The Star:
What kind of TCM diet therapy or treatment can help people improve their immunity and enhance the cardiopulmonary function to fight against the virus? Thank you.
Huang Luqi:
Thank you for your question. I know that traditional Chinese medicine is quite popular in Malaysia. People there have a good knowledge of TCM. So, I would like to quote two sentences from the Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di Nei Jing), an ancient TCM document, to answer your question:
The first sentence is "Shang Gong Zhi Wei Bing", which means that the best doctors perform preventive treatment. Preventive measures are highly valued in TCM. In the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, preventive measures have also played an important part. In accordance with the requirements of the health commission of Hubei province, medical workers working at the Fangcang shelter hospitals were provided with preventive prescriptions taken in the form of both medicine and food, and none of them have been infected so far.
The other sentence is "Bu Xiang Ran Zhe, Zheng Qi Cun Nei, Xie Qi Ke Gan, Bi Qi Du Qi". This theory emphasizes the improvement of bodily resistance, which can be achieved through physical exercises of TCM features such as taichi and baduanjin, or by taking TCM products serving as both medicine and food. Health-building diets, taken according to TCM theories, are effective in building immunity to realize the goal of improving bodily resistance and eliminating pathogenic factors. The theory also emphasizes the importance of warding off epidemic diseases, which can be achieved by home isolation and disinfection of the living environment.
TCM theories also hold that mental health is important to improving bodily resistance. This means that, during an outbreak, we should pay more attention to balancing work and rest, harmonizing form and spirit, and keep a sound mental attitude, so we will not be susceptible to the attacks of epidemic diseases. Thank you.
