I'm cold: Stop freezing!
"I'm cold!"
Everyone is freezing differently. Although there are "winter types" that run around even at crisp lows without socks. But for most of us it gets unpleasant despite wool sweater and down jacket, when the thermometer indicates minus degrees. The cold makes us pale, stiff and listless. Bones and joints can hurt and the defenses against infections decrease. A warm fireplace is not bad then. But we also have internal stoves in our bodies where we can kindle fire. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) knows three of them. And a variety of wonderful home remedies that heat us up in the cold season fantastic.
Secret recipes against the cold
The "lower oven" really makes us "hot". It warms the abdomen, legs, bones and genitals. Those who quickly get bladder infections and a stiff back, always sleeping with socks and have no desire for sex, should stir up the fire here. True miracles work a clear broth of a liter of water, 500 grams of lamb with bone, a roughly cut black radish, five pieces of star anise, a tablespoon of cumin and a pinch of salt. The warming Yang force also strengthens fresh walnuts. Best nibble five times a day. Or prepare a potion: soak two hands full of walnut kernels in water overnight. Boil up in the morning, puree in the blender and enjoy this "milk" with a little brown sugar and cinnamon. The "middle hearth" boosts the metabolism. If you have cold hands all the time, shivering all over your body and you're always tired, it's best to heat up here.
With ginger tea we do not freeze so fast anymore
Especially soothing: warming ginger tea. Cut a walnut-sized piece of fresh ginger into thin strips and roast in a pan until golden brown. Then add one tablespoon of black tea, five cardamom seeds and a little brown sugar with 300 milliliters of boiling water, bring to a boil, let stand for three minutes and finally strain through a sieve. This brings a frozen metabolism back on track.
A good "heaters" in flu-weather are also vermicelli, which are cooked in half a liter of broth and seasoned with as much freshly ground white pepper as possible. The best thing to do after a meal is to rest. This flies even a beginning cold in the flight. A "warm heart" is provided by our "upper oven".
For those who have a cold, feeling slightly sad, who are often in the mood for chocolate or red wine, and who lack fires in interpersonal relationships, Chinese medicine advises cinnamon and spicy spices. The circulation improves a cup of cinnamon ginko tea three times a day: boil a cinnamon stick in half a liter of water, add ten tablespoons of gingko leaves from the pharmacy after ten minutes, then remove the pot from the heat and leave to infuse for another ten minutes. Since the biggest cold has no chance.
The author Dr. Christine Li is a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Fleetinselklinik Hamburg and an expert in home remedies according to the 5 element theory. She has published more recipes in her book "Chinese Medicine for Everyday Life" (Grafe und Unzer).
