In Contemplation of Traditional Chinese Medicine

While this blog is supposed to be about dairy-free/soy-free eating, this post addresses a different health topic. I've been perusing a lot of information lately on Traditional Chinese Medicine. This came about because I've been trying to solve a nagging cough problem. Mind you, I have had some kind of nagging cough for years, which I generally attributed to allergies. But it's seemed worse lately, so I started experimenting with different teas, and then just lemon/honey, but nothing seemed to help. I remembered years back, when I used to enjoy ginger candy. Unfortunately, it seemed like my cough would worsen after I'd eaten a few pieces. I had a Chinese friend at the time who remarked that I could be too "hot inside," so ginger would make things worse. At that point I had stopped eating ginger candy. Remembering this, I wondered if that "internal heat" had intensified (so to speak) and was causing me issues. I started doing searches, and it was this link that convinced me, by addressing an issue I had researched previously with no luck: night sweats! All research on this issue had related it to menopause, but I have been sweating at night for years, so that didn't make sense to me. The symptoms of "internal heat," or, according to this site, "a lack of the moistening and cooling functions that are necessary to maintain a healthy balance" matched my list of issues. So I started out with some chrysanthemum tea and lemon, and added some lo han quo. Slowly, I find myself coughing less... and wishing I had thought to pursue this years ago!