Hey ya'll, many of you are getting sick and being hit hard with nausea, vomiting and the crud, so I thought it'd be quicker to share this publicly in one go rather than answering everyone individually.
For the nausea
What you'll need:
- A thumb of fresh ginger
- Dried tangerine peel (chen pi), about a small handful. Any Asian market has it, or you can order it online.
- A little licorice root if you have it. It's optional.
Ginger and Tangerine Peel Tea: slice the ginger into 3 to 5 coins and put them in a pot with the tangerine peel (and the licorice, if you're using it) and 2 cups of water. Cover it, bring it to a simmer and let it go 10 to 15 minutes. Sip it warm, 2 to 3 cups through the day. If you'd rather grab something ready-made, look for Huo Xiang Zheng Qi pills. Get the pills, not the liquid, because the liquid has alcohol in it.
For building your defenses back up
What you'll need:
- Astragalus root (huang qi), about a palmful of slices
Astragalus Tea: simmer the slices in a few cups of water for 20 to 30 minutes and drink a cup a day. The classic formula for this is Yu Ping Feng San, which comes as pills you take by the label for a few weeks. One important thing: use these between illnesses, not while you've got a fever or an active cold. Get well first, then build back up.
A few cautions, because I care about you:
- If you're pregnant, stick to plain ginger tea, and only with your doctor's okay.
- Skip the licorice if you have high blood pressure or heart or kidney trouble.
- Skip the astragalus if you're on immune-suppressing meds.
- If you can't keep fluids down for more than a day, go see a doctor.
Brands I trust are Plum Flower, Kan and Evergreen.
Now, I'm not a Chinese medicine doctor. If you don't know me, I'm just a random Kung Fu Sifu, so don't take my words as instructions or advice. I'm just bringing awareness that these home remedies exist, so you can do your own research and decide whether they're good for you or not.
Take care of yourselves, rest up, and I'll see you back on the mat.
-Sifu Michael Johnson