"If you get good gao fang tonic in winter, you can kill a tiger in the spring," according to TCM. So store energy and build up your immune system with a spoonful of sweet herbal paste every day, writes Zhang Qian.

For farmers the world over, spring is the season when everything starts to grow; summer is the season of rapid growth and maturing; autumn is for harvest, and winter is the time to store.

This is not only true for farming, but also for the changing conditions and energy balance of the human body. There are TCM therapies for all seasons to treat ailments and keep you healthy.

Winter, the season for storing energy, is the best time for jin bu, or reinforcing therapy in the form of gao fang, an herbal paste taken orally once a day to help you store energy. Take a teaspoonful in hot water before breakfast.

There's an old TCM saying: "If you get good gao fang in winter, you can kill tiger in spring."

Gao fang is not a cure, but it can strengthen the immune system and help those with chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure; it can make regularly prescribed medicine work more effectively, but it is not a substitute.

Gao fang is prescribed and compounded to suit individual types of constitution - hot, cold and neutral, according to the dominant yang or yin energy. Thus there are hot, cold and neutral people - most healthy people are neutral.

Cold people feel cold and catch cold easily. They have loose bowels especially after having cold food or drink; they usually have pale tongues.

Hot people get hot easily and often feel thirsty. They often suffer from ulcers in the mouth and from constipation; they usually have red tongues.

"One man's meat is another one's poison. It is also true in TCM," says Dr Zhou Duan, director of the TCM Internal Medicine Department of Longhua Hospital attached to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He emphasizes the importance of identifying the patient's constitution.

Cold people can't take cold yin herbs, while hot people can't take hot yang herbs.

Take ginseng for example. Red ginseng, American ginseng, and white ginseng can all reinforce energy, yet they have different characteristics. Red ginseng is hot, American ginseng is cold, while white ginseng is neutral.

People of cold constitution can only have hot red ginseng and neutral white ginseng; people of hot constitution can only take cold American ginseng and neutral white ginseng; people of neutral constitution can take any of the three.

Even the sweetener added to the paste must accord with the patient's constitution. Brown sugar is for "hot" patients, while honey is for "cold" ones.

"Paste can help medicine take effect better, but can't replace medicine," stresses Dr Zhou.

In addition, there are reinforcing foods that are especially good in winter and recipes you can prepare, such as walnut pancakes and soup made with mutton, ginger and Chinese angelica root. Jujube (Chinese dates), gouqi berries and prepared ejiao and guiling jelly are recommended. Dog meat is often eaten in winter because it is "hot."

According to TCM theory about the correspondence between human beings and the universe, at this time of year the body shifts into a relatively stable condition and is ready to store energy for the entire winter.

"Therefore, tonics can best be absorbed, stored and take effect gradually within the human body in this season," says Dr Zhou.

Reinforcing therapy can also be applied in other seasons, according to Dr Zhou, but the doctor should factor in the characteristics of the seasons, including temperature and dampness.

Dr Zhou doesn't recommend reinforcing therapy for everyone in the winter, but it can build up the strength of chronic disease sufferers, those who suffer from extreme fatigue and "subhealthy" (a TCM category) people - these are often extremely busy, run-down professional people, ages 30 to around 50.
Herbal paste is a jelly-like medicine made from condensed liquid herbal medicine and other medicinal ingredients, like honey and brown sugar. Paste has been used in TCM for more than 2,000 years.

It was at first applied externally to heal wounds, and later was taken orally as it is easy to eat and store. Traditionally, it is kept in an earthen jar in a cool place (a refrigerator today), a spoonful is mixed with hot water in the morning. Because of honey or brown sugar, it's not as bitter as herbal medicine alone.

TCM doctors prescribe it based on an exam and hospital pharmacies can fill the prescription as can some TCM pharmacies. Some gao fang is already prepared, although an individual prescription is usually best.

Traditionally, the reinforcing period starts from Dong Zhi (Winter Solstice) on December 22 to Chun Feng (Spring Solstice) on March 23.

Before prescribing a paste, a TCM doctor needs to know the patient's condition in detail. He or she will ask how the patient is feeling, read examination reports, and apply TCM diagnostics including tongue inspection and pulse-taking.

If reinforcement therapy is not appropriate because of the patient's health - acute illness, acute period of chronic disease or weak digestion - the doctor may at first prescribe a one-week kai lu fang, or "pioneer medicine." This adjusts and balances the patients' system so that it is receptive to reinforcement.

How to eat herbal paste?

1. Add hot water and stir.

2. Eat every day before breakfast.

4. Avoid irritating and spicy foods that may weaken the function of the stomach.

Candidates for reinforcing therapy

1. Chronic disease suffers

2. Subhealthy people

3. Fatigue sufferers

Who is not suitable?

1. People suffering an acute condition, a cold or cough.

2. People in an acute period of chronic illness, such as high blood pressure or blood sugar.

3. People with weak digestion.

Recipes for winter reinforcing "hot" foods are recommended as they can help fight cold.

Danggui (Chinese angelica root), ginger and mutton soup

Ingredients: Dang gui (20g), ginger (30g), mutton (500g), yellow wine and seasoning.

Method:

1. Wash the mutton and chop it into small pieces. Chop other ingredients.

2. Cook in a saucepan for one to two hours.

Function: Enriches the blood, dispels coldness. Best for cold people.

Walnut pancakes

Ingredients: Walnut powder (50g), flour (250g) and sugar

Method:

1. Mix the walnut powder and flour, add water and stir.

2. Make thin pancakes.

Function: Reinforces kidney function, dispels coldness, laxative.

Best for hot people.

(Shanghai Daily November 7, 2007)