Strengthening Your Immunity

Presented by: Lauren Harrington

Essential Medicinal Herbs to Keep in Your Kitchen

  • Sheng Jiang (Ginger)
  • Cong Bai (Scallion)
  • Huang Qi (Astragalus)
  • Ren Shen (Ginseng)
  • Chen Pi (Dried Tangerine Peel)
  • Local Raw Honey

 

Sheng Jiang:

 

ginger

  • English: Ginger
  • Properties: warm and acrid
  • Enters: Lung, Spleen, Stomach
  • Actions: releases exterior and disperses cold, warms the middle burner, warms lungs and stops cough.

 

 

Cong Bai

scallion

  • English: Scallion
  • Properties: Acrid, warm
  • Enters: Lung, stomach
  • Actions: releases exterior and induces sweating* for externally contracted wind-cold, especially at the early stages.

*Why is sweating important?

When pathogens enter the body, the best thing to do is keep the pores open so that the pathogen does not get trapped in the body and transform into the cold or flu.

 

Huang Qi

  • English: Astragalus Root
  • Properties: Sweet, Slightly
    warm
  • Actions: Tonifies* Qi and blood, tonifies spleen and raises the yang, augments the protective qi and stabilizes the exterior, and tonifies the lungs.
  • This one is best used strictly as preventative, if any signs of cold or flu present themselves, refrain from using as it may strengthen the pathogen.

 

Ren Shenginseng

  • English: Ginseng Root
  • Properties: Sweet, Slightly Bitter, Slightly Warm
  • Actions: Powerfully tonifies the primal Qi, strengthens the spleen and tonifies the stomach, tonifies the lungs and augments the qi, benefits the heart, generates blood, encourages blood flow.

 

Da Zao 

  • English: Jujube, Chinese Date
  • Properties: sweet and warm
  • Actions: tonifies Qi and blood, generates fluids, harmonizes the spleen, and calms the spirit.
  • Ancient text says, “it is so sweet that it tonifies the middle, warm so that it augments the qi. When spleen and stomach are tonified, the 12 channels are unblocked naturally, the nine orifices are facilitated, and the four extremities are harmonized. When the normal qi is sufficient, the spirit is quiet.”

 

Chen Pitangerine and peel

  • English: aged tangerine peel
  • Properties: acrid, bitter, warm, aromatic
  • Actions: promotes the flow of Qi, dries dampness and transforms phlegm, helps prevent stagnation.

*Making your own is easy! Next time you finish a bag of cuties (preferably organic), dry out their peels in a sunny window sill, then add them to a mug of hot water to create a Chen Pi tea! remember: stagnation equals disease – so we must keep the qi moving.

 

Local Raw Honey

  • Local honey is beneficial to keep on hand because it contains components of pollens most common in your area. This helps prevent allergies upon the changing of seasons which in turn keeps the immune system strong.

Chinese Herbal Formula for Protection

Yu Ping Feng San: Jade Windscreen Powder

Ingredients:

  • Mi Zi Huang Qi (honey-fried Huang Qi) 60g
  • Bai Zhu (Atractylodis macrocephalae Rhizoma) 60g
  • Fang Feng (Saposhnikoviae Radix) 30g

Boost Your Immunity By:

  • Eating Healthy
  • Getting Outside
  • Exercise
  • Avoid Ice
  • Wash Hands
  • Incorporate the above-mentioned teas and herbs into teas and cooking
  • Keep Yu Ping Feng San on hand