Winter is upon us! Oh the dreaded winter.... I am missing my summertime for sure.
The worst thing about this time of year is the rampant colds, flu and COVID going around. Our Lung Qi is challeged, which diminishes our Defensive Qi. This is the part that fights invasion of pathogens. You can help this by eating a diet which is recommended by Traditional Chinese Medicine. Eat a wide array of foods and herbs that can support Lung qi.
General Guidelines: Eat primarily cooked food. **Restrict mucus producing foods like dairy!
Vegetables: Carrots, Pumpkin, Winter Squash, Watercress, Yam, Sweet Potatoes
Fruits: Apple, Cherry, Date, Fig, Grape, Mulberry, Peach, Umeboshi plum
Use some of these vegetables to make stews and soups. Throw some bone broth in the pot too.
It is recommended to take supplements such as Vitamin D (5000 IU), Vitamin C (500 mg), zinc (100mg), and elderberry (not in pregnant women). Levels of these, when at an optimal level in the body, can strengthen immune system and help to prevent and/or shorten the duration in the case of infection.
Vitamin D levels should be checked by your primary care physician. We are all deficient in Vitamin D, especially in the winter months with a general lack of sunlight time. I am a big fan of liquid vitamin D. OrthoMolecular Products makes a liquid Vitamin D/Vitamin K2 potion which is easily absorbed. It should be taken with a fatty meal. Vitamin K2 prevents calcium from being abnormally deposited along the arteries of the body and instead redirects calcium to the bones where we are hoping to keep and strengthen with calcium. Vitamin K is deficient if we take cholesterol meds, antibiotics, low fiber diets, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and liver disease that interferes with Vitamin K storage.
One of my most favorite products to use is called Xlear Nasal Spray. It utilizes the power of xylitol, derived from the cranberry, to create a barrier in the nasal mucus membranes. This barrier prevents pathogenic cells, which can be exhaled from other people in close proximity to us, from adhering to our mucus membranes. It also works during pollen season when tree spores (or tree-sperm as my daughter refers to it) are all ever-present in the air.
And let's not forget just plain handwashing practices! Use the 20-second rule for good, effective handwashing practice.
Stay healthy!
More soon, Kathy
Kathy Martin
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