【Common Cold】A Modern Dietary Therapy Approach: When Righteous Qi Is Present Within, Pathogens Cannot Invade
Food-Medicine Substances
Goji Berry (Gouqizi / Lycium barbarum): Used for consumptive depletion with essence deficiency, soreness and weakness of the lower back and knees, dizziness and tinnitus, impotence and seminal emission, internal heat with wasting-thirst, blood deficiency with sallow complexion, and blurred vision. It is moistening and nourishing, and can also reduce fever—a superior herb for benefiting yin and eliminating heat. The Bencao Huiyan (Collected Statements on Materia Medica) records that it "can fill qi, can supplement blood, can generate yang, can grow yin, and can descend fire." Modern research shows that Lycium barbarum polysaccharides in goji berry have the effect of enhancing human immunity. Goji berry water decoction can promote hematopoietic function and increase the number of white blood cells. In addition, goji berry also has antibacterial, anti-mutagenic, blood-lipid and blood-sugar regulating, liver-protecting, anti-aging, hypoxia-tolerance, and endocrine-hormone-regulating effects.
Jujube / Red Date (Dazao / Ziziphus jujuba): It has the effects of supplementing the center and boosting qi, fortifying the spleen and harmonizing the stomach, and nourishing blood and calming the spirit. It is used for spleen-stomach weakness, qi deficiency with blood scarcity, lassitude and fatigue, palpitations and insomnia, and so on. Modern research shows that jujube has a relatively high polysaccharide content, with a pronounced immune-stimulating effect. It can raise the thymus index, enhance the phagocytic capacity of macrophages, and promote lymphocyte transformation. As the dose of jujube polysaccharide increases, the number of lymphocytes in the splenic nodules gradually rises, and the marginal zone gradually thickens. Jujube promotes bone marrow hematopoiesis by improving hematopoietic system function and the energy metabolism of red blood cells, thereby exerting a blood-supplementing effect. In addition, jujube also has effects of repairing liver damage, improving intestinal function, anti-depression, anti-fatigue, anti-tumor, anti-mutation, and anti-lipid peroxidation.
Houttuynia (Yuxingcao / Houttuynia cordata): Clears heat and resolves toxins, clears carbuncles and expels pus, promotes diuresis and relieves strangury. It is used for lung abscess with pus expectoration, phlegm-heat wheezing and cough, heat dysentery, heat strangury, and carbuncles, swellings and sores. Houttuynia can enhance the capacity of mononuclear macrophages and increase T-lymphocyte proliferation, regulating immune function; it is used to treat wind-heat common cold, influenza, and post-cold cough. In addition, Houttuynia has inhibitory and inactivating effects on common cold viruses (such as respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus, and adenovirus); its mechanism of action is to kill enveloped viruses by interfering with the viral envelope.
Kudzu Root (Gegen / Pueraria lobata): Releases the muscles and reduces fever, generates fluids and quenches thirst, promotes eruption of rashes, raises yang and stops diarrhea, unblocks the meridians and activates the collaterals, and resolves alcohol toxicity. It is used for external-contraction fever with headache, stiffness and pain in the nape and back, thirst, wasting-thirst, measles failing to erupt, heat dysentery, diarrhea, dizziness and headache, stroke with hemiplegia, chest impediment with heart pain, and alcohol toxicity damaging the center. Modern research shows that kudzu root has antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-arrhythmic effects, and improves circulatory function; it also has liver-protecting, kidney-function-improving, anti-osteoporosis, antioxidant, anti-tumor, blood-lipid-regulating, estrogen-level-increasing, and sobering effects.
Chrysanthemum (Juhua / Chrysanthemum morifolium): Disperses wind and clears heat, pacifies the liver and brightens the eyes, clears heat and resolves toxins. It is used for wind-heat common cold, headache and dizziness, red swollen painful eyes, blurred vision, and sores, carbuncles, swellings and toxins. Modern research shows that chrysanthemum water extract has certain antipyretic and analgesic effects; its volatile oil inhibits various pathogenic bacteria, viruses and microorganisms. Chrysanthemum polysaccharides and chlorogenic acid can regulate the secretion of TNF-α and γ-IFN by intestinal lymphocytes, giving it an immunomodulatory function. It is also commonly used clinically to relieve symptoms such as fever, headache and sore throat in common cold, upper respiratory tract infection, pharyngitis and tonsillitis.
