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Uncle Li is over sixty years old, but his body is still tough.
For him, medicinal wine is like a daily health guarantee, a drink after dinner every night can not only warm the stomach, but also relieve back pain, but this "healthy habit" has become the beginning of a nightmare for him and his relatives and friends.
Uncle Li's way of making his own liquor is very simple:
I found a lot of "tonic" Chinese herbal medicines, threw them directly into them, added high-concentration liquor, soaked for a very long time, and drank a small glass every night.
At first, Uncle Li felt well, and even the symptoms of back pain were reduced, and his mental state became more and more vigorous, but what people didn't expect was that in less than two months, Uncle Li's body began to show abnormalities: his eyes were swollen, his hands and feet were cold, and even the amount of urine was getting less and less.
He thought it was a minor illness and continued to drink medicinal wine to "recuperate", but the situation became more and more serious.
At the same time, Uncle Li's relatives and neighbors began to have similar symptoms, and these people, like Uncle Li, had been drinking his home-medicated liquor for a long time, and eventually, they were rushed to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed them with acute kidney failure.
Some people even develop uremia and need immediate dialysis treatment.
After careful examination, the doctor found that the medicinal liquor brewed by Uncle Li contained certain toxic ingredients, which caused serious kidney damage and collective "poisoning" in these people.
Medicinal wine is considered to be a good remedy for "strengthening the body", why did it become "poisonous wine"?
Why does a glass of medicinal wine cause kidney failure in 15 people?
Medicinal wine, an ancient means of healing and health care in traditional Chinese medicine, has a history of thousands of years.
The principle of medicinal liquor is seemingly simple: through the "guide" effect of wine, the active ingredients in Chinese medicinal materials are released, and at the same time, the "blood circulation" function of wine is used to enhance the absorption and effect of drugs.
However, the production and consumption of medicinal liquor is not as safe as imagined, and the tragedy of Uncle Li and the people around him is that the process of making and taking medicinal liquor without professional guidance eventually leads to serious health problems.
From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, wine itself has the effect of circulating qi and invigorating blood and clearing the meridians, and is considered to be a medium that can be coordinated with Chinese herbal medicines.
Through the dissolution of alcohol, the active ingredients of medicinal materials can enter the human blood circulation more quickly to achieve treatment or health care, but in this process, alcohol is not only a "guide", it will also enhance the medicinal properties of some drugs, and even dissolve the hidden toxic components in the medicinal materials.
Taking Uncle Li's medicinal liquor as an example, it is very likely that he used some poisonous herbs, and the toxic components of these herbs were released in large quantities under the action of alcohol, and were eventually absorbed by the human body.
Modern medical research has shown that certain Chinese herbal medicines such as Aristolochia and Guangfangji contain aristolochic acid, which is a chemical that is extremely toxic to the human kidneys. After aristolochic acid enters the human body, it will directly damage the renal tubules and renal interstitium, resulting in renal tubular dysfunction, which in turn leads to kidney failure.
More seriously, aristolochic acid also has a potential carcinogenic effect, and long-term intake may increase the risk of bladder cancer.
In addition to the toxicity risk of a single herb, interactions between herbs also need to be treated with caution.
The "eighteen antis" in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine refer to the contraindications between the eighteen drugs.
If these herbs are mistakenly mixed, not only can they not exert their due therapeutic effect, but may produce highly toxic reactions, for example, the combination of aconitum and banxia, melon and other drugs will produce violent toxic reactions, even fatal.
The production of medicinal liquor often involves the combination of a variety of medicinal materials, and if the drug compatibility taboos are not strictly followed, the toxic effect will be greatly amplified.
Especially under the influence of alcohol, certain components in medicinal herbs can undergo chemical reactions, increasing their toxicity or side effects. For example, some common tonic herbs such as angelica and deer antler velvet, although beneficial to the body when used in moderation, may cause toxic reactions if they are mismatched with other herbs.
In addition, alcohol itself increases the burden on the liver and kidneys, and the metabolism of drugs mainly depends on the function of the liver and kidneys, so the toxic components in medicinal liquor will cause more damage to these two organs.
What happened to Uncle Li and 15 others provides us with a profound warning:
Medicinal liquor is not as "harmless" as the traditional concept believes, and self-medicated liquor is a huge hidden risk, which not only exposes the blind spot of ordinary people when making medicinal liquor, but also reveals the complex medical mechanism behind medicinal liquor.
Herbs are not "tonics".
Many people believe that Chinese herbal medicines are natural, harmless, and even prolong life when taken for a long time.
However, in fact, many Chinese herbal medicines contain certain toxicity and must be strictly processed to remove toxic components. Unprocessed medicinal herbs, especially under the influence of alcohol, their toxic components are amplified, and long-term ingestion can cause irreversible damage to the liver and kidneys.
