Elderly people who are recovering from serious illnesses, weaknesses, or diseases are willing to spend a lot of money on Chinese herbal medicines to supplement their bodies, including American ginseng, Chinese wolfberry, cordyceps, or royal jelly, which can help improve the problem of physical weakness and nourish the organism.
What do I need to know about tonic herbs?
1. The best time to take herbs
Tonic herbs should be taken on an empty stomach, the best time to take them is in the morning, or when there are no contents in the gastrointestinal tract before meals, to maximize the effect of treating diseases or tonic deficiency. According to Chinese medicine, drugs and food should not be used at the same time, at least 30 minutes apart. Most of the drugs used in the treatment of diseases are bitter and cold, so they should be used 30 minutes after meals to avoid gastrointestinal discomfort on an empty stomach. This is not the case with tonic drugs, which depend on the spleen and stomach to transport and transform them, and the spleen and stomach prefer sweet foods, so tonic herbs are sweet and mild and can be taken on an empty stomach to help the gastrointestinal tract absorb them.
2. Choose the right type
The key point of tonic herbal medicine is to regulate, pay attention to slow, not fast treatment, use less amount of medicine at one time, fewer times, and less irritation to the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract. Usually, the types of tonic herbs are poultices and decoctions. Taking the medicine on an empty stomach improves its utilization rate and facilitates absorption, and the drug can enter the gastrointestinal tract quickly to maintain the drug concentration, thus maximizing the tonic effect. Some tonic herbs are presented in the form of bulk, oral liquid, or pills, and their administration should be scheduled 30-60 minutes before meals, as there are no contents in the stomach during this time and there is no need to worry about dilution by food in the stomach. Tonic herbs should not be arranged to be used before going to bed unless they are nourishing yin-type drugs or drugs to calm the mind and nourish the brain.
3. Distinguish the type of deficiency evidence
Blood deficiency should choose blood tonic, Qi deficiency should choose Qi tonic, and Yin deficiency should choose Yin tonic, which should not be used arbitrarily. For example, Agaricus berry and ginkgo berry have the effect of nourishing Yin and replenishing blood, and cannot be used by those with severe Yang deficiency and phlegm-dampness, so as not to affect appetite; the key point of deer antler and ginseng is warm tonic, which is not suitable for those with Yin deficiency and fire.
4. Understand the contraindications
When taking tonic drugs, you cannot eat fried, fatty, sweet, greasy, spicy, and stimulating food. Especially with astragalus, American ginseng, and ginseng, you cannot eat radishes, green beans, milk, strong tea, etc., so as not to affect the effectiveness of the medicine.
Warm tips
Tonic medicine can only be used when the gastrointestinal tract is normal. If there is diarrhea, poor digestion, weak spleen, stomach, etc., the first step is to properly nourish the spleen and stomach and use tonic medicine only when it has been nourished to the best condition. It is worth noting that tonic medicine should not be used when suffering from infectious diseases and external wind and cold, especially when having acute fever, coughing with a lot of phlegm, and cold, so as not to make the condition worse.