Summary
The common cold is commonly known as "shangfeng" (harmed by wind). In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the common cold arises from insufficiency of the body's righteous qi, disharmony of the defensive exterior, and invasion by the six external pathogens—primarily wind pathogen. Because wind pathogen generally does not cause disease on its own but is often mixed with cold, summerheat, dampness, dryness and fire, the specific manifestations often differ greatly. Therefore, when relieving cold symptoms, one should proceed from the whole, focusing mainly on dispelling the pathogenic evil and supporting righteous qi.
Goji berry and jujube can both boost qi and nourish blood, nourish and supplement the liver and kidney, fortify the spleen and harmonize the stomach, and also enhance human immunity. Houttuynia and chrysanthemum clear heat and resolve toxins, and disperse wind pathogen. Kudzu root releases the muscles and reduces fever, generates fluids and quenches thirst, and unblocks the meridians and activates the collaterals. Used together, these food-medicine substances are acrid and sweet to generate yang, supplement the center and boost qi, jointly achieving the effects of dispelling evil and supporting righteous qi, releasing the muscles and the exterior, and harmonizing the nutrient and defensive levels (ying and wei).
Nutritional Fortification and Single Functional Factors
For cold patients, it is not only necessary to rely on TCM food-medicine substances to relieve cold symptoms; supplementing essential nutritional components is also key to relieving symptoms and promoting recovery from the cold. Adequate nutritional components can not only provide the nutrition and energy supply the patient needs in a disease state, but can also enhance the body's immunity and reduce the frequent occurrence of colds.
Vitamin C: Can strengthen resistance, fight infection, prevent colds, and lessen cold symptoms. Vitamin C can spontaneously destroy histamine, helping to prevent asthma attacks and relieve respiratory infection symptoms. Vitamin C supplementation can increase the activity of neutrophils and lower infection rates; it can also increase NK cell activity, thereby enhancing immune surveillance function.
Yeast Beta-Glucan: Yeast beta-glucan is a polysaccharide found in yeast cell walls that has immunity-enhancing activity. It can rapidly activate the body's own immune surveillance and recognition mechanisms, strengthen the fighting capacity of the immune system, bring the body's immune system to an optimal state of balance, and improve the body's ability to resist viral and bacterial infections. It improves intestinal function, effectively adjusting the microecology of the digestive tract in the body, promoting the proliferation of beneficial bacteria in the gut and the excretion of harmful substances from the intestines. In addition, yeast beta-glucan also has effects of improving blood lipids, antioxidant activity, and anti-radiation.
Garlic Powder: Rich in allicin, it has a relatively strong broad-spectrum antibacterial effect—for example, it has varying degrees of inhibitory and killing effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Helicobacter pylori, influenza B virus, and so on. It enhances immune function and is anti-inflammatory, and can reduce the risk of common cold and influenza. In addition, garlic also has antioxidant effects, regulates blood pressure and blood lipids, and improves atherosclerosis.
Summary
The medicinal food we have designed for people with colds follows the physiological needs of this population, combining three parts—food-medicine substances, nutrition, and the enhanced potentiation of single functional factors—to supplement the center and boost qi in order to support righteous qi, dispel evil and release the muscles, and harmonize the nutrient and defensive levels. While improving cold symptoms, it raises disease resistance and strengthens immune function, lowers the risk of complications caused by colds such as pulmonary infection and fever, and reduces the repeated occurrence and protracted non-healing of colds.
Gentle Reminders
Best consumed at the initial stage of a cold;
Suitable for people with low immunity during cold-prone seasons;
Also helpful for people with allergic rhinitis;
For those with poor gastrointestinal function, it is recommended to take it together with bioactive peptides / compound probiotics for better improvement.