TCM can be part of a country’s toolkit against rising heat: NUS study
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A researcher said Singapore's hydration guidelines can be expanded to include herbal teas.
PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE – For decades, Singapore’s Chinese community has turned to acupuncture treatments, barley water and herbal remedies not only to boost healing and wellness, but also to cope with the hot weather.
These traditional approaches should not be overlooked as Singapore builds a suite of solutions to strengthen resilience against rising temperatures, said heat experts and historians from the National University of Singapore.
This was the conclusion of the team from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine), who traced how people have navigated daily heat and humidity since the early 20th century using Western remedies and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
This study was sparked by the observation that some in the Chinese community, such as seniors, are reluctant to drink iced water, take cold showers or blast the air-conditioning when they feel hot.
These beliefs go against the biomedical approach in treating heat stress.
NUS heat health historian Joshua Sim said: “Imagine facing a (scenario) at construction sites where workers from China may refuse to consume cold water due to their beliefs and practices from Chinese medicine. Would consuming at least room temperature liquids be appropriate?”
Dr Sim and his colleagues at NUS Medicine’s Human Potential Translational Research Programme (HPTRP) scoured newspaper archives and historical literature, and also spoke to 20 TCM physicians, patients and military personnel.
At a Jan 16 seminar in NUS, the researchers said their findings revealed that Western and traditional methods of managing heat are less divergent than expected, and often complement each other in helping people stay cool.
The 20 interviewees agreed that serious heat illnesses require the use of conventional treatments, like immersing a patient with heat stroke in iced water.
“Patients only turn to Chinese medicine after their hospital treatment is finished, using traditional methods to restore the body’s balance during recovery,” said Ms Huang Yuyin, a research associate under HPTRP.
Historically, TCM has viewed heat management as the prevention of internal imbalance between yin and yang. In Western medicine, the focus is primarily on preventing heat injuries.
With Singapore’s chronic exposure to hot and humid conditions, TCM practitioners from the late 1940s identified the malady of “damp heat syndrome” – a condition caused by hot and rainy weather and has symptoms like sluggish pulse, constipation and diarrhoea.
To treat it, a TCM leader from that period identified a cure using a medicinal formula called Bai Hu Tang (White Tiger decoction), made from ingredients such as the mineral gypsum, licorice root and rice, said Dr Sim.
Traditional methods and cooling herbal drinks like liang cha (cooling tea) became key sources of well-being in the tropics, added Ms Huang.
From the 1960s, English newspapers in Singapore began to cite the TCM concepts of yin and yang, and “heaty” versus “cooling” foods.
To integrate TCM with Western medicine, physicians treated heat-related fainting with acupuncture on the fingers and face to release blood, and gave cooling herbs to patients while also placing ice packs on their forehead.
TCM methods can be used to help people build long-term resilience against rising temperatures, alongside conventional approaches like heat acclimatisation, said Dr Sim.
Ms Huang added that longstanding traditional methods of dealing with Singapore’s heat should be given some heritage value.
“They are not old-fashioned habits. They are low-tech, culturally rooted choices that (can be) augmented as Singapore now faces a warming climate,” she said.
The study, which began in 2024, was funded by the National Heritage Board.
Given the culture diversity in Singapore and South-east Asia as a region, heat scientists are increasingly looking into traditional practices that have stood the test of time when helping communities that are chronically exposed to the sweltering weather. They are seeking cultural practices that could be incorporated into each country’s heat management toolkit.
For example, hydration guidelines can be expanded to include herbal teas, said Dr Sim.
As Singapore considers incorporating TCM treatments into public hospitals and clinics
Beyond TCM, the senior research fellow is hoping to explore whether Indonesian herbal medicine and Ayurvedic therapies from Kerala in India hold solutions to preventing heat strain.
The Global Heat Health Information Network’s South-east Asia hub – hosted at NUS Medicine – is focused on integrating traditional and cultural knowledge to help shape heat resilience measures for the region.
The one-year-old hub will soon be gathering data to showcase cultural heat management practices across the region, with the aim of sustaining community-based solutions.
