Wonder Woman Wei Qi Fighter

Lately, I've been feeling a little tickle. No, not that kind of tickle (I only wish), but the kind that lodges itself in the back of your throat. Left, right and centre, everyone around me is sneezing and coughing. I dodge to the right, then to the left, washing my hands at every opportunity, somehow believing that it's simply the germ that makes us sick. Deep down I know that this isn't true. In fact, I know it's my body's immunity or as the Chinese call it, my "Wei Qi" that's taking a hit. But how does our immune system suddenly decrease with the change of season? Surely it isn't simply dressing inappropriately and letting the cold in. Maybe in my scenario, it might just be my body trying to tell me to slow down and becoming more susceptible to allowing the cold to invade. Note to self, add sleep to checklist. In the meantime, is it possible to build up your very own Wonder Woman Wei Qi Fighter simply through food and lifestyle changes alone?

Absolutely.

While I sat back learning how to build my very own Wonder Woman Wei Qi Fighter (with a super hero tiara to boot thank you), Sarah, my roomie was becoming increasingly paranoid of getting sick herself. Soon enough she found herself making an appointment with none other than her $35 Taiwanese acupuncturist. Faced with an upcoming show that had her singing all of 3 different arias, Sarah poured out money on as many cold and flu supplements her body and wallet could muster. She had to be prepared to not only sound her best, but look her sexy best. After all, she is an opera singer. So there she was, knocking on the door of Dr. Lai, who she always swore could scare her colds away. As she walked into the middle room of his home, she recognized the faint smell of moth balls and the distant sounds of an Asian soap opera playing in the background. Dr. Lai's wife kindly asked her in a soft voice and a smile to lie down, mistakenly calling her "Martha" (her sister) and asked her to patiently wait for Dr. Lai. Thinking to correct Mrs. Lai, Sarah decided to close her eyes instead and pray to the Gods for health and strength for her upcoming show. With a loud clearing of his throat, Sarah's eyes flipped open like a doll and was greeted by none other than scary Dr. Lai.

Now before I continue, I must clarify that every acupuncturist is different and not all of them are like scary Dr. Lai. Japanese needling for example is done on the superficial level and doesn't require the patient to feel a strong Qi sensation like the Chinese. However, there are acupuncturists out there who use the Chinese philosophies of needling, but prefer to use finer needles that really doesn't hurt at all. So please don't let me detract you from a modality that I find truly remarkable on all levels. Why else would I be investing myself in it?

Once the needles were in, Sarah felt a wave of relaxation wash along her...despite the Asian soap operas wailing in the background. Finally when the treatment was over, and Dr. Lai removed all the needles, Sarah was able to get up slowly and noticed that Dr. Lai was using his oven to store his medical textbooks. She chuckled to herself and thought, "Hmm, a medical Taiwanese Carrie Bradshaw, how cute."

Back at the Estrogen Den I was continually thinking about my Wonder Woman Wei Qi and expelling whatever nasty little pathogen was trying to get me down. First, I decided to sleep more. What an improvement already. By going to sleep past 11pm, your body truly doesn't have the ability to rest and repair. Then there was food. Yes, I know, I eat well but this time, was when I needed to tailor it to my symptoms and use food once again as my therapy. As our bodies change, our food must adapt in accordance with it. Since my symptoms were 'cold' signs like a watery, sniffly nose and having aversions to cold (which is rare for this fiery girl!), I knew I had to add heat and sweat this little sucker out. Now ask anyone you know and just about everyone has their own magic recipe drink for fighting the cold...me included. Here is my version of sweating out the evil pathogen, that Traditional Chinese Medicine calls, "Cold".

SEXY HOT COLD KICKER

2 inches of organic FRESH (not dried) grated ginger
1 tbsp of raw unpastuerized honey
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup distilled hot water

Peel ginger with the tip of a spoon (it's much easier, let alone safer than using a peeler).
Grate ginger with a grater and add to cup. Pour in honey, cayenne pepper and hot water and give it a good stir.
I typically don't strain the ginger bits, because I love chewing on the little bits. Yum.

Now as you probably already know, ginger is a common cold remedy. I have been pretty specific here about using fresh ginger versus dry. Dry ginger simply adds heat to the body, whereas fresh adds heat but has the expansive quality needed to sweat out the cold. Cayenne just like ginger will also help you sweat, but to its benefit, it is one of the highest botanic sources of vitamin C available.

So after a hot bath, I cocooned myself in my not-so-sexy layered clothing and wrapped my hands around my favourite jumbo mug and began to sip slowly. Wincing at the heat and feeling myself become a furnance on high, I became the Sweaty Food Therapist...oh how attractive. At that point, I didn't care. I knew that the sooner you get the little bugger out, the better.

The next morning I felt like it was all behind me and I was able to free myself from my cocoon and fly back to my Sexy Therapeutic self.

So in the meantime, I'd like to leave you with some basic tips to tonify your Wei Qi (which again, is your immunity) and prevent you from getting sick to begin with. Stay away from the ginsengs, salty foods and animal products which can worsen the issue and lodge the pathogen deeper because of their strong inner-directing effect. However as a preventative, throw in some astragalus root into soups. A couple of sticks from your local health dispensary will help to give your soups and stews some immune boosting preventative power that your body will love you for.

Whether it's following my advice, creating your grandmother's concoction or even seeing someone like Dr. Lai, do whatever resonates and works best for you. So just as Sarah learned not to obsess and worry her immunity (or Wei Qi) into a slumber, I learned to get some more sleep and take a little better care of myself than I had been. It's just like my Chinese Medical Doctor would ask in her thick accent, "Whhhooo doooo you think you ahh Mayyyliiiisa? Soooopahh Wohhmahhn?"

No lady, that's Wonder Woman to you ;)