One of the advantages I have being an Alternative Health-care professional are the tools of the trade that I’ve picked up along the way. My medicine cabinet is filled with herbal remedies for anything from PMS to fullness after meals.  One of my favorites and the one I recommend most frequently is an original formula made by Blue Poppy Enterprises, Inc. called Cold Quell.

Based on the formula, Xiao Chai Hu Tang Si Wu Tang Jia Jian (that’s Chinese for a bunch of herbs mixed together), this herbal supplement can be used at first sign of common cold and flu, characterized by sore throat, fever and headache. I take 3 capsules twice a day for three days and, more often than not, my symptoms are resolved and I never miss a day of work.

In most states, Cold Quell and other herbal supplements can only be distributed by a licensed professional.  To find a Chinese Medicine practitioner in your area visit the Acufinder website.

With the fall months rolling in and the cool weather following suit (if you’re anywhere but the South West that is, where it’s still 90 degrees), then it’s time to put away the tank tops and Bermuda shorts and reach for warmer threads.  Warm sunny days are turning into crisp cool nights and the winds are starting to blow in the reminders that winter is just around the corner.  When I think of fall, I’m reminded of many mothers’ wise words, “Don’t forget your scarf.”

While the scarf may go in and out of the fashion trends, it should always be a staple in any wardrobe.  Even on the warmer days there may still be a strong breeze that we need to protect our bodies from, especially the neck. In Chinese medicine, the Urinary Bladder channel, which helps to govern the exterior of the body, passes through the back of the neck.  External pathogens such as Wind and Cold can easily enter the body through this channel and cause common cold symptoms.  When your mother said, “Put on your scarf or you might catch cold,”  she wasn’t just uttering an old wives’ tale expression.

The same goes for you So. Cal residents.  Even though the temperatures may still be high, those Santa Ana winds are on their way and they are no more merciful than their colder counterparts.