April 6, 2008
All of us know that one of the best ways to maintain health and energy is to focus on a nutritious diet. But what happens when things go wrong, when despite our best efforts to eat well we get sick or have symptoms cropping up on us? Luckily, Chinese medicine provides food cures that relate to specific symptoms. Here are a few of our favorites –
For a nagging earache, put a few drops of garlic juice in the ear several times a day.
Eyes
For pink eye or eyes that feel hot or burning, apply cucumber slices directly to closed eyes. Leave the cucumbers on the eyes for 15 minutes. You also want to heal from within the body by taking an internal tea or juice. Chrysanthemum tea benefits the eyes, as would a tea made from the water of boiled broccoli and carrot. Tea or juice from dandelion greens is another great option.
Toothache
For a toothache place a clove above or below the affected tooth and the gum until the pain is relieved.
Skin
For bad sunburns, grate a daikon radish and apply directly to burned area. Watermelon rind (the white part that remains below what you’ve eaten) is also healing when applied topically to sunburns. Either one of these remedies can be done with or without aloe vera gel.
For poisonous bites, apply fresh eggplant to the affected area to absorb toxins.
For eczema, skin lesions, and fungus conditions, boil fresh raspberries to a concentrate and apply to the affected area.
Cherries are beneficial to eat as a general tonic for the skin.
Cough
A general remedy for coughs is to core an Asian pear and steam it. Eat some steamed pear 3-4 times daily. Steamed Asian pear stops cough, dissolves mucus and lubricates the lungs.
For a very phlegmy cough, cook an orange and eat it. For a cough with yellow phlegm, drink a small amount of apple juice every 1-2 hours. For a cough with clear or white mucus, drink ginger tea.
For a dry cough, roast a banana and eat it. Fresh peaches are also beneficial for a dry cough. Another great remedy is to grind walnuts and pine nuts, add honey, and slowly cook over low flame until thick. Take 2 teaspoons with warm water.
Digestion
For stomach or abdominal pain, drink tea made from dried ginger and cloves, or squeeze juice from fresh ginger into some water and sip slowly.
For constipation, make a salad with any or all of the following ingredients: cabbage, raw cauliflower, beets, apple, walnuts, flax seeds
For indigestion, boil some carrots in water, drink the carrot water as a tea with a teaspoon of brown sugar.
For chronic diarrhea, steam green beans and eat together with rice. Millet is another great grain to relieve diarrhea
To stop vomiting, mix a cooked bulb of garlic with a teaspoon of honey in water.
Sore Throat
For a sore throat that feels hot or swollen, drink peppermint tea. For a sore throat with a cold and runny nose, choose ginger tea.
Menses
For menstrual pain and bloating, drink warm cinnamon tea.
You write very well.