion of wind cold, wind heat, phlegm heat or other mixed patterns that refer to different acute symptoms such as panting with cold, rales, white sticky, clear or watery phlegm if it is a wind cold assailing the lungs pattern; yellow phlegm that is difficult to expectorate, fever, sweating if it’s a wind heat invading the lungs pattern; difficult to expectorate white phlegm if phlegm turbidity in the lungs pattern. Each pattern will necessitate a different herbal treatment and these patterns as well as others can coexist simultaneously necessitating a complex and balanced approach to prescribing the herbs. In addition there are various antispasmodic herbs that help by relieving the spasm of large and small air passageways in the lungs, di long (earthworm) and jiang can (silkworm).
In the remission stage the lungs, kidneys, and spleen need to be supported. Herbs that will support the diffusion of the lung qi, stop wheezing and panting. Should always in included with herbs the support whichever organs are imbalanced, whether it be the lungs, kidneys, or spleen. Eliminating phlegm, supporting the kidneys and adding herbals that support the lungs go a long way to relieving the symptoms of asthma and over time to resolving the ailment.
There are a number of food cures that can help in the treatment of asthma. Bitter apricot seeds are a common Chinese herb that can be used for cough (Note: commonly used for cough however it is slightly toxic and therefore is best used for short periods of time or in a prepared form that reduces or eliminates the toxicity so don’t use unless under the care of health care professional, boiling and other preparation reduces toxicity. The sweet variety is used as a snack in Asia, and is much less toxic).
Here are a few traditional recipes for bronchial asthma from Chinese natural cures by Henry Lu’s book, Chinese Natural Cures. Recipe 1: wash and boil a pumpkin with 2 teaspoonfuls honey in water until the pumpkin becomes extremely soft; use the condensed pumpkin soup to mix with 10g fresh ginger juice. Boil the new mixture for a few minutes. Drink 1 cupful each time.
Recipe 2: is to boil together 200g of bean curd, 60g maltose or honey and 30g fresh radish. Eat in 1 day to relieve symptoms.
Recipe 3: is to boil 2g fennel seed or anise seed, 10g apricot seed, 5g dry orange peel and 8 g seaweed in 3 cups water until the water is reduced to 1 cup. Drink 1 cup as tea each time, 3 times a day.
More specifically there are various foods depending on pattern that will be useful for asthma. Pg 108-109 Chinese Natural Cures by Henry Yu provides a great chart with food recommendations for each pattern.
For example if there are cold limbs, frequent urination, fear of the cold along with breathing difficulty and shortness of breath there may be a kidney etiology to the asthma (representing a loss of the kidneys capacity to absorb the breath). This is because the kidneys are key to drawing in the breath according to TCM. In this case some traditional Chinese foods that you could eat for their medicinal value include: abalone, asparagus, chicken egg, cuttlefish, duck and duck egg, milk lobster, oyster, pork, royal jelly, chestnut, chicken liver, pork kidneys, sardine, shrimp, sparrow, clove, dill seed, fennel, pistachio nut, sparrow egg, crab apple, raspberry and walnut.
If there is a more acute situation as in there is gasping for air and coughing of yellowish or sticky sputum, panting, wheezing and a thirst with craving for cold drinks (phlegm heat in the lungs). Then foods that are cooling and that resolve phlegm and that support the lungs such as apple peel, common button mushroom, grapefruit peel, radish and pear are recommended.
If there are cold limbs with coughing of thin and watery sputum, wheezing and a congested chest with pain in the chest and panting, then there is cold phlegm in the lungs. In order to warm the lungs, expel the cold and remove the sputum you can take fresh ginger, leaf or brown mustard, black and white pepper and white or yellow mustard seed.
It should be emphasized that these foods should be taken along with herbs or another treatment for the asthma and will be an adjunct therapy that is useful largely because food is so integral to our existence, so if one can tailor their diet to resolve as opposed to worsen their illnesses then all the better.
If there is a red face with rapid breathing, sputum with blood and thirst with possible vomiting of blood and a cough that causes pain in the upper abdomen, painful sensations running through the chest and ribs, (liver fire insulting or attacking the lungs) then foods like: asparagus, soya milk, duck egg, olive, shepherds purse, rye, black fungus, vinegar, abalone, asparagus, chicken egg, white fungus, pork and royal jelly will be useful to clear some of the heat and fire that is attacking the lungs and to calm the liver, and stop the cough.
If there are symptoms such as cough, discharge of copious, whitish and sticky sputum, dislike of cold, dry throat without thirst, inability to lie on back, more exhaling than inhaling, palpitation, wheezing that can start all of a sudden and then continues for a while, or wheezing worsened with movement, small amounts of reddish urine then foods that will push down the lung energy, transform the phlegm and relieve panting must be used like: adzuki bean, ambergris, barley, bamboo shoot, seaweed, black soybean, almond, areca nut, buckwheat, common carp, cashew nut, coriander, grapefruit peel, loquat, malt, nutmeg, pea, black and white pepper, radish, rice bran, sword bean and clove will be useful.
Again each of these patterns should be supported by an herbal formula for which the foods will be a supportive and continuous therefore very useful support.
If there is a congested chest with copious sticky sputum, cough with gasping for air, possible insomnia, nausea, palpitation, poor appetite and possible vomiting or being underweight. Then foods that push down the lung energy and can transform sputum, stop cough and panting will be used. Foods like: job’s tears (for the phlegm), adzuki beans, ambergris, barley, bamboo shoot, common carp, cucumber, mung bean, seaweed, shepherd’s purse and star fruit.
