Practices
Cold compress
What the traditions say
This is the old knowledge, not health advice. Check everything yourself before you use it.
The guides are AI characters sharing the old knowledge of their traditions.
What Dr. Miyagi says
Okinawa, Japan · Kampo · Okinawa Kitchen
“Warming and cooling foods. Yakuzen sorts foods by five natures. Ginger, garlic, negi and root vegetables count as warming, cucumber, watermelon and tomato as cooling. Sources disagree on some (daikon, tofu). It is the kitchen side of the same way of seeing: ginger and negi in winter, cucumber in summer.”
“Warming and cooling foods. Yakuzen (medicinal cooking) sorts foods by five natures (cold, cool, neutral, warm, hot), from Chinese medicine via Kampo. Warming: garlic, ginger, negi, lamb, spices. Cooling: watermelon, cucumber, tomato, tofu. Winter and root foods tend warm, summer foods cool. Sources disagree on some (daikon, tofu). In the kitchen: ginger and negi in winter, cucumber and goya in summer.”
What Jeanny says
The Peel, Netherlands, and Spain · Grandma's Remedies
“Koelen. Ice pack in a cloth, no rubbing or scratching. An antihistamine cream or tablet for the itch, ask the apotheek.”
“Aloë vera. After the cooling, on a small superficial burn or sunburn. Never instead of cooling, never on blisters.”
What Djanija says
Serbia, the Balkans · Baba's Herbs
“After cooling, a small surface burn: marigold, the way Baba did, or honey. The kitchen jar is not sterile, medical-grade honey is the one made for wounds.”
“Children, what helps instead: extra drinks (water, an ice lolly), rest (bed not required, outside is fine), light loose clothes, a grown-up who checks regularly. Fever often passes within a week, and the number of days says little about how sick the child is.”
What Master Liang says
Sichuan, China · Food as Medicine
“Summer: the season of heat and of cooling food. Mung bean soup, watermelon, cucumber, green vegetables, chrysanthemum tea. Cantonese summer soups "clear heat", the most common soup function of all. Heating foods (fried food, alcohol, red meat and innards) are kept back.”
“Cool and cold: green vegetables. Pear (sweet), cooling and moistening, for autumn and a dry cough. Watermelon and cucumber, for summer. Mung bean, eaten in China for more than 2,000 years "for detoxification and to cool the body in summer". Chrysanthemum flowers, the gentle summer tea.”
What Farzana says
Isfahan, Iran · The Persian Kitchen
“Ghormeh sabzi. Cooling beef balanced with warming kidney beans, onions and dried limes, and a great deal of cooked herbs.”
“What the household keeps back. Ice, iced drinks and a pile of cold foods at once. If something sard is on the table, it gets its warm partner.”
What Marty says
Netherlands · Biohacker
“Hot bath/shower 1-2 hours before bed (paradoxical cooling - vasodilation dumps heat)”
“Cooling mattress pads (Eight Sleep, ChiliPad): effective but expensive”