Physician

As the saying goes, “prevention is better than cure”. The core belief of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) lies in prevention. What better way to prevent yourself from falling sick than to build a strong immunity to keep yourself healthy?The ongoing pandemic situation has been accompanied by a rising interest in immunity boosting foods and products. In our recent Ask My Physician webinar on “Boosting your Immunity – the TCM Perspective”, TCM Physician Tay Jia Yin from Raffles Chinese Medicine shared with us how TCM looks at immunity and how we can use TCM to protect us from illnesses such as the common cold and allergies.TCM and QiFrom the perspective of TCM, the amount and quality of “Qi (气)” or “life force” determines how healthy and full of vitality a person is. This Qi needs to be balanced in order to maintain good health. A person with strong Qi is full of energy and does not fall sick easily. Even when they do, the illness tends to be mild. On the other hand, a person with weak Qi gets tired easily and frequently falls ill.What are some ways to strengthen your Qi for better immunity? Here are 5 tips from Physician Tay.1. Eat healthyThere…

Sonam Tsering, a Manpa (traditional physician), introduces the medicinal herbs to students for the Lum bathing recorded in the medical thangka of Gyud zhi (the Four Trantras) [Photo provided by the National Center for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in China]Traditional Tibetan bathing for a medical purpose was inscribed onto the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO Wednesday.The entry, officially known as Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa, knowledge and practices concerning life, health and illness prevention and treatment among the Tibetan people in China, obtained the status at the 13th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which is ongoing in Port Louis, Mauritius.It is China's 40th entry on the list.Students at the Tibetan Traditional Medicine College read the Gyud zhi (the Four Tantras) in Lhasa, capital city of the Tibetan autonomous region. [Photo provided by the National Center for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in China]In the Tibetan language, the word "Lum" indicates the traditional knowledge and practices of bathing in natural hot springs, herbal water or steam to adjust the balance of the body and mind, ensure health, and treat illness.It reflects…