Chinese traditional medicine endures for these Chinoy CEOs
While the world is increasingly dominated by modern pharmaceuticals and Western medical practices, the ancient art of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), particularly its reliance on herbs, still exists. This reflects a remarkable blend of time-honored wisdom and contemporary health practices.
TCM emphasizes a holistic approach to health. The key to overall good health is the balance of body, mind, and spirit. TCM practitioners view health as a dynamic equilibrium. When the balance is disrupted by various stressors, both internal and external, the result is dis-ease. Chinese herbs play a crucial role in restoring the balance.
As we advance into an age increasingly focused on holistic health, TCM offers insights into wellness that harmonize the body, mind, and the environment. By continuing to honor and adopt traditions, we not only preserve an aspect of culture but also enrich our global health options, creating a future where traditional knowledge and modern science coexist to provide comprehensive care.
I asked five Chinoy CEOs if they still follow Chinese health practices and which Chinese medicines they keep handy at home: UNESCO Commissioner and JCI Senate Philippines president Cecilia La Madrid Dy said that aside from the staple Pei Pa Qua that they bring even on their travels, taking soups from a mixture of herbs has been a constant practice, whether as a post-partum therapy or to ease minor ailments.
She is referring specifically to the Sibut soup which is made from four types of Chinese traditional herbs: Dang Gui (Angelica Root), Shu Di (Rehmannia glutinosa), Dang Shen (Codonopsis Root), and Chuan Xiong (Ligusticum Striatum). You can conveniently buy Sibut sold in a packet with all the herbs already included online and in Chinese medicine stores.
Some replace the Shu Di because they don’t want their soup black. Other herbs, as well as goji berries, red dates, and black dates, are also added. Xavier Kuangchi awardee for Exemplary Alumni for 2024 and Times Paint president Reginald Yu shared, “I personally incorporate traditional Chinese health practices, like drinking herbal teas, to balance the body, consuming warm soups to strengthen immunity, and using gua sha or hot compresses for muscle relief. I also follow the principle of eating seasonally to stay in harmony with nature.”
“We always keep Chinese herbal medicines like Po Chai pills for digestive issues, Tiger Balm for aches and pains, Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa for coughs and throat relief, as well as White Flower Oil for headaches and muscle aches. These remedies have been trusted staples in our household for generations,” he added.
Ernesto Chua Co Kiong, president of Malabon Longlife Trading and past chairman of the Philippine-Turkish Business Council, said, “We only have (White Flower Embrocation or Pak Fah Yeow) for headache and body pain. Made in Hong Kong and is now also made in Cebu, it’s like Vicks Vaporub. Sometimes we go to Ongpin to consult a Chinese doctor using his finger to touch our hand veins to know what herbal medicine to prescribe. But most of the time, we consult Western doctors.”
White Flower oil, popular even to those with no Chinese heritage, is a blend of essential oils such as camphor, eucalyptus, lavender, menthol, peppermint, and wintergreen. Most of these ingredients help with headaches, minor aches and pains, inflammation, and respiratory health.
Former congressman and businessman Harry Angping clarified that they use “herbal medicine to treat diseases in a more natural way.” He also swears by the effectiveness of “Pei Pa Koa syrup to relieve mild sore throat and cough, and to prevent worsening of the respiratory ailments.”
Pei Pa Koa is a natural herbal syrup composed of fritillary bulbs, loquat leaf, four-leaf lady bell root, Indian bread, pomelo peel, Chinese bellflower root, pinellia rhizome, Schisandra seed, trichosanthes seed, coltsfoot flower, thin leaf milkwort root, bitter apricot kernel, fresh ginger, licorice root, menthol, and honey.
Last but not the least, since we had a scheduled meeting with Philippine Airlines president Capt. Stanley Ng, I took the opportunity to get his insights.
“Of course, I believe that (Chinese herbal) tea has good benefits for the body. I used to also try acupuncture. It helps. Massage therapy, reflexology, acupressure, all those are good. I used to use Chinese medicine, but maybe I’m healthier now, that’s why (there is no need),” he said.
“I regularly go to the gym. Every morning, if I can. That’s recently though because I didn’t have much time before,” he added. He said that he feels a lot lighter and better with his regular gym visits.
Asked about his nutrition practices, Capt. Ng said “I eat everything but in moderation. But given the choice, I’d prefer the healthier food (option).”
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