Miriam Lee’s Winter Pear & Rock Sugar for Reducing Phlegm
Take 1 winter pear (the dark-skinned variety).
__Remove the skin for white phlegm
__Do not remove the skin for yellow phlegm
Cut the pear in half, remove and discard the core. Fill the hole with approximately 1 tsp. rock sugar – break up sugar if necessary. Place pear with sugar in a pot, add 1 cup water.
Cover the pot with lid. Boil 15-20 minutes. Eat the pear and drink the liquid. If the illness is protracted and stubborn, take twice a day. If you are not sleeping well, take before going to bed. If there is profuse phlegm in the morning, take to facilitate expectoration
__at night upon retiring (for trouble sleeping)
__in the morning (phlegm in the AM)
__once a day (less severe)
__twice a day (protracted, deeper illness)
Explanation of remedy from Chinese Medicine’s understanding of the thermal energetic properties of foods in balancing the body:
*”Winter pear is cold as is rock sugar. The coldness clears the spleen so that it will not produce too much phlegm. When boiled, the pear is medium cold. The skin is colder. Therefore, if the phlegm is due to heat and is yellow, retain the skin.”*
Excerpt from Insights of a Senior Acupuncturist
If you are suffering from a stubborn cold this simple home remedy can help to clear phlegm. There are also various remedies to take at the onset of a cold or flu that your acupuncturist can recommend after an office consult. A good self care routine (appropriate sleep, whole foods nutrition, balanced exercise, healthy expression and relationships) and getting treatment often and early is always the best prevention!
MaryFatimah Weening, L.Ac., Dipl.Ac.
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