Effective cold remedies and foods

Perilla leaves, lemongrass, ginger, mint... can be used as simple but effective cold remedies.

According to Oriental medicine, the causes of colds are divided into 3 groups:

- External factors: Due to infection with 6 types of evil spirits, namely the six evils (wind, cold, dampness, dryness, fire) and epidemics, one becomes ill.

- Internal injuries: Due to emotional disturbances (joy, anger, sadness, grief, fear) that damage the function of internal organs or due to irregular eating and drinking, excessive sex that damages internal organs.

- Internal and external injuries: Due to falls, injuries, stabbings, animal bites, or heavy lifting, causing internal organs to be damaged and blood circulation to be disrupted.

There are three different levels of severity of the six external sexual desires:

- Mild infection, can be cured quickly or not, called "mao han", "mao han", "mao han", "mao han...).

- A slightly more severe infection, treated with medicine and proper nutrition, will quickly recover, called injury (typhoid, rheumatic fever, rabies, rheumatic fever...).

- Severe infection, evil spirits directly invade the meridians, collaterals, organs, and viscera causing illness, called infection (cold infection, wind infection, heat infection, dampness infection...).

Common colds are caused by wind combined with cold or heat, so they are called wind-cold colds and wind-heat colds.

Cold and flu (cold and flu))

- Symptoms: fever, chills, wind, headache, no sweating, stuffy nose, hoarse voice, runny nose, itchy cough, aching joints, no thirst, thin white tongue coating.

- Treatment: Disperses wind-cold, relieves the exterior and induces sweating (makes one sweat to reduce fever).

- Medicinal herbs: Use spicy, hot herbs to relieve symptoms such as ginger, garlic, onion, cinnamon, star anise, perilla, Vietnamese balm, angelica...

Commonly used remedies for colds

-Recipe 1: Perilla leaves (perilla leaves) 8-10g, cinnamon 6-8g, 3 slices of fresh ginger. Wash all three ingredients, cook with 300ml of water, boil for about 10 minutes. Drink at once, drink hot to sweat.

- Recipe 2: Perilla leaves 8-10g, Cyperus rotundus (Cyperus rotundus root) 6g, tangerine peel 4-6g, fresh ginger 3 slices. Boil and drink as above.

-Recipe 3: 10-12g shallots, 6-8g tangerine peel, 3 slices of fresh ginger. Boil and drink as above.

- Lesson 4: Cold porridge: Perilla leaves (fresh) 12-30g, purple onion (or shallot) 6-12g, fresh ginger 4-10g, 1 egg, rice 30-80g.

How to make: Wash and chop perilla leaves. Chop shallots and fresh ginger. Cook rice into porridge, then add egg yolk, beat well, add perilla, shallots, ginger and stir well. Season to taste. Serve hot, dry if sweaty, avoid drafts.

- Lesson 5:Lemon basil leaves (perilla) 12g, perilla leaves 12g, Vietnamese balm 10g, tangerine peel 6g, lemongrass 6g, 3 slices of ginger. Boil with 750ml of water until 400ml remains, divide into 2 doses to drink before meals. Drink warm to sweat.

- Recipe 6: Perilla leaves 10g, Cyperus rotundus (Cyperus rotundus) 8g, tangerine peel 6g, mugwort 6g, Chinese clematis leaves 6g, cinnamon 6g, 3 slices of fresh ginger. Boil and drink as above.

-Lesson 7: Steaming pot: Use 3-5 types of leaves with essential oils such as: lemon leaves, grapefruit leaves, perilla leaves, Vietnamese balm, mint, lemongrass leaves, perilla leaves (lemon basil), basil, five-fingered cat's claw, compassion, camphor, watercress (watercress)... Steam until sweating, dry, avoid drafty places.

Some foods to eat when you have a cold

-Lemongrass - ginger - honey water: Fresh lemongrass 10-30g, fresh ginger 8-20g, honey 10-30g.

How to make: Peel the lemongrass and ginger, wash them, crush them, mix with water to get 100-200ml of water. Put the lemongrass-ginger water in a pot with honey, mix well, simmer until boiling. Divide into 2-3 doses, drink warm, before meals.

-Ginger and sugar water (ginger and sugar water): Fresh ginger root 6-12g, cane sugar (or granulated sugar) 30-50g.

