When a cough takes hold, the first thing we often reach for is a lozenge or syrup. But what if a simple and natural cough remedy could be found in your home? In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), certain foods are viewed as allies in restoring the body's balance, and fruits are one of them.
If you've been wondering what fruits are good for stopping a cough and have a natural way to find relief, we've listed some of the best ones for you.
TCM and Coughs
In TCM, the lungs are considered a vital organ in the body, having a wide range of functions that contribute to your overall health. One of their main jobs is to handle respiration, taking in oxygen from the air and sending it throughout the body. This oxygen is crucial for producing energy and keeping all your other organs and systems working as they should.
However, it's also a delicate organ, so it's easily affected by factors both inside and outside your body. When these factors disrupt how your lungs work, that's when a cough can start.
Coughs triggered by outside influences, such as weather changes or when germs enter your body, usually come on fast. But it can also stop quickly with the right treatments and lifestyle changes. And it comes in three types:
- Wind-Cold: This is a cough with transparent or white phlegm.
- Wind-Heat: You might cough frequently, have a sore throat, and produce sticky or yellow phlegm.
- Wind-Dryness: This type involves a dry, continuous cough with an itchy throat and little to no sticky phlegm.
On the other hand, coughs caused by internal imbalances in your organ systems usually develop over time. These chronic coughs usually last for more than three weeks and tend to flare up. Over time, this can wear out your Lung Qi, which is your body's vital energy needed for defense and recovery. For chronic coughs, there are several types:
- Damp Cough: This comes with watery or foamy phlegm, often alongside fatigue, bloating, and a poor appetite.
- Damp-Heat Cough: Characterized by thick, sticky yellow phlegm, this type can also cause shallow breathing, a dislike of heat, a dry aftertaste, and a feeling of thirst.
- Liver-Fire Cough: You might feel a lump in your throat, experience coughs triggered by stress, or have a bitter taste in your mouth and feel dizzy.
- Lung Yin-Deficiency Cough: This is a dry cough with little to no sticky phlegm that might get worse at night, along with a dry throat, hot flashes, or night sweats.
What Are the Best Fruits for a Cough
While many fruits can help, there are a few to avoid while coughing, especially if your cough is characterized by excessive, sticky phlegm and dampness accumulation in the body. In these cases, "damp" fruits that are hot in nature, like bananas, longan fruit, and mangos, might not be the best choice.
To get the most benefit, it's important to know what kind of cough you have. This simple first step is the key to choosing the best fruit to help you soothe your throat and feel better.
1. Pears
Pears have a cooling nature, making them excellent for moistening the lungs, clearing heat, and helping to reduce phlegm. This makes them a remedy choice for coughs that come with signs of heat or dryness, such as dry cough, throat and lips, itchy throat, and persistent coughs. Pears can also help with digestion because of their fiber content and quench your thirst, which is an added bonus when you’re feeling under the weather.
2. Strawberries
Like pears, strawberries have a cooling nature and are valued for their ability to nourish the lungs and replenish fluids. And since a strawberry's fluids help moisten dryness, they are great for people with excess lung heat and can provide a soothing effect when you’re feeling heaty, like having a reddish complexion and a dry mouth. They are also great for those dealing with Yin deficiency symptoms, such as dry throat and cough with thick yellow phlegm. On top of all that, strawberries can support a healthy complexion and may even help relieve indigestion and improve a poor appetite.
3. Apples
Apples are believed to benefit the lungs and are often used as a gentle cough remedy for conditions like coughs and asthma. Their cool nature helps to clear heat and resolve phlegm, and they moisten the lungs and balance your body's energy and fluids, which is key to soothing irritation in the respiratory tract. Plus, apples are recommended for balancing the body’s energy throughout different seasons. For example, they can help reduce heat and prevent dehydration in the summer and are used to treat coughs and colds in the winter.
Beyond coughs, apples are also believed to help calm the mind, which supports your overall emotional well-being. With their high fiber content and cooling properties, apples are also used to promote smooth digestion and ease constipation.
Tips for Incorporating Fruits into Your Diet
You can easily use these fruits to support your recovery even while at home. To get started, try these simple and easy ways:
- Eat Them Fresh as Snacks: The simplest way to get the natural benefits of these fruits is to eat them as they are. A pear, a handful of strawberries, or a crisp apple can serve as a wonderful snack, even when you're on the go.
- Make Juices or Smoothies: You can also blend these fruits into a healthy and soothing drink. For example, apple juice can be comforting when you have a cough with yellow phlegm. Meanwhile, for a sore throat, drinking one glass of fresh strawberry juice twice a day can be very effective.
- Turn them into a Warm Dessert: There are several cooked remedies you can prepare at home for cough relief. For a classic remedy to help ease coughs caused by the common cold, steamed or boiled pear with rock sugar is a beloved recipe, especially during colder seasons. To make this soothing dessert, just chop a pear, add some rock sugar and water, and simmer it until it becomes wonderfully soft.
- Consider your Constitution: Everyone's body is different, so we all react to cold foods and drinks in our own way. People with a "cold constitution" have a lower body temperature and struggle to warm their stomachs enough to handle cold items. Since digestion needs sufficient heat to work properly and push food through the system, cold foods can slow down the process and lead to indigestion.
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A Natural Path to Relief
Understanding the TCM perspective on coughs reveals that what you eat can play a powerful role in your recovery. By choosing specific fruits for cough relief like pears, strawberries, and apples, you can help moisten your lungs, clear heat, and support your body’s return to balance. Although these natural remedies can be very helpful, it's always wise to consult a TCM practitioner for personalized advice, especially for persistent coughs.
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