Allergies
There are three main types of allergic rhinitis: 1) spring type, 2) summer type, and 3) fall type. The allergens vary according to the season. During the spring, tree pollen predominates, in the summer grass pollens predominate, and in the fall weed pollens (like ragweed and various thistles) predominate. Others have allergies to fungus spores, dust containing insect feces and proteins or animal dander and may therefore have allergies that are independent of the season. There are a wide range of symptoms that an individual with allergic rhinitis may have, including itching of the nose, roof of the mouth, pharynx and eyes. There may also be sneezing, clear nasal discharge, and tearing of the eyes, accompanied by frontal headache, irritability, decreased food intake, depression, and even insomnia. In severe cases, there may be coughing and wheezing, or the allergen itself may trigger an asthma attack.
In addition, from the vantage point of traditional Chinese medicine, there are a number of other factors that can weaken the organ and body functioning, making a person more susceptible to allergic rhinitis. One such factor is repeated treatment with antibiotics of children. Other factors include a diet high in sugars and sweets, dairy products, fruit juices, and yeasted grain products, as well as stress. The reason is that the repeated use of antibiotics and the aforementioned diet both weaken the spleen, which is the organ responsible for digestion in the Chinese system. The spleen also plays an important role in how we assimilate nutrients to ensure a strong immune system. From the perspective of Chinese Medicine, digestion is not limited to food alone, but also to our ability to process and assimilate information and life experiences, which means that continual exposure to experiences that cause stress (ie are difficult to digest) can aggravate such conditions as allergic rhinitis. In Chinese medicine, the spleen is also responsible for the transportation and transformation of fluids and is thus essential in transforming phlegm. Herbs can help the body transform the phlegm as well as strengthen the spleen so that it can function more optimally.
Chinese herbs and acupuncture work by applying the appropriate herbs and acupuncture points to the appropriate pattern. What that means is that, according to traditional Chinese medicine, you can detect the root cause by looking at how all of the symptoms of an individual fit together to form a pattern. That pattern can be different for each person, this means different herbs and herbal formulas will be appropriate depending on the individual presentation. An old Chinese adage states: “same disease, many treatments” or conversely “different disease, same treatment.” That means that knowing the correct pattern is the key to knowing which herbal formula or set of acupuncture points to use, regardless of the disease label the person may have.
To treat allergic rhinitis, Western medicine relies on antihistamines and bronchodilators such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. The problem is that both of these types of drugs have side effects that many find unacceptable. Drugs like ephedrine and pseudoephedrine may cause symptoms such as nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, restlessness, tension, tremor, weakness, dizziness, vertigo, headache, confusion, delirium, hallucination, respiratory difficulty, hypertension, fast heart rate, palpitations, sweating, nausea, vomiting, and difficult and painful urination. Antihistamines can help prevent and relieve sneezing, itchy eyes and nose, and runny nose, but they do not necessarily alleviate the underlying nasal congestion and can cause side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Antihistamines would need to be used in combination with a second medication to strengthen the ability to relieve nasal congestion, a decongestant; however, these medicines can cause nervousness, insomnia, and elevated blood pressure. Nasal corticosteroids (nasal sprays) may be used to alleviate nasal symptoms such as nasal congestion if antihistamines are inadequate, but again, it can take a few weeks to receive the full effect and they typically require regular usage for symptom control.
Chinese herbs and acupuncture offer a highly effective treatment with quick symptomatic relief that is side effect free. There are a number of herbs and herbal formulas that can dry phlegm, reduce or eliminate nasal congestion and nasal discharge, and restore a sense of smell in the nose. Other herb combinations can be used specifically for profuse runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, and enduring nasal congestion. A good herbal formula is always aimed at addressing the root and the branch of the disease, the root consists of the internal conditions that are contributing to the symptoms, and the branch being the acute attacks and the symptomology.
The most common patterns for allergies would be the acute phase which is characterized by itching, nasal discharge, congestion, possible headache or cough. There are highly effective herbs for this acute stage, such xin yi hua (magnolia blossom), bai zhi (angelica dahurica), cang er si (xanthium sibiericum), and gui zhi (cinnamomum cassia). Equally excellent herbs focused on prevention abound for the more latent patterns, such as huang qi (astragalus membranaceus). Long term issues with allergies can affect the kidneys. In such cases, there will be cold limbs, long term clear nasal discharge and back and knee soreness in which case one must address the kidney vacuity, for which there are also good herbal options such as wu wei zi (schisandra chinensis).
Herbal formulas can be used to strengthen the immune system to protect the body from being susceptible to allergic symptoms. There are formulas and herbs that are appropriate for acute attacks and others that are more appropriate for the time in between attacks. These formulas will address the underlying deficiencies that are producing the allergic symptoms. However at different moments it will be more appropriate to customize the formula for more acute symptoms and at other times it will be necessary to concentrate on the root. Most important for individuals looking for resolution of allergy symptoms is that while Chinese herbs and acupuncture are effective at resolving the acute symptoms, they can also be used simultaneously to strengthen and tonify the organ and bodily functions that contribute to the occurrence of allergies, as well as to reduce the effect of stress on the recurrence of symptoms.
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