The recipe and production of medicinal liquor is not simply done by soaking medicinal herbs in wine.
Traditional Chinese medicine pays attention to the principle of compatibility of medicinal materials, that is, the synergy between the main drug, the auxiliary drug, the adjuvant and the inducing drug needs to be rigorously designed.
Even if the medicinal liquor is properly formulated, it is still not a suitable choice for some special populations, such as patients with liver and kidney insufficiency, and long-term consumption of medicinal liquor will increase the burden on the liver and kidneys, leading to potential organ damage.
For pregnant women, children, the elderly and other people with special constitutions, the potential risk of medicinal alcohol is higher, so it is not advisable to drink it at will.
All in all, medicinal wine is not a simple "health tonic", its production and consumption require a high degree of professional knowledge and prudence, Uncle Li's tragedy tells us that there is no shortcut to health, and traditional health care methods are not the same as health methods recognized by modern science.
Why are the Chinese people fond of medicinal wine caught in the whirlpool of "right and wrong"?
As early as thousands of years ago, from the ancient medical book "Shennong Materia Medica" to the "Yellow Emperor Inner Classic", you can find records about medicinal wine, ancient Chinese believe that wine itself has certain medicinal properties, coupled with the assistance of Chinese herbal medicines, can regulate the body's qi and blood operation, play a role in disease prevention and treatment.
Therefore, medicinal wine was widely used in ancient times, not only as a means of curing diseases, but also as one of the important ways of daily health care.
In ancient times, the application of medicinal wine was not limited to the people, and many royal nobles and officials also had a soft spot for medicinal wine.
For example, the "Compendium of Materia Medica" records the recipes of a variety of medicinal wines, Li Shizhen believes that medicinal wine can drive away cold, invigorate blood, and strengthen the spleen, and like Ge Hong, a famous doctor in the Wei and Jin dynasties, he also mentioned in "Hug Puzi" that medicinal wine can regulate qi and blood and prolong life.
These functions of medicinal wine gave it a very high status in ancient society.
However, the use of medicinal liquor in ancient times was more controlled by experienced physicians and pharmacists, and the selection and matching of medicinal materials were based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine and long-term clinical practice.
With the changes of the times, medicinal wine has gradually changed from a means of healing to a widely circulated "health remedy", which has also brought many controversies to it.
More and more people are starting to brew their own medicinal liquor, and there are a dazzling array of "health medicinal liquor recipes" that can be seen everywhere on the Internet, and many people blindly follow the trend of self-medicated liquor without any professional guidance.
Most of these formulations come from non-standard approaches, and the selection of medicinal materials in the formulas is arbitrary, the dosage is difficult to control, and the interaction and potential toxicity of medicinal materials are not considered at all. This blind way of making medicinal liquor greatly increases the risk of medicinal liquor.
The combination of medicinal materials has strict regulations in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, paying attention to the balance of "monarchs and ministers" and "cold, hot and warm".
For example, cold herbs and warm herbs need to be used in a certain proportion to achieve the effect of blending with each other, and many people in modern times do not have this knowledge when making medicinal wine, and arbitrarily put some medicinal herbs that are considered "tonic" together, resulting in the conflict of medicinal properties and tastes, and even toxic reactions.
As a traditional means of health preservation, medicinal wine is widely publicized and exaggerated in modern society.
Many merchants and individuals boast that medicinal liquor is a "cure-all" elixir, believing that as long as they insist on drinking medicinal liquor, they can prolong life and strengthen their health. This kind of propaganda ignores the taboos and risks of using medicinal liquor, and induces a large number of people to blindly follow.
In fact, medicinal liquor is not suitable for everyone, especially for people with chronic diseases or organ dysfunction, and medicinal liquor may not only not bring health improvement, but rather aggravate the condition.
The source and quality of modern Chinese medicinal materials are uneven, and many medicinal materials may be contaminated or deteriorated during picking, storage, and transportation.
Some Chinese herbal medicines, such as those containing aristolochic acid, have strong toxicity, especially damage to the kidneys, which has been proven many times. If these herbs are not scientifically processed and directly used to make medicinal liquor, their toxicity will be dissolved by alcohol, increasing the risk of poisoning for those who take it.
In many people's perception, medicinal wine is often regarded as a "natural" health care product, so it is considered "harmless" and can even be drunk for a long time.
The theory of traditional Chinese medicine clearly points out that medicinal materials are divided into "cold, hot, warm and cool", and people with different physiques should choose suitable medicinal materials according to their own conditions, and many people in modern times lack awareness of this, and long-term consumption of medicinal wine that is not suitable for their physique may lead to an imbalance of yin and yang, but damage to health.
Therefore, self-medicated liquor must be cautious.
