"Didn't you say that Panax notoginseng powder can dredge blood vessels and prevent cerebral infarction, why did my dad still eat cerebral infarction", Uncle Wang's son asked helplessly.
Uncle Wang, 62 years old this year, when his wife died more than a year ago, he was sent to the hospital due to excessive grief and was diagnosed with a slight cerebral infarction.
However, during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, Uncle Wang felt that his body did not obey the call after waking up, his hands and feet were numb, and it was difficult to walk. Seeing this, his family immediately realized that something was wrong and immediately took him to the hospital. As a result, Uncle Wang's intracranial blood vessels were blocked again, and cerebral infarction occurred again.
In this regard, the son was very puzzled, why did his father have a cerebral infarction?
After consultation, the doctor learned that Uncle Wang heard more than half a year ago that Panax notoginseng powder can soften blood vessels, promote blood circulation and eliminate blood stasis, and can prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. He was worried about the side effects of taking Western medicine for a long time, so he simply stopped aspirin and began to eat Panax notoginseng powder.
The doctor said that the reason why Uncle Wang had a cerebral infarction this time was because he stopped taking aspirin, which caused platelet deposition, narrowed blood vessels and led to cerebral infarction.
1. Is it useful to drink Panax notoginseng powder for a long time to prevent cardiovascular diseases?
As middle-aged and elderly people get older, the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases also increases, so they always want to prevent it through various ways, such as the more popular notoginseng powder, so can notoginseng powder really protect cardiovascular health?
The Chinese Pharmacopoeia records in detail that Panax notoginseng is the dried rhizome and root of Panax notoginseng of the Panaxaceae family, which is warm and sweet and slightly bitter, mainly belongs to the liver and stomach meridians, and has the effect of reducing swelling and dispersing stasis and stopping bleeding, and is often used for vomiting blood, coughing up blood, blood in the stool, collapse and leakage, traumatic bleeding or swelling and pain in the chest and abdomen.
Panax notoginseng has a strong effect of invigorating blood and removing blood stasis, traditional Chinese medicine believes that cardiovascular diseases are related to blood circulation and blood stasis and qi stagnation, and it is the stasis caused by poor blood circulation that makes the body numb and dizzy and chest tightness, so traditional Chinese medicine treatment pays attention to invigorating qi and invigorating blood circulation, and it happens that the effect of notoginseng is to invigorate blood circulation and remove blood stasis, but in fact, there is no concept of "blood vessels" in modern medicine, but if it is understood as improving blood circulation and blood circulation, then notoginseng can indeed be done.
From the perspective of modern pharmacology, the total saponins extracted in Panax notoginseng have the effects of dilating coronary arteries, increasing coronary blood flow, anti-arteriosclerosis, inhibiting platelet activation and aggregation adhesion, cardiotonic and anti-thrombosis. In particular, it has a protective effect on the damage caused by cerebral vascular ischemia and hypoxia, as well as cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury.
Since both Chinese and Western medicine have notoginseng to help cardiovascular diseases, is it possible to use notoginseng powder as a treatment?
In this regard, Li Xin, director of the Department of Pharmacy and director of the Department of Pharmacy of Changsha Third Hospital, said that although Panax notoginseng can invigorate blood, it cannot replace anticoagulants. At present, there is no relevant research or experimental data to confirm that Panax notoginseng can replace aspirin, statin and other drugs to prevent cardiovascular diseases, and the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in various countries do not mention that Panax notoginseng can replace anticoagulants, so it is not recommended to replace aspirin with Panax notoginseng to treat cardiovascular diseases.
2. Long-term use of Panax notoginseng powder may face 4 major side effects
Panax notoginseng powder is one of the essential drugs for many families, although the effect of invigorating blood circulation and removing blood stasis is significant, but when taking Panax notoginseng powder for a long time, you should also be careful that there are four major side effects.
1. Hurt the stomach and intestines
Panax notoginseng powder has many compounds, which are easy to adhere to the stomach wall after eating, which can easily damage gastrointestinal health and lead to a decline in gastrointestinal function.
