The document discusses several common beliefs in Japanese folk medicine about preventing and treating colds and illnesses. These include keeping the body warm in winter, eating easy to digest foods that warm the body when sick, taking medicine with warm water, wearing a mask, gargling everyday, and applying a cold wet towel to the forehead for fever. Some practices like keeping warm and eating soft foods may provide comfort, but there is mixed or no evidence that others like gargling or putting onions on the throat work. Hand washing is encouraged by doctors worldwide.

2. Why Japanese people say this:
Japanese medicine greatly
emphasizes temperatures of
bodies and how this could have
an effect on bodily functioning.
The belief is that being cold in
the winter will make your body
weak and vulnerable to sickness.
To keep the body warm, Japan
even has scarves for your belly
called haramaki.
1. “Keep your
body warm”

3. 1. “Keep your
body warm”
On a similar note, taking baths
are discouraged when you have a
fever, since getting out of the
bath will cool your body down
quickly. Quick showers are
thought to be fine, as long as you
completely dry your hair
afterwards.

4. Does it work?
Maybe. This is said in many places
around the globe, but it is especially
emphasized in Japan. Putting your body
through extreme temperatures could be
draining, so being in a comfortable
temperature is probably best.
We need to be most careful of high
levels of stress that can make you
vulnerable to infections. Perhaps you
should wear stomach scarves if cold
weather stresses you out.
1. “Keep your
body warm”

5. Why Japanese people say this:
It is not just the layers of sweaters that
can warm your body in East Asian
remedies: Foods can have warming
and cooling effects too.
When you are sick, it is encouraged to
consume foods that have warming
effects. Foods that are easy to digest
are also recommended when you are
sick to lower the efforts the weakened
body must exert for digestion.
As a result of these beliefs, there are many
things you should and should not eat in
Japanese folk medicine.
2. “Eat easy-to-digest
foods, and foods that
warm the body”

6. Eating rules:
・Eat soft carbs that are easy to
digest, especially savory rice
porridge, or okayu.
・Avoid fatty/oily foods and
fibrous veggies because they are
difficult to digest, including fatty
meat and deep fried foods.
・Avoid raw foods, like sashimi,
because they are hard to digest,
have a cooling effect on your
body, and you could get a double
whammy getting food poisoning
as well.
2. “Eat easy-to-digest
foods, and foods that
warm the body”

7. Eating rules:
・Eat foods with body-warming
effects such as ginger. Garlic
should be eaten for preventing
colds.
*Once sick, do not eat anything
too spicy since the harshness of
the spices may aggravate your
body.
2. “Eat easy-to-digest
foods, and foods that
warm the body”

8. Does it work?
It could. The warming and cooling
effect of foods have mixed support, but
the heavy emphasis food is given is
something that we can all learn from.
For getting over being sick, easy-to-
digest foods are generally encouraged
in many cultures, and they are nice
soul foods to have.
2. “Eat easy-to-digest
foods, and foods that
warm the body”
One thing the Japanese folk remedy has wrong
is the discouragement of meat. Lean meat is not
too difficult to digest, and amino acids are essential
part for your body to rebuild and heal itself.

9. 3. “Take medicine
with warm water”
Many Japanese people would tell you not
to take medicine with tea or juice, since
they could react with the medicine and
make it ineffective.
“Shot of pills” (CC BY-NC 2.0) by sparktography

10. 3. “Take medicine
with warm water”
Does it work?
It did. In the past, there were certain medications
in Japan that were not compatible with certain
chemicals in some beverages. This fact stuck with
the people, even though advances in medicine no
longer require this kind of attention, unless
specified by your doctor.
“Shot of pills” (CC BY-NC 2.0) by sparktography

11. “Schoolboys with Masks, Yamashita Park, Y” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by fakelvis
There are so many Japanese
people wearing masks during the
winter, both for prevention of
colds and not to spread colds.
4. “wear a mask”

12. “Schoolboys with Masks, Yamashita Park, Y” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by fakelvis
Does it work?
Maybe. The reviews are mixed about the
effectiveness of masks. It could help if
you apply a mask (with minimal
amounts of moisture) properly on the
face with clean hands.
This is still not complete since
pathogens can enter your body through
multiple avenues, including your eyes.
Wearing a mask when you have a cold is
more of a social courtesy to make people
around you feel slightly safer from your
sprays.
4. “wear a mask”

13. 5. “your cold will be
cured if you give it
to someone else”

14. 5. “your cold will be
cured if you give it
to someone else”
Does it work?
I guess... since by the time
the other person gets sick,
you would have gotten better.

15. Washing your hands is a mantra that
has been chanted by doctors
everywhere. On top of that, Japanese
people swear by gargling’s effects on
preventing colds.
The belief is that gargling will
cleanse the throat of pathogens,
washing them away before they can
infect the throat.
There are many variations of
gargling, including gargling with tea,
with salt water, and with iodine
medicine made especially for
gargling.
6. “wash your hands
and gargle everyday”
“Look how high I can gargle” (CC BY-NC 2.0) by Tropikam

16. Does it work?
Not really. An American study
pointed out that gargling and
drinking water would, and should
have the same effect on the throat.
Though, it could temporarily soothe
a sore, dry throat.
6. “wash your hands
and gargle everyday”
“Look how high I can gargle” (CC BY-NC 2.0) by Tropikam

17. 7. “when your
throat hurts,
wrap green onion
around it”
Even Japanese people can’t explain this beyond
“this is what I was told when I was growing up.”

18. 7. “when your
throat hurts,
wrap green onion
around it”
Does it work?
No. Eat the darn thing.

19. 8. “Put a cold,
wet towel on
the forehead”
“It rained - we got wet” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by purplemattfish

20. 8. “Put a cold,
wet towel on
the forehead”
Does it work?
No. Though it feels nice,
fevers, or core temperature,
cannot be lowered simply
by cooling the forehead.
“It rained - we got wet” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by purplemattfish

21. 9. “stupid people don’t
catch colds”

22. WHAT?
9. “stupid people don’t
catch colds”