How to make: Peel the ginger, wash it, slice it thinly, or cut it into strips (or crush it). Mix the ginger with sugar, add enough water, and boil it. Drink it while it is still warm, then cover yourself with a blanket to sweat. Dry your body and keep it away from drafts. Drink once a day before meals. Drink continuously for 2-4 days.

Wind-heat cold (wind-heat cold)

- Symptoms: Fever, headache, little sweating, stuffy nose, no runny nose, red and painful throat, cough up yellow phlegm, thirst, red tongue, slightly yellow tongue coating.

- Treatment: Clears wind and heat, clears the lungs and relieves exterior (clears the airways and reduces fever).

- Medicinal herbs: Use spicy, cooling herbs (tan luong) to relieve the exterior (mint, basil, patchouli, bupleurum, chrysanthemum, kudzu, brown plant (cúc tần), bean sang (bean from the fence...).

Commonly used remedies for colds and heatstroke

- Recipe 1: Mint 8-10g, Vietnamese balm 8-12g, bamboo leaves 12g, licorice 12g, honeysuckle 12-16g, mulberry leaves 10-12g. Boil with 400ml of water, reduce to 200ml, drink 1-2 hours before meals.

- Recipe 2: Mint 8-10g, Chrysanthemum 12g, Kudzu 12g, Chrysanthemum 8-10g, Licorice 12g, Soybean 12g. Cook with 400ml of water, reduce to 200ml, drink 1-2 hours before meals.

- Recipe 3: 8g of perilla leaves, 12g of pennywort, 8g of mint, 12g of bamboo leaves, 8g of cogon root (or reed root), 12g of licorice, 12g of honeysuckle (or Xanthium). Cook with 400ml of water until 200ml remains, drink 1-2 hours before meals.

-Lesson 4: Use the Ngan Kieu San formula (book "On Benh Dieu Bien") including: Honeysuckle, Forsythia, Arctium lappa, and Fermented bean curd, each 8-12g, Platycodon grandiflorum and Bamboo leaves, each 6-12g, Perilla flower 4-6g, Licorice 2-4g. Boil with 600 ml of water until 300 ml remains, divide into 2 doses to drink before meals.

Or use one of the simple methods

- Burdock seed 12g, honeysuckle 12g, forsythia 8g, perilla 8g, mint 8g, licorice 2-4g. Boil and drink 1 dose per day.

- 12g burdock seed, 6g mint, 2-4g cicada shell, decoct and drink 1 dose per day.

- 24g burdock seed, 24g platycodon, 24g mint, 40g honeysuckle, 40g forsythia, 20g licorice, 20g fermented soybean protein, 16g perilla flower, 4g bamboo leaves.

Grind all ingredients into powder. Take 24g each time, steep in boiling water for about 3-5 minutes to drink. Drink 3-4 times a day (depending on the severity of the disease).

Foods to eat when having a cold

- Leek-celery soup: Wash 200g of chives, cut into 3cm pieces. Wash 100g of celery, cut into short pieces. Wash 100g of lean pork, drain, slice thinly, marinate with fish sauce + pepper + minced shallots.

Boil 1/2 liter of water, season to taste, add pork, bring to a boil again, then add chives and celery, stir well. The soup is done when it boils again. Ladle into a bowl and eat hot with rice.

-Stewed radish and carrot with pork ribs: 150g radish and carrot, wash, peel, cut into bite-sized pieces. 400g pork ribs, wash, cut into small pieces, put in cold water, boil, skim off foam, cover, simmer. When the ribs are almost tender, add carrots and radish, continue to cook until tender. Season with fish sauce, salt, sugar or MSG to taste. Add chopped green onions, stir well. Ladle soup into bowls and eat hot with meals.

-Chrysanthemum green soup with perch: Pick and clean 500g of perch, wash thoroughly, cut into short pieces. Choose a large perch weighing 300g, scale, remove intestines, wash, put on a grill, grill over charcoal until golden brown.

Boil water, add fish, boil for a while, take out, remove meat, marinate with fish sauce, pepper, onion, crushed ginger. Put bones and fish head in pot of water, boil again thoroughly, filter to get clear water. Boil water, add marinated fish, season to taste. Add in Chinese celery, stir well and turn off heat immediately so that the vegetables are just cooked, not mushy. Scoop into a bowl and eat hot with meal.

According to VnExpress - NT