Traditional Chinese medicine instead of tea refers to the use of Chinese herbs and tea mixture, or Chinese herbal medicine (single or compound) instead of tea brewing, decoction, and then drinking like tea, mainly treatment, rehabilitation, health care and other types. Traditional Chinese medicine instead of tea can correct the deviation of cold and heat in the body and strengthen the body with the cold, hot and warm nature of the medicine.
However, tea substitutes cannot be drunk at will, and only when they are used correctly can they receive curative effects. Many people think that tea substitutes are safe and mild to take for a long time, but in fact, there are many contraindications when using them, and they may also hurt their bodies if they are not used correctly.
The four qi and five flavors of traditional Chinese medicine and the return to the scriptures
When choosing medicinal materials to replace tea, you need to pay attention to the four qi and five flavors of traditional Chinese medicine and the meridians.
1. Four Qi
The four qi refer to the four characteristics of cold, heat, warmth and coolness of drugs, also known as the four natures.
Cold medicine has the functions of clearing heat, detoxifying, nourishing yin, and reducing fire, and is mainly used for heat syndrome.
Warm medicine has the functions of warmth, dissipating cold, and helping yang, and is mainly used for cold syndrome.
In addition, there are some flat drugs, which refer to drugs with insignificant cold and heat properties and relatively mild effects, such as Poria cocos.
2. Gomi
The five flavors of traditional Chinese medicine refer to pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and salty.
The pungent taste can be dispersed and can be done, and it has the effect of diverging and dissolving the surface, and promoting qi and blood. Such as dried ginger, perilla leaves.
Sweet taste can replenish, harmonize, and soothe, and has the effects of nourishing and neutralizing, harmonizing medicinal properties and relieving acute pain, such as licorice.
The sour taste can be collected and astringent, and it has the effect of astringency and astringency, and antiperspirant, cough, and antidiarrheal drugs have a sour taste, such as schisandra, black plum, hawthorn, etc.
Bitterness can be discharged, dry, and firm, and mostly has the effect of clearing heat, dampness, and yin, such as chrysanthemums and dandelions.
The salty taste can be lower and softer, and it mostly has the effect of laxative, soft and hard dispersion, such as seaweed and oysters.
In addition to the five flavors, there are also light flavors and astringencies. The light taste has the effect of dampness and diuresis; The astringency has the effect of astringency and astringency.
3. Return
Traditional Chinese medicine closely links the effect of drugs with the meridians of the human body, so as to explain the selectivity of the effects of drugs on a certain part of the body, so as to provide a basis for syndrome differentiation and drug use. For example, bellflower and almond help to dissolve phlegm and relieve cough, and enter the lung meridian; Goji berries nourish the liver and kidneys, and enter the liver and kidney meridians.
When choosing a traditional Chinese medicine tea substitute, you should follow the following points
one
Drink for evidence
"The cold is hot, and the hot is cold", which means that the cold syndrome uses hot medicine, and the hot syndrome uses cold medicine.
For example, the same sore throat, some people belong to the real heat syndrome, some people belong to the deficiency heat syndrome, the real heat can use cold medicine instead of tea, and the hypothermia person simply uses cold medicine to clear the heat, which will cause the spleen and stomach to be cold, so it needs to be combined with drugs to strengthen the spleen and dispel dampness and phlegm. Similarly, the same stool blockage, some people are caused by stomach fire, and some are caused by lung fire.
two
Adapt to the individual
Not everyone is suitable for the same generation of tea, such as the body to dispel fire, but for people with spleen and stomach deficiency, it is necessary to add some licorice, jujube, ginger, dried ginger and other spleen and stomach drugs to neutralize, so as not to hurt the spleen and stomach.
At the same time, it is necessary to choose different combinations depending on the severity of symptoms. For example, people who are weak in the body and have heat may get angry with a little hot medicine, so they should be assisted by cold medicine.
叁
There are different ways to drink it
If the pieces are too large or hard, they need to be mashed so that the drug components can be dissolved, such as smallpox pollen, green fruit, monk fruit, Sichuan fritillary, etc. If the decoction pieces are mostly in the form of minced pieces, it is best to pack them into non-woven sachets and make them into tea bags for easy consumption. Due to their crunchy texture, some flower Chinese herbal decoction pieces are usually in the form of minced pieces, and it is best to use the bubble method to avoid choking.