Ordinary people brew medicinal liquor by themselves, often lack professional knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine and experience in making medicinal liquor, and it is easy to ignore the compatibility and contraindications between medicinal materials and drug toxicity. This way of self-medicating liquor not only does not really play a health role, but can also bring serious health risks.
The formulation, production and use of medicinal liquor should be carried out under the guidance of professionals. We should not blindly believe in the "miraculous effect" of medicinal wine, let alone regard medicinal wine as a kind of panacea for all diseases.
Health needs to be scientifically managed and maintained, and any health preservation method without scientific basis will bring potential harm to the body.
The doctor reminded: These 3 types of traditional Chinese medicine, do not use it to soak in wine
The production of medicinal liquor is not as simple as people think, and the selection and compatibility of medicinal materials, as well as the time and temperature of brewing, will have an important impact on the final effect and safety.
When making medicinal liquor, professional Chinese medicine practitioners will formulate personalized medicinal liquor formulas based on rich pharmaceutical knowledge and clinical experience, taking into account the patient's constitution, condition, and the sexual taste of medicinal materials.
In addition, they will also remove toxic components from medicinal materials through a strict processing process to ensure the safety of medicinal liquor.
When ordinary people make medicinal liquor, they often do not have systematic training in traditional Chinese medicine, and are prone to make two types of mistakes: one is the improper combination of medicinal materials, and the other is that the toxicity of medicinal materials is not adequate.
Common medicinal materials such as Chuanwu, Caowu, Aristolochia, etc., contain toxic components, if not professionally processed, the toxic components can not be effectively removed, these toxic herbs under the action of alcohol, toxic substances will be more easily dissolved, into the human body after causing acute poisoning reaction, and even life-threatening.
According to modern medical research and Chinese medicine theories, there are three types of Chinese herbal medicines that are particularly unsuitable for making wine, and these herbs have significant toxicity and side effects and must be treated with caution.
Chinese herbal medicine containing aristolochic acid
Aristolochic acid, a natural chemical substance, is widely found in Aristolochiaceae plants, such as Guangfangji, Tianxian vine, Aoki incense, etc. Aristolochic acid is extremely toxic to the human kidneys, which can lead to renal tubular cell necrosis, which in turn leads to acute renal failure.
Long-term intake of aristolochic acid not only causes kidney damage, but also carries a carcinogenic risk. Modern research has clearly pointed out that aristolochic acid is closely related to the occurrence of kidney cancer and bladder cancer, so many countries and regions around the world have listed aristolochic acid-containing Chinese herbal medicines as banned drugs.
Warm herbs
Medicinal materials such as deer antler velvet and aconite are classified as warm and tonic drugs in traditional Chinese medicine theory, which have a strong warming effect and are often used to treat yang deficiency constitution or cold diseases.
However, when this kind of herb is soaked in wine, the medicinal properties will be greatly enhanced by alcohol, and after taking it, it may lead to internal fire, headache, insomnia, irritability and other "fire" symptoms. For those who are hot in the body and have yin deficiency and fire, long-term use of warm medicinal wine may aggravate the heat in the body and lead to the aggravation of the disease.
Toxic herbs
Chuanwu and Caowu belong to the genus Aconitum and contain aconitine, which is a highly toxic substance. Aconitine can have a strong toxic reaction to the nervous system, which can cause numbness in the mouth, hands and feet, irregular heartbeat, dyspnea, and even life-threatening.
Although the toxicity of aconitine can be greatly reduced after being professionally processed, ordinary people often do not have enough technology to completely remove its toxicity when making medicinal liquor at home. Therefore, Chuanwu and Caowu medicinal materials are definitely not suitable for ordinary people to use to make medicinal wine.
For ordinary people, the risk of self-medicated liquor is not limited to the improper combination of medicinal materials, but also the ignorance of the toxicity of Chinese herbal medicines.
Those medicinal materials that have been clearly toxic, such as Chinese herbal medicines containing aristolochic acid and aconitine, should never be used to make medicinal wines, even if these medicinal materials are processed, they still have certain risks and must be used under the guidance of a professional physician.
In modern society, many of the home remedies and information about medicinal liquor lack scientific basis, and ordinary people should be wary of these unverified "secret recipes" and avoid blindly following the trend and trying.
As a means of conditioning, medicinal liquor is not suitable for all people, especially those with weak constitution and organ insufficiency, and it is best to seek the advice of a physician before using medicinal liquor for health care or treatment to ensure the safety and applicability of medicinal liquor.
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Bibliography:
Historical Evolution and Modern Interpretation of Medicinal Wine and Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Culture[J]. China Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2020, 45(4): 123-128.
Toxicity Mechanism of Aristolochic Acid and Its Relationship with Renal Failure[J]. Chinese Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2019, 34(7): 456-460.
Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine Processing on Toxic Components and Its Safety Analysis[J]. Chinese Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2018, 53(12): 789-793.