As the cold season is upon us, it’s time to align to winter’s energy!
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Winter is seen as the ‘Water Element’ and the weather changes to colder, wetter and darker, slower inward ‘Yin’ moving energy. The element of water then naturally nourishes the trees and plants, ready to start to bloom for Spring times’ ‘wood’ element energy.
We too must nourish, fortify and replenish our ‘vital essence’ and build our reserves before pushing ourselves out there in full bloom for spring! Yet the winter holidays, with their lights, crowds and events, are often experienced as a complete contradiction to what the energy of this season holds, with far more action than stillness, or staying grounded and being healthy. We often end up burning the candle at both ends, whether it be overindulging on the festivities, or falling prey to stress, worry and anxiety. This is when we can more easily succumb to cold and flu symptoms, making the festive season more of a headache than a joy. However, whether or not you ‘catch’ anything ‘untoward’ is down to your overall level of health and vitality, which is why it’s necessary to boost your defences. Fortunately, nature provides us with numerous options to help with this.
The most important thing to do is to look after our digestive system!
We need to nourish our microbiome (populations of good and bad bacteria and yeasts in our gut), as it provides the foundations of our immune system. The gut stokes the fire of our whole body’s systems. If it’s malfunctioning in any way, all of our other organs get taxed and their function becomes impaired. Having enough ‘good’ gut flora is the best defence against external pathogens. So, cut processed sugars to a minimum and keep levels of ‘good bacteria’ topped up with daily servings of probiotics, fermented food and drinks such as raw sauerkraut and fermented vegetables, kimchi, kefir or kombucha. Taking a good quality multi-strain probiotic supplement can also help.
Save up your roast dinner bones and carcasses to make nutrient, dense bone broths, which will help feed your gut with natural probiotics, protein and collagen.
Below is my medicinal stock/broth recipe that I use as my soup/gravy bases, or, you can freeze it in ice cube trays and heat up when needed as a nourishing cup:
Ingredients:
* Grass fed beef bones or chicken carcasses
* A splash of apple cider vinegar
* 4 litres of water
* 4-6 cups of vegetable scraps, such as carrot/celery etc
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 Tbsp of black peppercorns
* 6 garlic cloves
* 2 half onions (skin on)
* 2 tsp of dried thyme
* Sliced ginger
* 2 strips of kelp or wakame seaweed
*Optional additional extra magic ingredients (which can be purchased at Touch Tuina…)
* *A handful of dried mushrooms (Turkey tail, Reishi, Shiitake, Chaga, or other medicinal mushrooms)
* *A small handful of medicinal herbs (Huang Qi, He shou Wu, Shan Za, Hong Hua, Nettle Root, etc.)
Directions:
If the bones are raw:
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
- Place the bones into a pan and roast in the oven until well browned. Drain the fat, then transfer over to a heavy bottom pot. Add the remaining ingredients, including the vinegar
- Pour in cold water and let stand for 10-15 minutes, before gently raising the heat and bringing the water to just under a boil
- Lower the heat and simmer for 4-24 hours
- While simmering, skim off any discoloured foam that rises to the top
- Remove the pot from the stove and carefully strain through a cheese cloth or fine meshed colander
- Cool the stock immediately and refrigerate or freeze
- Use within 3-4 days or freeze in appropriate containers
Acupuncture points for self-healing:
If you do end up indulging in excess food and alcohol, we also have balancing Chinese medicinal herb blends that are the ‘Yin’ to the overzealous ‘Yang’. We also have herbal tonics in clinic, such as ‘Da Chen Qi Wan’ (clear the bowel formula) or ‘Bao He Wan’ (aid digestion formula), that can clear the bowel and help break down heavy foods making it more easy to digest and assimilate.
Here are some acupuncture points to tap or rub for a minute or so at a time if you do end up getting a hangover:
P-6, Neiguan for nausea
This is found on your inner arm near your wrist.
LI-4 Hegu, for abdominal & or any headache pain
This is found on your hand between your thumb and forefinger, in between the two bones.
ST-36 Zusanli, for low energy
This is found below your kneecap, between the two bones of your lower leg.
LIV-3 Taichong for excessive food & alcohol consumption
This is found on the top of your foot, between your first and second toes.
ST-44 Neitling for upset stomach
This is found on the top of your foot, between the second and third toes.
We hope that you all stay healthy and well throughout the Winter season, if you find yourself in need of some help or some more advice on what best to take or do, feel free to make an appointment any time and we’ll be happy to help!
Mariana Arando