2. Cause difficulty falling asleep
Panax notoginseng powder has the effect of invigorating blood and removing blood stasis, and it is easy to excite the body after taking it, resulting in difficulty in falling asleep. In addition, Panax notoginseng powder will promote metabolism, and when taken too much, it is easy to cause thirst, thereby reducing the quality of sleep at night.
3. Affect heart function
Studies have shown that taking too much notoginseng powder can cause atrioventricular block, which can lead to abnormal heart fluctuations.
4. Increase the risk of bleeding
For people who have a bleeding disorder or a tendency to bleed, Panax notoginseng powder may increase the risk of bleeding. This is especially true when used concomitantly with antiplatelet drugs such as aspirin, which is especially important to be aware of the potential risk of bleeding. Therefore, it is recommended to use Panax notoginseng powder under the guidance of a doctor.
Especially for the following groups of people, blindly taking Panax notoginseng powder is not only not beneficial, but may also harm health.
- Women's menstruation or pregnancy: Women taking Panax notoginseng powder during menstruation may cause problems such as increased bleeding or prolonged menstruation, and taking Panax notoginseng powder during pregnancy can easily lead to miscarriage.
- People with blood deficiency and stasis: People with whitish nails and no luster often have the problem of blood deficiency, and they are generally not suitable for taking Panax notoginseng powder.
- Patients with peptic ulcer: Panax notoginseng powder can aggravate the symptoms of peptic ulcer and may induce gastrointestinal bleeding.
- Patients with high fever or fever: Panax notoginseng powder can be steady, while people with high fever or fever can aggravate inflammation when taking Panax notoginseng powder.
- People with coagulation disorders: Panax notoginseng powder can promote blood circulation and eliminate blood stasis, which will aggravate coagulation abnormalities, especially for patients who are taking anticoagulants or antiplatelet drugs, they should be prohibited from taking Panax notoginseng powder.
3. Take Panax notoginseng powder scientifically, and remember these 3 points are beneficial
Traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine have certified the powerful efficacy of Panax notoginseng to invigorate blood circulation and eliminate blood stasis, and Panax notoginseng also has the reputation of "gold does not change" and "southern sacred grass". But notoginseng powder can't be eaten indiscriminately, especially pay attention to three requirements.
1. Raw and cooked food have different effects
Raw Panax notoginseng powder can lower blood pressure, lower blood lipids, promote blood circulation and eliminate blood stasis, and is effective for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as traumatic bleeding, vomiting blood, bruises, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and so on; It is recommended to take 3-5g per day with warm water or milk in two divided doses before meals, and it is not recommended to take it before bedtime.
Cooked Panax notoginseng powder can nourish blood and replenish blood, and is effective for blood loss and anemia, neurasthenia, and physical weakness; Generally, 10-20g of notoginseng powder can be added when stewing chicken or stewed pork ribs, and the simmering time should not exceed 10 minutes to avoid destroying the effect of notoginseng.
2. There is a limit to the dosage, a small amount and many times
It is most appropriate for people with normal physique to consume 3-5g of Panax notoginseng powder every day, but to avoid taking it all at once, it is recommended that 3-5g can be taken in three times.
3. Learn to distinguish between Panax notoginseng and Panax notoginseng
Panax notoginseng is a ginseng genus of the Penticaceae family, which is non-toxic and can reduce swelling and relieve pain and promote blood stasis, while Panax notoginseng is a plant of the Senliguang family of the Asteraceae family, although it can also disperse stasis and relieve pain, but the pyrrolidine alkaloids contained in it are very hepatotoxic. It is recommended to go to the regular pharmacy to buy Panax notoginseng powder, the color of Panax notoginseng powder is not white or green or white-green with a little yellow, to avoid white or green.
Panax notoginseng has a very good effect of reducing swelling and dispersing stasis and stopping bleeding, if there are cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, you should still take chemical drugs according to the doctor's instructions, and do not stop the drug without authorization.
Resources:
[1] "Can Blood-Activating Panax Notoginseng Treat Coronary Heart Disease?" 》. The Third Hospital of Changsha.2022-01-26
[2] "Rational Use of Medicine|Panax notoginseng powder can not be eaten at will, be careful of these side effects". China Journal of Food and Drug Administration.2023-10-10
[3] "These Medicines and Foods: One Word Difference, World Difference!" Don't Eat Wrong". Health Times.2021-01-09
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