Puerh for colds?

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Feb 9th, '11, 12:26
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Puerh for colds?

by heatwaves » Feb 9th, '11, 12:26

Any recommendations of puerh that has helped your colds? I've seen it mentioned either here or over at B & B, but I don't recall which cakes or regions helped.

I'm trying Nada's 2009 Bulang right now. I figure it anything will work it will be that.

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Feb 9th, '11, 13:04
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by TwoPynts » Feb 9th, '11, 13:04

I remember some mention of it, I think young shengs were recommended.

I did a search but could not find it, though you may want to look at this thread:

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... ds#p170564

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Feb 9th, '11, 13:06
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by iannon » Feb 9th, '11, 13:06

Interesting..I have never really heard of any particular Tea helping more than others with a cold but I am interested in seeing any responses from those more knowledgable than I in that area...

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Feb 9th, '11, 13:29
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by Cicada Lady » Feb 9th, '11, 13:29

I imagine that teas with a distinct camphor component as well as citrus notes would feel good.

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Feb 9th, '11, 13:58
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by rabbit » Feb 9th, '11, 13:58

Sheng can be pretty harsh, I would think it'd just make things worse!

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Feb 9th, '11, 14:53
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by betta » Feb 9th, '11, 14:53

Several seasoned puerh drinkers suggested not to drink puerh tea when one's body isn't fit.

The component in the puerh somehow increases metabolism rate in your body, as a result you get hungry easier.

When you catch cold, you should in fact slow down your metabolism rate, control food intake (not to be too hard to digest). The typical medication for cold always helps you to get rest/sleep and recover rather.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.

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Feb 9th, '11, 17:42
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by heatwaves » Feb 9th, '11, 17:42

betta wrote:
The component in the puerh somehow increases metabolism rate in your body...
... but only if you're jogging while drinking it. :wink:

So it's a few hours later after consuming Nada's Bulang. And the verdict is... feeling no better and no worse. Perhaps tomorrow I'll try some green tea.

I honestly wasn't too concerned about it making me feel worse. I drink sheng about four times a week on an empty stomach and haven't had any issues with it, so I didn't think it would suddenly throw my cold into a tailspin.

Feb 9th, '11, 18:14
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by shah82 » Feb 9th, '11, 18:14

You don't have *anything* with lots of camphor? I know that requires older puerh, but something still should be nasty and cheap and still provide the comfort a Halls does...

Feb 10th, '11, 04:09
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by argus » Feb 10th, '11, 04:09

I was self medicating yesterday with some 2006 Chen Shen Hao Classic and it did relieve me of some symptoms so my verdict is - it helps

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Feb 10th, '11, 05:00
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by nada » Feb 10th, '11, 05:00

I find aged sheng puerh/aged Liu An/aged Liu bao helps. These teas are all have warming characteristics and can have strong qi to reenergise your body.

IMO, drinking young sheng puerh or green tea is moving the wrong way for your already cold body.

Feb 10th, '11, 09:36
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by nicolas » Feb 10th, '11, 09:36

In traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the common cold is associated with lung dysfunction.

The lung system disseminates protective qi over the body's surface, which forms the first barrier against the invasion of external pathogens.

Cold symptoms are the result of a battle between the protective qi and the external pathogens in the superficial portion of the body. Besides the body's natural resistance, environment and seasonal factors play important roles in determining what pathogens are prevalent. Generally, wind evils are the leading pathogens and they are often accompanied by cold, heat or dryness evils, making people have different symptoms when they have a cold.

Depending on how the body responds, TCM physicians study the cough pattern and the accompanied symptoms in detail, diagnose a disharmony pattern and choose a remedy accordingly.

Three disharmony patterns are commonly seen in cough and cold symptoms:

1. Wind-cold type
Clear or white mucus; other symptoms may include a runny nose with a clear discharge, an itchy throat, headache, slight body aches and chills. The tongue coating is white and the pulse is floating.

2. Wind-heat type
Yellowish thick mucus, other accompanied symptoms may include yellowish nasal discharges, throat soreness, thirst, low-grade fever, chills, headache and sweating. The tongue coating is yellowish, and the pulse is floating and rapid.

3. Dry-heat type
This condition consists of dry coughing, hoarseness, itchy and sore throat, dryness of the nose and mouth; the cough can have a little blood-tinged mucus, and be accompanied by cough-induced chest pain, chills or fever. The tongue tip is red and the coating looks yellow and dry, the pulse is slightly rapid. This type of cold is most common in autumn or when the humidity is low.

Because puerh tea (ripe, raw, aged or young) is ultimately cooling, I would not suggest that you consume any type of puerh tea if your cold is the "Wind-cold type" as this will simply aggravate your condition.

If your cold is the "Wind-heat type" or the "Dry-heat type", puerh tea may alleviate the symptoms somewhat, but bear in mind that there are other herbs and remedies that are far more effective and cheaper than puerh tea. You would be better off leaving your puerh tea alone as you can enjoy it better after you have recovered.

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Feb 10th, '11, 11:29
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by MarshalN » Feb 10th, '11, 11:29

I agree on the "not drinking puerh" part. I find them to be rarely helpful, and medicine (and rest, which you won't get if you drink a lot of caffeine) are much more effective remedies.

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Feb 10th, '11, 15:38
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by entropyembrace » Feb 10th, '11, 15:38

"wind heat" and "dry heat" type are serious infections and may be caused by a bacteria...if you have those symptoms and they persist for more than a few days you should see your Doctor.

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Feb 10th, '11, 15:44
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by AdamMY » Feb 10th, '11, 15:44

MarshalN wrote:I agree on the "not drinking puerh" part. I find them to be rarely helpful, and medicine (and rest, which you won't get if you drink a lot of caffeine) are much more effective remedies.

I don't know about that Tim told me once when I was sick to drink young raw puerh from old trees brewed incredibly strong ( think how Brandon brews his Yancha), and to drink that. He told me about this when I had a cold last summer, and after doing I felt... well I guess I didn't really feel, I just sort of was, but I didn't care anymore, and once more the next day and I was cured.

Sadly I came down with another cold this morning ( I think I blame this thread), and I am about to go try that again. Wish me luck.

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Feb 10th, '11, 15:53
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Re: Puerh for colds?

by entropyembrace » Feb 10th, '11, 15:53

Also if you want to drink tea when you have a cold, go ahead and drink whichever you find the most comforting...the compounds in any camelia tea are virtually the same though there can be quite a bit of variation in the concentrations of some of them (caffiene, various anti-oxidants and such) Tea is warm so it´ll help stimulate mucus draining, it´s also got some anti-inflamitory properties and anti-microbial properties that could assist recovery and provide a bit of relief from a cold.

Don´t expect miracles...but it can help you feel a bit better...kind of like drinking chicken soup :)

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