肆
Master the correct usage
For traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces used as a substitute for tea, water should be passed through water before brewing with boiling water to remove impurities and dust. It is best to choose a large-mouth cup with a lid (preferably a large-mouth thermos cup) for tea sets, and soak in boiling water for 10~30 minutes. Tea substitute drink, one dose per day, brew several times until tasteless.
five
Adjust the dosage in a timely manner
"It is a medicine with three poisons", and tea substitutes are no exception.
For example, if the medicinal properties of wolfberry are mild, excessive soaking will cause irritation and symptoms such as increased eye feces. In addition, wolfberries have a high sugar content, so it is best for diabetics to consult a doctor before making tea. There are also many people who choose to drink chrysanthemum tea when they are on fire, but after drinking it for a long time, they find that their stomach is uncomfortable, because the slight cold of chrysanthemums hurts the spleen and stomach of the human body.
Therefore, drinking tea substitutes pays attention to stopping the disease (that is, after a certain prescription medicine has achieved an effect in treating a certain disease, it can be stopped).
An example of the choice of Chinese medicine instead of tea
Not all Chinese herbs are suitable for casual brewing.
√ First of all, the selection range can be selected from the list of traditional Chinese medicines that can be used for health food published by the National Health Commission, which not only has medicinal value, but also is relatively mild and not easy to produce toxic side effects.
√ Secondly, try to choose mosaic leaves and fruits, which can exert their medicinal effects without decoction or other processing, and are more suitable for brewing.
√ Again, try to choose some sweet and fragrant Chinese medicine as a substitute for tea, which is more palatable. By following these principles, the range of options can be significantly narrowed.
These traditional Chinese medicines with the same origin as medicine and food with health care functions can be roughly divided into three categories:
One is more cool and cold, such as: chrysanthemum, mint, honeysuckle, etc., which can play a role in clearing heat and detoxifying;
The second type is biased towards warm supplements, such as: wolfberry, mulberry, and jujube can play a role in strengthening the body;
The third type is relatively peaceful, such as longan meat, roses, etc., which not only has certain medicinal effects, but can also be used as a blend of medicinal properties and regulating taste.
Here are a few of them:
1. Chrysanthemum
"Shennong's Materia Medica" records that it is slightly cold, which can relieve heat and clear fire, and treat external fever; At the same time, it can clear the head, treat dizziness caused by liver inflammation, clear the liver and clear the eyes; It can also detoxify and treat all kinds of sores.
Chrysanthemum due to different varieties, the effect is also slightly different, the treatment of external wind heat mostly use yellow chrysanthemum (Hangzhou chrysanthemum); To clear the liver and fire and brighten the eyes, white chrysanthemum (Chu chrysanthemum) is used; Wild chrysanthemums are used to detoxify sores.
Modern pharmacological studies have shown that chrysanthemum can dilate coronary arteries, increase coronary blood flow, and reduce blood pressure, while also having a certain antipyretic effect. Wild chrysanthemum also has antipyretic, antihypertensive, increased coronary blood flow and broad-spectrum antibacterial effects.
Dosage: 10~15 grams.
If you are a person with a weak spleen and stomach or even a cold body, it is not recommended to choose, and pregnant women and menstruation should try not to drink. When choosing chrysanthemums, we should try to choose sweet, bitter and fragrant chrysanthemums, pure and bitter chrysanthemums are not recommended because of the excessive coldness, which is easy to damage the function of the spleen and stomach.
2. Peppermint
"New Materia Medica" records that it is cold. This product can dissipate wind and heat dissipation, aromatic and clear, clear the leader, and also dispel filth, clear the throat, and relieve the liver and regulate qi. It is commonly used to treat external wind and heat, fever, cough, headache, red eyes, sore throat and mouth ulcers; Liver qi is stagnant, irritated and angry.
Dosage 1.5~6 grams.
This product has strong sweating power and is easy to consume gas, so it is not suitable for those who are weak and sweaty, and because of its coldness, a large amount or long-term application is easy to cause diarrhea, and it is not suitable for people with weak spleen and stomach, and it is not suitable for pregnant women and menstruation, and it is not suitable to be taken alone.
