TCM Cures for the Common Cold and other Winter Ailments

By Thomas Ackerman

Are winter colds making you a multi-symptomatic mess? China’s medicinal herbs have never gone out of fashion. Try a two millennium-old recipe and discover that the remedies explained below – including the Chinese cure for the common cold – tested and refined over countless centuries, are quick, inexpensive, easy and effective. Read on for the tools you need to heal yourself.

With winter in full swing, and seasonal changes not too far ahead (unless you live up north), you might be dealing with some bouts of winter illnesses or simply feeling under the weather. One immensely popular choice in China is herbal medicine, a branch of traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM. If you’ve already been to a pharmacy or hospital here, you may have already tried some. While a lot of Westerners have a natural skepticism about herbal remedies, these remedies have been used for thousands of years, and some are prescribed by ordinary medical doctors.

Chinese herbal and food medicine go as far back as 2,500 years and possibly 4,000. The practice of Chinese medicine of all varieties centers on the balance of yin and yang, the concept of hot and cold energies in the body. It furthermore categorizes the tastes of the herbs it uses, the actions of the herbs and their impact on the body’s twelve channels (called “meridians”). TCM’s focus on invisible forces certainly inspires skepticism in some, but many of the herbs really do improve particular symptoms, and the overall diet which traditional medicine recommends (heavy on grains, with somewhat fewer fruits, vegetables, meats and little sugar) ends up quite close to what Western medical doctors recommend. After all, there has likely been years of experimentation going into the practice, not only metaphysics.

While it is most common to buy herbal remedies over the counter even in China, if you go to a traditional Chinese medical practitioner he will in many cases examine you to know better what your problem is. It is also possible to pick up the herbs in crude form at any number of local markets, but these days, most people here don’t want to expend the time to boil or otherwise extract the medicine from the raw herbs. It is pills or capsules or powders then, often a mixture of five or ten different extractions.

If you do plan on making your own medicine in the kitchen, the TCM doctor I spoke with advised that most recipes don’t need more than 20 to 30 minutes boiling. You should also avoid aluminum, iron or copper pans because their hotter temperatures could cause undesired reactions with the herbs. Using a china or tile pot would be ideal. Most extractions only need to be taken twice a day, about thirty minutes after breakfast and dinner.

I spoke with several local pharmacies, a doctor of traditional medicine and a TCM hospital, and they were happy to provide some basic information about treating the typical winter ailments. Several ingredients and mixtures follow below and if you read nearly to the bottom, you’ll find The Cure for the Common Cold):

Indigowoad Root (板藍根 | bǎnlángēn)
This root is used to remove toxic heat, soothe a sore throat and treat the flu, scarlet fever and measles. The root can easily be boiled to extract the medicine, with a recommended dosage of 18g of root for one adult. This is most effective in treating colds and preventing flus. It should cost all of 1RMB.

Bupleurum aka Thorowax Root (柴胡 | cháihú)
This native East Asian root is common in treating the cold, the flu and infections which are coupled with fever. A popular mixture using this root is as follows:

Bupleurum /柴胡/ cháihú (5-15g)
Opopanax/ 防风根 / fángfēnggēn / (5g)
Dried orange peel / 陈皮 / chénpí (7.5g)
Peony Root / 白芍 / báisháo (10g)
Licorice Root/ 甘草 / gāncǎo (5g)
Ginger/ 生姜 / shēng jiāng (3-5 pieces)

This blend of herbs is helpful with muscular pain, a runny nose and a variety of flu symptoms. One dose runs about 8 RMB.