“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant, if we did not sometimes taste adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” Acupuncture Media Works (2012)
Winter is a time for the yin phase. This season is for resting, relaxing, and nurturing our bodies. The yin phase indicates going inward, night time, rest, and nourishment. During this phase of the year, it is important to listen to your body. When you are feeling run down from the stress of work and life, you may need that extra hour of sleep. Going to bed earlier and waking up later is part of this phase. It’s similar to a bear hibernating in the winter. We should conserve our energies and not have too many “yang” activities, like excessive work or exercise. If we care for our bodies well in the wintertime, the spring season will be much healthier.
Here are some winter health tips that may help you in your resolutions to better care for yourself. In order to eat right for the season, you can cook with “warming foods.” The weather is colder and your body needs warm foods to function properly. For breakfast, you can make oatmeal or rice porridge with cinnamon, brown sugar, and raisins or diced apple. A boiled egg is a great compliment to this healthy breakfast, which will provide some good protein. Green tea with some honey will round out this breakfast to boost your energy but not make you jittery. Other items to add to a healthy winter diet are whole grains, brown rice, squash, and root vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, onions, and garlic. For a simple dinner soup, you can chop up some sweet potato, carrot, onion, and squash and boil for 30-45 minutes. Add your favorite bean or legume for protein. Add a bit of olive oil and salt to taste. This will keep you warm and provide plenty of nutrition to build immunity.
Another winter health tip is to dress warmly. This seems like an easy one, but is easily overlooked. We may forget to check the weather and leave the house without our warm jacket. Making sure that we dress warmly will protect our organs and prevent the cold from entering our body. This can inevitably prevent disorders like arthritis, hip, back, and joint pain. Covering our tummies in the winter can also help with women who have menstrual pain of the cold type. If heating pads help your cramps, keeping your mid section properly covered can prevent the onset of menstrual cramping during winter. Also, making sure you keep your neck covered while exercising and sweating can help prevent wind and cold from invading the body causing common cold. It is very important to keep the back of the neck properly covered to prevent colds and stiff neck. Scarves are great for this! Dressing warmly during the winter can protect the body from cold, exhaustion and prevent illness.
During the wintertime, it’s important to support the kidney organ. The vital energy and essence of the body derives from the kidneys. If they are weakened during the wintertime, it can affect your energy level. This is the time to support the adrenals and kidney organs. How can we do this? Other than getting plenty of sleep and eating healthfully, we can massage our acupuncture points. This is called acupressure. Gentle massage or rubbing of these points can aid the body in supporting health. A good acupressure point to massage is Kidney 3. This is located in the depression between the inner ankle and the Achilles tendon. It is level with the ankle bone. This point is used to treat various symptoms such as low back pain, tinnitus, headache, dizziness, wheezing, cough, poor memory, and impotence.
If we can make small, simple adjustments in our daily life, we can support a healthier lifestyle and better immunity. By resting well, eating warming foods, dressing appropriately, and using acupressure, we can build a stronger ability to fight off infections.
Allergies
Winter is the time for allergies in Austin. Our good old friend Cedar (Juniper) pollen is released into the air after the weather becomes cooler. This can cause various symptoms for those who suffer from the allergic reaction. These symptoms include itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, headache, cough, excess nasal mucus, and fatigue. Those who have excess nasal drainage can be at higher risk for cough and bronchitis if the fluid drains into the lungs while sleeping. Preventing the onset of these symptoms can protect from more serious conditions such as long term cough, chest congestions, and bronchial infections.
So what can we do to prevent these allergic reactions? One easy tip is to protect the immunity by getting plenty of rest and eating a nutritious diet. Limiting intake of dairy and wheat can be helpful for some who suffer from allergies. Foods that can be avoided during an allergic reaction are milk, cheese, yogurt, fried foods, breads, sweets, and sugary drinks. These foods can cause excess mucosal production which can exaccerbate a stuffy nose or cough. Excessive sugar intake can delay healing time.
One easy recipe for fighting off allergies and boosting immunity is lemon honey tea. Our grandmothers knew it best. Combine one quarter organic lemon, local honey, and boiled water to prevent getting sick after an allergy attack. The lemon is high in vitamin C, which is helpful in boosting immunity. The local honey contains pollen from flora in the surrounding area of Austin, which can introduce small amounts of the pollen to the body. This concept is similar to the idea of a vaccine. You introduce trace amounts of the pathogen into the body, thereby creating immunity to the pollen. Stocking these ingredients and making this tea can help keep your immune system healthy during the winter season.
Also, breathing techniques combined with certain sounds can help to boost the immune system during the winter time. The sound for lung is “ssss” or “thhhh”. To try this technique, you exhale through the mouth and inhale through the nose. Put your tongue in between your teeth and make the ‘ssss’ sound. Your tongue should be just slightly sticking out of your mouth. Repeat this technique approximately 30 times. This technique strengthens the lung energy. By using this combination of breathing and sound therapy, you can expel pathogens from the lung. It’s also very relaxing.
There are also Chinese herbs that can be helpful in preventing allergy attacks. This formula is called “Jade Screen” or Yu Ping Feng San. This formula is named “Jade Screen” because the prescription preventatively boosts the immune system, thereby creating a ‘screen’ to protect against an allergic attack. Taking this formula several months before the allergy season can work wonders for those who have allergies. I’m a living example of this! I’ve taken Jade Screen and it helps my allergies, as well as preventing chronic bronchial infections during the winter season. How it works is to strengthen the digestion and immune system to create a stronger immunity when the pollen season arrives. It also helps to strengthen the lung organ to support good lung health. Getting regular acupuncture treatments and taking “Jade Screen” are the best things I’ve done to help my allergies!
By taking care of yourself during the winter season, you can prevent an allergic reaction. With nutritional therapy, resting well, breathing techniques, acupuncture, and taking herbal formulas, we can boost our immunity and stave off infection. These are healthy, mild treatments that help to maintain longevity and promote well being!!
Written by: Kendall Ash McAnally
