If you’ve caught a little chill – or been caught in aircon, draughts or sudden cold weather – and you experience:
- tight neck and upper shoulders
- headache
- chills and / or feeling sensitive to cold
- light sweating
- feeling a bit flushed in the face
- feeling sensitive to wind
- possibly some sneezing or sniffles
- and generally feeling a bit “off”
…this Chinese Medicine herbal remedy can speed recovery & kick out a Cold, when used at the onset of a chill (the sooner, the better!). You can combine it with this potent acupressure hack, for even faster relief from Cold symptoms.
What is this powerful herbal brew?
This beautiful herbal medicine formula is called Cinnamon Twig Decoction (or Soup) – 桂枝汤 / Gui Zhi Tang. It is so revered that it is the very first formula mentioned in one of our most ancient medical texts. The Shang Han Lun, or Discussion on Cold Damage, is almost 2,000 years old! It clearly documents how weather and environment can affect our state of health – and what we can do about it. More on this in podcast episode 47.
Wait – are you saying that the weather can make us sick?!
Yep, that’s right! In Chinese Medicine, we understand that we are woven into the web of life, connected to the world around us. Health stems from being in harmony with both the world outside – climate and environment – and the world within – our emotions. How well we adapt to life’s ups and downs is a reflection of how resourced we are within. The more robust our Qi, our life force energy, the better we weather challenges. This is why the greatest aim of our medicine is preventative: staying well, by cultivating and nourishing our Qi.
For somebody who is full of Qi, a disruption from outside in the form of Cold or Wind will affect only their surface. They might experience tight or achey muscles, sneezing, maybe a headache and light fever. This is the body’s wisdom at work: an attempt to expel the Cold (fever, sneeze, sniffles) and stop it from going any deeper (tight, contracted muscles). Have you ever huddled your shoulders up around your ears in a cold wind? This is an innate instinct to protect our energy meridians from being disrupted by Cold.
So what can we do if we get affected by Cold, Wind or aircon?
Luckily, if we catch it early enough, we can push out Cold with herbs that counteract that tightness and contraction. These are warm and pungent herbs – in this formula, cinnamon and ginger.
This herbal brew has many other applications beyond a surface chill too. Any time that we have symptoms like those listed at the start, we will ask questions and look at the tongue and pulse to consider if this formula is a fit. We often use a version of it for sore, achey muscles and fatigue after exercise. It is a beautifully-balanced formula that can be taken as a health tonic – it nourishes Yin, Yang AND Qi. You might have noticed that these flavours are the foundation of masala chai blends – “chai tea” – which harness the health-boosting effects of these powerful herbs.
You can DIY this herbal tea cold remedy at home
You can make a version of this at home with ginger slices and cinnamon bark. Powdered versions of each can be substituted.
For one cup of water, take a thumb-sized piece of ginger, and 1-2 cinnamon quills / bark. If using powder spices, you can use 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of each. Cover the ginger and cinnamon with water, bring to the boil and then simmer on low for 10 minutes. Strain and, if you don’t have a phlegmy cough or sinus congestion, add a small bit of honey (or sugar / rice malt syrup). Drink and bundle up to allow your body to create a light sweat, resolving the Cold contraction. Magic! And remember to add this acupressure hack to boost your recovery.
Is there anyone who should not use this herbal tea for Cold symptom relief?
Cinnamon and ginger are everyday culinary herbs, enjoyed the world over. In smaller, food-related doses, they are used by a wide range of people. At higher, therapeutic doses (6-9g daily), we weigh up whether cinnamon is appropriate for certain individuals at certain times, like pregnancy and some types of bleeding. As Chinese Medicine always treats the individual and we are all unique, for some women, cinnamon can be highly beneficial at certain points in a pregnancy – and much less so for others. If in doubt, please check with your own practitioner and always listen to your own body.
We say that cinnamon can heat or warm the Blood, which is often a desirable outcome. But sometimes it can lead to a bit more bleeding, for example – as in haemorrhoids, or heavy periods caused by Blood Heat. Again, it may be beneficial for some in this situation, and not so for others, so please check with your own practitioner if you are not sure.
This cinnamon and ginger herbal tea is best for early-stage colds, with the symptoms shared at the beginning of this post. For progressed colds, with sore throat, phlegm, congestion, etc. other herbs are required. I share more on food therapy and DIY herbal medicine in the Radiant Energy Reset.
Want more simple, powerful health wisdom like this?
There are so many additional habits, tips & rituals we can incorporate daily to support our Yang and our Qi, Being charged up with abundant Qi and Yang helps our meridians keep out Cold and Wind. And if we do get Cold symptoms, the more Qi and Yang we have, the quicker we recover.
In Chinese Medicine, our focus is on preventative health and staying well. We sum this up in the advice,”“don’t wait until you’re thirsty to dig a well” . This is why I created the Radiant Energy Reset: a self-paced journey of time-tested wisdom that guides you in nourishing YOU deeply. A real solution for those ready to ditch the fads & feel clear, energised and in control again. Backed by ancient wisdom, not wellness trends.
