Doctors of traditional Chinese medicine know that cold is more than just a sensation: it’s an invasive force that can disrupt essential bodily processes and lead to chronic illness. Here, TCM physician Li Pi-Ju tells you everything you need to know about driving out chill and fostering the natural warmth that will keep you healthy and in harmony with your environment.

Doctors of traditional Chinese medicine have long known that cold is more than just an external sensation: it’s an invasive force that disrupts essential bodily rhythms and can lead to chronic illness. Years of clinical experience has taught Dr. Li Pi-Ju even more about the extent of that harm and helped her devise new ways to prevent it.

In this highly informative yet easy-to-understand book, Dr. Li describes the many ways in which cold enters the body – not only via unhealthy indulgence in cold food and drink, but also through incautious use of supplements and cleanses. She also dispels common misconceptions about “chill” being only a function of temperature or sensation, when it fact its effects can be seen in habitually overheated people who “can’t cool down”.

Dr. Li illustrates every point with pictures, diagrams, and a wealth of clinical examples. What’s more, for every problem, she offers a solution: even as she illuminates the many ways in which commercial wellness interests cause us to invite chill into our bodies, she also offers an extensive selection of easy, healthy recipes that help us nurture our natural warmth. If you read one book to enrich your knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine this year, it should be this one.