If you suffer from dry skin, ask yourself, "How much coffee and tea am I drinking?" With colder days and nights, people drink more hot drinks in winter, and often these drinks are caffeinated. Caffeine is a diuretic, purging water from the body. It has a direct impact on the nervous system, upsetting both mood and sleep/wake cycles, and heightening feelings of stress.
Because sudden cessation of caffeine intake can cause severe headaches, I would recommend that you slowly taper back the amount of caffeine you consume, replacing it with frequent servings of warm water or ginger tea. If you feel like you are coming down with a cold or flu, try mint tea: boil some water and then steep fresh mint for 5-10 minutes. (Mint is readily available at local ethnic markets; organic mint is almost always for sale at area farmer's markets) If your throat feels scratchy, add some raw honey to the water once it has cooled down somewhat, as boiling water can neutralize some of the naturally-occurring antiviral and antibacterial compounds contained in honey.
Interested in incorporating Chinese Nutrition into your natural healing and acupuncture therapy?Schedule an appointment today to learn more about Chinese Nutrition. Email Acupuncturist Dana Boldt directly, or call her at 213-400-7700.
*The information contained in these pages is not intended to replace the advice of any medical doctor whose care you may be under.