Professor Wong Tin-Chee suggested: Listen to the Body's Signals - Applying Traditional Chinese Medical Science in Fighting COVID-19

HONG KONG,April 28,2020 -- While there still have been no clear signs to see the end of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19),some people are turning to traditional Chinese medical science to protect themselves in the fight against the disease. Professor Tin-Chee Wong,founder of Herbalgy Pharmaceutical Ltd.,registered Chinese medicine practitioner and founder of CMCCL,leads that trend in Hong Kong,urging the public to pay attention to signals from their bodies and take precautionary actions whenever necessary to stay healthy under the ongoing pandemic.

Listen to the body's signals and take preventive measures

To care about the body before it falls sick and take preventive measures is a key and ancient idea in traditional Chinese medical science. "Literally,we call the concept 'to cure prior to sickness' and so it's preventive in nature,after all. In general,good living habits should be observed where people should go to bed and get up early,maintain a good and healthy diet,exercise regularly,stay cheerful mentally and pay attention to personal hygiene. On the diet,they should eat less deep-fried food and cold drinks. Of course,there should be no smoking or alcohol," said Professor Wong.

In the human body,there are mucous membranes in the mouth,nose and ears and Professor Wong sees them both as the first line of defense and important health indicators of the body. It is believed in Chinese medicine that the mouth,nose and ears are closely connected to key organs inside the body and if something goes wrong,it could imply more serious problems in the organs or even the entire circulation system.

When unwanted signals such as feeling dry or having a taste of bitterness start to show up at the mouth,for instance,it means that the quality of the body's health has deteriorated and so some serious attention is required. The worst a person can do is to simply ignore such warning signals arising from the mucous membranes in the mouth,nose and ears. For the mouth and nose,an effective quick fix is to rinse them with salt water as it kills bacteria. "The mouth,nose and ears are exposed so it's quite unavoidable for them to have bacteria. So far as the bacteria do not get into the blood,a person should be able to stay healthy. In addition to rinsing with salt water,people can also massage the nose as it can stimulate blood circulation that keeps the nose mucous membrane moist," advised Professor Wong.

Chinese medicine practitioners pay extra attention to living habits and Professor Wong is no exception. Sleep quality matters and it is more likely that notall people can stay healthy if they have deep sleep in the first 90 minutes. During a deep sleep,the body carries out hematopoiesis that is going to benefit the body in many ways. If a person cannot get a good deep sleep in the long run,the organs will be adversely affected in one way or another.

Working wonders on children with physical disabilities

Professor Wong's family has a long Chinese medicine tradition and he has inherited a sizeable Chinese medicated oil business from his father Wong To Yick who pioneered in the field. With the business now running in excellent shape,Professor Wong has dedicated himself to the famous 'Angel Mission' charity project where he and fellow Chinese medicine practitioners provide voluntary rehabilitative medical services to children up to the age of 28 who suffer physical disabilities resulting from encephalopathy. They apply massage and acupuncture to help the children to regain power in their muscles and provide training to parents so they can take care of their children at home. The results have been promising in many cases.

"A 24-year old lady patient came to me several months ago and she had never walked in her life. She couldn't stand upright and her feet felt unbelievably cold at 27 degree Celsius back then. I gave her massage and acupuncture and after a week she was able to stand upright. Now she's learning to walk and her feet are at normal body temperature at last. The last time I heard from her,her family members told me she could walk up to six steps holding a rail," said Professor Wong,full of joy.

Food intake needs attention

Oral temperature plays a key role in maintaining the health of the mucous membrane in the mouth and a sudden change in temperature can damage the membrane. That justifies Professor Wong's strong advice against taking iced drinks. Spicy food such as chili pepper should also be avoided as well as it can harm the mucous membrane in the intestines. Regarding food intake,Professor Wong has suggested the following two soup recipes that may help the body in the fight against the present pandemic.

A. Poria atractylodes winter melon barley soup

Materials:

700 grams of winter melon

30 grams of poria

50 grams of atractylodes

38 grams of raw and cooked barley

38 grams of soybeans

140 grams of cashew nuts

lA few slices of ginger

2.5 liters of water

An appropriate amount of salt

Preparation:

Wash all materials and cut the winter melon.

Boil water and put in all the materials.

After the water has boiled again,turn to low fire to boil for an hour. Add salt prior to serving.

Function:

This soup helps to clear heat and dampness from the body and to strengthen the spleen.

Caution:

People who have spleen and stomach problems,who are prone to diarrhea and abdominal pain,and pregnant women should avoid taking this soup.

B. Hericium erinaceus (monkey head mushroom) sea coconut soup

Materials:

One monkey head mushroom (about 30 grams)

Two apples

40 grams of sea coconut

15 grams of bitter apricot kernels

Two candied dates

Pork (around 30 HKD)

Three liters of water

Preparation:

Wash the pork,boil briefly and then set aside.

Rinse the monkey head mushroom,cut into smaller pieces and set aside.

Wash the sea coconuts and cut in halves,then set aside.

Boil water and put in the monkey head mushroom,apples,sea coconut,bitter apricot kernels and pork.

Cook with low fire for about 45 minutes. Add candied dates for extra flavors.

Function:

This soup helps to strengthen the stomach,nourish the kidney,clear heat from the body as well as coughing,and moisten the lungs.

Caution:

People who are allergic to fungus and who have heat in the body should not take this soup too often.

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