In a quiet residential area in Beijing, Aunt Li, a retired teacher in her mid-teens, is sitting in the kitchen, with a variety of Chinese medicinal herbs in front of her. The sunlight outside the window shone through the thin curtains on her delicate face, reflecting her deep thoughts. Years of shoulder and neck pain made her travel to hospitals large and small, and finally she chose to trust traditional Chinese medicine treatment.
Aunt Li has a deep trust in Chinese medicine. She believed that herbs from the mountains, through the hands of healers, and then boiled by her own hands would soothe her ailments. However, in the process of decocting Chinese medicine, Aunt Li often felt confused and helpless. At every step of the way, from the selection of herbs to the decoction, she worries that her small mistake will lead to the loss of the efficacy of the medicine, and may even bring unnecessary health risks.
As Auntie Li embarks on her journey of herbal decoction, she gradually discovers that this is not simply boiled herbs. First, she realized that the preparation and cleaning of medicinal herbs was crucial. She used to ignore this step until her TCM practitioner told her that improper washing could cause soil or other impurities to become mixed with the solution, affecting its effectiveness and possibly even posing unnecessary health risks. Aunt Li began to carefully study the cleaning methods of each medicinal herb, some needed to be soaked, some needed to be scraped, and each step seemed crucial.
Entering the process of decoction, Aunt Li encountered a second challenge: the control of water temperature and time. Once, because she was in a hurry to go out, she ended the decoction process early, and as a result, the effect of the medicine was greatly reduced, and her shoulder and neck pain was hardly relieved. This little thing made her realize that decoction is not just about boiling herbs and water, but also a chemical process that needs to be precisely controlled. The active ingredient of each herb is released at different temperatures and times, and the slightest carelessness may lead to the loss of medicinal efficacy.
Finally, Aunt Li began to pay attention to the decoction utensils she used. A little story from her neighbor touched her deeply. Due to the use of a metal pan to decoction the medicine, the neighbor not only weakened the efficacy, but also produced harmful substances because the drug reacted with the metal. Aunt Li immediately replaced her stainless steel pot and bought a special porcelain pot. At the same time, she also learned how to clean and maintain the cookware to ensure that every decoction is carried out in the best possible conditions.
As Aunt Li gradually paid attention to these three aspects, she found that the medicinal soup she fried was not only clearer in color, but also more mellow in taste. What's more, her shoulder and neck pain has been significantly reduced, and she can feel that every decoction is bringing real changes to her health. These experiences have given Aunt Li a deeper understanding of decoction of Chinese medicine, and she also believes more firmly in the importance of scientific decoction.
As Aunt Li became familiar with the three main points of Chinese herbal decoction, she began to feel significant changes. The frequent shoulder and neck pain gradually subsided, and her mental state improved a lot. Every day, she decoctions on time and strictly follows every step. She found that not only the pain was relieved, but the whole person became more energetic and the quality of life was significantly improved.
In this process, Aunt Li also encountered a common misunderstanding: some people think that the longer the decoction time, the better, so that the effect of the medicine can be fully extracted. However, through consulting with a professional TCM practitioner, Auntie Li learned that an excessively long decoction time will not only not improve the efficacy of the medicine, but will destroy the active ingredients in the herbs. The correct approach should be to adjust the decoction time and heat according to the characteristics of different herbs.
Auntie Li also encouraged her friends and neighbors to pay attention to the preparation and cleaning of the herbs, the temperature and time of the decoction, and the correct utensils for decoction of Chinese medicine. She shared her own experience to make more people realize that only by decocting Chinese medicine scientifically and rationally can the efficacy of Chinese medicine be truly exerted, otherwise not only can the efficacy of the medicine not be guaranteed, but may even bring unnecessary health risks.