EnglishRead our weekly traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) columns in the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Getting up close and personal can be embarrassing if you have halitosis – more commonly known as bad breath. It’s usually a transient condition caused by poor oral hygiene. If you don’t clean your mouth properly, dead cells and food debris get caught in various cavities. But if you continually…
MoreTonsillitis is a common cause of sore throats. The tonsils are important immune glands. Normally, they fight germs entering the body though the mouth and nose, but sometimes they’re overwhelmed by a bacterial or viral infection and inflammation results. Symptoms include a sore throat, difficulty in swallowing, headache, fever, enlarged…
MoreSummer’s here – and so is excessive perspiration, insomnia, sunburn and heat rash. Here are some traditional Chinese medicine tips for keeping your body in good shape during the often exhausting humid season. According to TCM, summer is synonymous with the fire element. Excess heat is seen as injurious to…
MoreGreen tea is a medicinal herb many people drink to improve their health and protect themselves against chronic disease. A number of pharmacological studies have shown that a unique set of catechins (polyphenolic antioxidant plant metabolites) in green tea helps the body fight disease. According to traditional Chinese medicine, tea…
MoreHypertension is a silent killer that can cause serious damage to the heart, brain, kidneys and eyes. In most cases, the condition is discovered during a routine checkup. From a traditional Chinese medicine perspective, hypertension or high blood pressure usually originated from overstimulated emotions, poor diet and internal weakness. These…
MoreDetoxification is a buzzword, these days. Many people visit spas or go on special diets after overindulging. Traditional Chinese medicine promotes moderation in all things, but for most of us this is hard to live up to. Ridding the body of harmful substances is a continual and natural process. In…
MoreSemen coicis is the dried seed of the yello-brown-shelled coix lacruma-jobi, which is harvested every autumn in Fujian, Hebei and Liaoning provinces. Used as a herb or as food, the seed tastes sweet and is slightly cool in nature, properties that help strengthen the spleen and resolve imbalances, including dampness…
MoreDuring middle age, physical deterioration becomes obvious. We don’t have as much get-up-and-go as before, our hair turns gray and we gain weight. These changes often males us realise that we can no longer ignore our bodies. Traditional Chinese medicine tries to delay physical aging from a functional aspect. According…
MoreIn traditional Chinese medicine, mental activities and the emotions are referred to as shen (spirit) and are closely connected to the functions of the internal organs. As we age, physical deterioration leads to mental weakness, causing poor memory, slow response rates, fatigue, insomnia and abnormal behaviour. TCM holds that shen…
MoreAlthough we can’t avoid getting older, traditional Chinese medicine’s holistic approach to health and well-being aims to maintain the body and prevent premature ageing. Keeping the skin young with TCM involves replenishing blood and activating its circulation and nourishing yin for lubrication. The spleen provides the source of blood and…
MoreBecause cold symptoms vary from person to person they need to be treated differently. For example. Those with aches, chills, a mild fever, running nose, sneezing and a cough are usually treated with pungent herbs with warm properties. Perilla leaf, schizonepeta herb, ephedra and cassia twig can help the body…
MoreRhodiola is a plant found at high altitudes in mountainous regions around the world. It’s used in traditional Chinese medicine to stimulate the nervous system, enhancing work and exercise performance, eliminating fatigue and preventing altitude sickness. The early Qing emperors. particularly Kangxi (1662-1722), ordered his army to take the herb…
MoreWith Hong Kong now largely a smoke-free zone, those struggling to kick the nicotine habit may well be looking for help. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) takes a holistic approach, first tackling the damage caused by tobacco tar accumulating along the airway passages, which inhibits the secretion glands’ ability to self-clean…
MoreA traditional Chinese medicine practitioner always asks about bowel habits, in the belief that movements correlate with the conditions of the organs and the state of the body’s health. They may also give an early warning of disease. Healthy people are able to defecate once or twice a day without…
MoreSinusitis usually starts with a cold due to a change in the weather, or an allergy that causes inflammation of the para-nasal sinuses. It can include a stuffy nose, nasal discharge, diminished sense of smell, headache, sore throat and pressure around the cheeks, eyes and forehead. Lily-flower magnolia, also known…
MoreFor many people, winter means respiratory trouble. Nasal itching, constant sneezing, a runny nose and watery, itchy eyes may develop within minutes after breathing in allergens. Instead of avoiding the allergic triggers or simply seeking symptomatic relief, traditional Chinese treatment of allergic rhinitis focuses on the internal weakness that causes…
MoreDepression involves the body, mood and thoughts. It affects the way you eat and sleep, how you fell about yourself and what you think about. Besides the mental disturbances, associated physical complaints may include headache, dizziness, weakness, palpitations, shortness of breath, poor appetite, sweating, ear-ringing and a dry mouth. Generally…
MoreCommonly called a yeast infection or thrush, candidiasis is a fungal infection that commonly affects women. Although traditional Chinese medicine doesn’t have a diagnosis of candidiasis, it comes under the categories of genital itching and leukorrhoea. Since yeast thrives in damp conditions. It follow that accumulation of dampness leads to…
MoreMistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows on hardwood trees such as oak and apple. There are two kinds of mistletoe. The one commonly used for Christmas decorations is originally from the US and the other is of European origin. The liquid extract of European mistletoe has been used as…
MoreWe all know pain is a warning that something is wrong with the body’s working. However, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners don’t focus only on the pain. They also identify the accompanying signs. Two fundamental concepts of TCM are involved in pain – the meridian system and chi. Chi is…
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