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Colds are one of the most common ailments. Both adults and children can catch a cold, and over the years, whether we catch a cold ourselves or care for elderly family members and children, we have certainly experienced it many times.In the midst of repeated colds, if treated under the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), you will find that although colds are uncomfortable, causing a runny nose, sore throat, back pain, headache, etc., once the cold is resolved, the body feels lighter, sleep is deeper, and taste improves, making everything taste sweeter.It turns out that colds help the body return to a normal state.If we observe the healthier and more straightforward people around us, they have their own ways of dealing with colds. For example, my father’s method is to warm his body while taking a bath; my TCM teacher uses herbal paste to rub his entire back. A friend living in the mountains uses a fragrant and spicy tree seed, crushed and boiled to drink.Warming the meridians, back, and stomach is also a TCM application. There are many methods in TCM to deal with colds, including soups, foot baths, gua sha, cupping, etc. Sweating is also very effective for colds caused purely by cold exposure without fever.However, the colds we encounter in real life are often not purely caused by cold, but are of the mixed cold and heat type. In addition to the classic cold symptoms—runny nose, sneezing, feeling cold or not feeling cold, dizziness, headache, etc.—there are also heat symptoms: yellow, thick nasal discharge, red and swollen sore throat, red lips, yellow urine, cough with sticky yellow phlegm, red spots on the tongue tip, hard and dry stools, etc.
Children are more prone to fever with mixed cold and heat colds. When caring for them at home, it can be difficult to determine whether there is more cold or heat, making medication challenging. Children are already uncomfortable with colds, and they may not cooperate with medication or pediatric massage.This time, we recommend a dietary therapy for this type of cold—Gui Zhen Cao (Eclipta prostrata) Sweet Potato Soup. It tastes fragrant, has no medicinal flavor, is sweet, and contains soft sweet potatoes, which most children love to eat. Boiling Gui Zhen Cao for colds is one of the common herbal remedies used by the Hakka people in Lingnan.
(Gui Zhen Cao)Gui Zhen Cao, also known as Yi Bao Zhen among the Hakka, is also called Po Po Zhen or Nian Niang Zi. The “Bencao Shiyi” states: “The seeds resemble hairpins, sticking to clothing like needles; northern people call it Gui Zhen, while southern people call it Gui Chai.” It is bitter in taste and slightly cold in nature. It enters the liver, lung, and large intestine meridians, dispels wind, eliminates dampness, clears heat, detoxifies, invigorates blood, and reduces swelling. It is indicated for upper respiratory infections, sore throat, gastroenteritis, rheumatic joint pain, etc.Gui Zhen Cao enters the liver meridian, treating liver detoxification dysfunction diseases such as jaundice and carbuncle swelling; it enters the lung meridian, treating colds and sore throats; it enters the large intestine meridian, treating diseases governed by the large intestine, such as diarrhea and dysentery; when used externally, it can also treat snake bites and traumatic injuries. In simple terms, it is a very useful herb.Gui Zhen Cao is an annual herb of the Asteraceae family, and the whole plant is used medicinally. The best harvesting time is during the summer and autumn flowering period, collecting the above-ground parts for fresh or dried use. It grows in most regions of China and is not picky about soil, thriving in village edges, roadside, and wasteland.When I was young, I disliked it because its thorns would stick to my skirt and pants. Adults would scold me while washing clothes, asking where I had been running around to get so many Yi Bao Zhen stuck on me.Every summer, my father would pick the best patch of Gui Zhen Cao by the roadside, pull it up, dry it, bundle it, and store it for use throughout the year. We use dried Gui Zhen Cao at home; if fresh, it has a grassy smell that the children do not like.Gui Zhen Cao Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients: A small handful of Gui Zhen Cao, half a pound of sweet potato, 50g of red dates, 2 slices of ginger, and an appropriate amount of brown sugar.Method: Wash all ingredients, place them in water, and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes after the water boils. Once the sweet potato is soft, add brown sugar.This sweet soup recipe can also be seen as a variant of red date ginger water. Choose sweet potatoes that are dense and sweet. Sweet potatoes have the effects of tonifying deficiency, boosting energy, strengthening the spleen and stomach, and enhancing kidney yang, making them very suitable for consumption during a cold. Ginger is pungent and warm, dispersing cold and warming the middle, stopping vomiting. If adults consume it, more ginger can be added; the two slices are to consider that children do not like spicy flavors, so less is used. Red dates and brown sugar are both sweet and warm, providing ample sugar to enhance the operation of the middle jiao.These ingredients, combined with the heat-clearing, detoxifying, and wind-dispelling properties of Gui Zhen Cao, create a very good soup remedy for expelling external cold and resolving internal heat.Colds are not only caused by external wind evil but are also greatly related to the body’s original energy state. For example, those with a weak middle jiao often experience sore throats and loss of appetite when catching a cold, while those with a weak lower jiao may experience lower back pain and difficulty recovering completely from a cold.Gui Zhen Cao Sweet Potato Soup is classified as dietary therapy, very mild, and suitable for those with weak middle or lower jiao to consume during a cold, which can quickly strengthen the energy of the middle jiao, and once the middle jiao operates vigorously, the cold will also resolve more quickly.If there is a lot of clear nasal discharge, indicating more cold, you can add Zi Su (Perilla) to it; if there is also a cough, you can add a bit of Chen Pi (Dried Tangerine Peel). These adjustments are all acceptable. Colds are so common; let us use the herbs and ingredients around us to heal ourselves.Scan the QR codeto receive a free video on how to make Gui Zhen Cao Sweet Potato Soup
Written by | Liu JiaEdited by | Xiao YaIllustration | Mo Li Hong & Shi LinAuthor Bio: Liu Jia, a 1980s Aries, a resolute and courageous deputy chief pharmacist, mother of two children, a volunteer in the Yang Dad intermediate class, and a certified TCM parenting lecturer. She is skilled at telling TCM stories.Related ReadingProtecting Yang in Early Summer | Mixed Grain PorridgeFor children with damp-heat, try this wild vegetable to clear and unblock