3. Honeysuckle
It is recorded in the "Farewell" that it is cold. This product is good at dissipating the evil heat of the lungs, and can clear the heat and poison of the heart and stomach, so it is a good medicine for heat dissipation and detoxification. It can also be used to treat carbuncle poison at the beginning of external wind heat or warm disease.
Dosage 15~60g.
Due to the cold of this product, it is not recommended to take it alone or for a long time, so as not to damage the function of the spleen and stomach.
4. 枸杞子
"Shennong's Materia Medica" records that this product is a medicine for nourishing the liver and kidneys and brightening the eyes. It is suitable for dizziness, vision loss, waist and knee soreness, dry mouth and thirst, sperm loss and other symptoms caused by liver and kidney yin deficiency. This product also has the effect of moistening the lungs, which can treat the fatigue cough of lung and kidney yin deficiency.
Modern studies have shown that this product can regulate immune function, promote hematopoiesis, anti-fatigue, have certain antihypertensive, lipid-lowering, hypoglycemic, anti-tumor effects, and have a certain therapeutic effect on male infertility.
Dosage: 5~10 grams.
Because this product can moisturize yin and dryness, the spleen and stomach are weak, and loose stools should not be used.
5. Roses
It is recorded in "Food Materia Medica" that it can relieve liver and depression, awaken the spleen and stomach, and promote qi, blood circulation and pain relief. It can not only treat chest and abdomen distension caused by liver qi stagnation, but also treat menstrual irregularities, breast tenderness, and also have a certain effect on injuries caused by bruises.
Modern research has confirmed that the rose oil contained in it has a certain effect on promoting bile secretion.
Dosage: 3~6g.
This product is warm, dry stool should not be used alone, and has a certain effect of blood activation, bleeding or bleeding tendency should not be used.
With the above knowledge, you can scientifically match, for example, people with liver and kidney yin deficiency and liver yang hyperactivity can drink chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea; If you have recently had a wind-heat cold, you can use chrysanthemum and peppermint tea for a short time; If the throat is swollen and sore, you can use peppermint and honeysuckle tea; If you are in a bad mood recently and your spleen and stomach are weak, you can use chrysanthemum and rose tea; If you have a deficiency in your heart and spleen, overthinking, and liver fire, you can use chrysanthemums and longan meat instead of tea. However, it should be emphasized that tea substitutes cannot replace medicines, especially for people with unclear conditions and severe symptoms, please ask a professional doctor for guidance.
A few questions about the use of Chinese medicine as a substitute for tea
Hot service: It is mostly used for cold syndrome and most tea drinks, which means that it needs to be drunk while it is hot and warm, but it should not be too hot.
Cool clothes: mostly used for heat syndrome or summer, refers to taking at room temperature, should not be drunk after cooling and refrigeration, so as not to stimulate the digestive tract and produce adverse reactions.
The type of tea substitute drink of traditional Chinese medicine is different, and the drinking time is different.
Treatment: Traditional Chinese medicine pays attention to "stopping the disease", that is, after a drug treatment has achieved the effect and achieved the purpose of treatment, it can be stopped, and it is not suitable to take it for a long time.
Rehabilitation: Can be taken for a longer period of time as directed by a doctor.
Health care: Generally, more ingredients with the same origin of medicine and food are selected, which are relatively peaceful and can be taken for a long time. However, it is also necessary to distinguish the cold and heat of the constitution, and pay attention to the feeling of taking it.
● When drinking qi-tonifying medicinal tea, it is not advisable to consume raw radish, coriander, mustard greens and other foods that break the qi and disperse, such as ginseng and jujube tea.
● When drinking medicinal tea with heat-clearing and detoxifying effects, it is not advisable to consume spicy, greasy and fishy foods, such as honeysuckle tea.
● When drinking medicinal tea that dissolves the divergence, it is not advisable to consume raw, cold, and greasy foods, such as ginger, green onion, and white tea.
● Try not to take it with Western medicine.
● Traditional Chinese medicine believes that syndrome differentiation and treatment should also be differentiated, and the specific situation should be followed by the doctor's instructions.