Do you know the "health secrets" in traditional customs? The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching and one may fall ill. Apart from seasonal and traditional customs
The Dragon Boat Festival is at the peak of Yang energy throughout the year, and it is also a time of rampant proliferation of various toxins and insects, making people more susceptible to illness during this period. Therefore, people usually use various traditional customs such as drinking realgar wine, hanging mugwort leaves and calamus, and wearing sachets to treat diseases and eliminate disasters. If these customs can be well utilized, Dragon Boat Festival can become the best season for health preservation.
Recently, the "Dragon Boat Festival" Shanghai Health Lecture Hall specially invited Dr. Zhang Xiangming, Director of the Internal Medicine Department of Putuo District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, and Dr. Zhu Weikang, Director of Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, to share the "health secrets" hidden in China's Dragon Boat Festival customs and help citizens manage their health from the inside out.
Drinking health tea, preventing diseases, promoting health, relieving greasiness, and promoting digestion
There is a custom of drinking afternoon tea in the Zhejiang area. During the Dragon Boat Festival, every household will go up the mountain and brew Dragon Boat tea by picking a hundred herbs according to their own tradition. Zhang Xiangming introduced that Dragon Boat Festival tea is a health drink made from huoxiang, wild chrysanthemums, mulberry leaves, calamus, houttuynia cordata, and other ingredients. It has the effects of clearing heat, clearing heat, dispelling impurities, and expelling evil spirits. It is a must-have drink for the people of Zhejiang in summer. Although Dragon Boat Festival tea is a health preserving medicinal tea, it is more like a guide in the world of diet, with a lingering charm that harmonizes with the tranquility of food.
Dragon Boat Festival tea can be used as a daily beverage and can also prevent and treat diseases. In ancient times, Zhejiang was mostly mountainous and had poor transportation conditions. It was inconvenient to invite a doctor when encountering illness. The ancestors would drink Dragon Boat Festival tea to prevent the disease. Therefore, the harmless Dragon Boat Festival tea of Baiyi has become a "universal tea" and a traditional folk health drink.
In addition to Dragon Boat Festival tea, people also make sour plum soup during the Dragon Boat Festival summer solstice. When I was a child, adults would always go to the pharmacy before and after the Dragon Boat Festival to grab a few Chinese medicinal herbs, then knock down a whole piece of yellow rock sugar and slowly boil it together in a large copper pot. Pour the boiled soup into a large copper teapot and put it into the well water. When drinking, it is truly refreshing and sweet.
The sour plum soup cooked by oneself has a slightly sour and sweet taste with a hint of smoky black plum, which is not the taste of beverages sold in supermarkets nowadays Zhang Xiangming introduced, "From the formula of sour plum soup, it can be seen that black plum can remove oil, relieve greasiness, astringent and produce saliva, hawthorn can invigorate the spleen and remove stagnation, tangerine peel can warm the middle and invigorate the spleen, dissolve phlegm and nodules, golden osmanthus can warm the meridians and relieve depression, and rock sugar can nourish qi and moisten the lungs. These medicinal herbs can be boiled together to relieve greasiness and reduce digestion, especially suitable for the hot and humid season."
Heat often carries dampness, do not forget to invigorate the spleen while dispelling dampness
Before and after the Dragon Boat Festival, various regions in the south will experience the rainy season, and the atmosphere of summer is already very strong. The collusion between dampness and heat can easily lead to the formation of "heat dampness" in the body, which is commonly known as "heat carrying more dampness". In order to dispel dampness, people often boil Job's tears and red bean water, but sometimes find that the effect is not significant.
Experts say that in addition to external dampness in natural environments such as rain and humid living conditions, there are also many sources of internal dampness. Excessive diet can lead to the inability of the spleen and stomach to move and produce moisture. The accumulation of dampness and turbidity over time can transform heat, and the dampness will turn into phlegm like sticky substances. At this time, dampness and heat will become phlegm dampness. Weight gain, acne, bloated stools, and irrational diarrhea, constipation, and sticky stools are often manifestations of phlegm dampness constitution. At this point, eating simple dehumidifying foods such as Job's tears and red beans is no longer useful.
"Job's tears do have the effect of dispelling dampness. However, dispelling dampness soup often uses the idea of clearing heat with cold and cool substances to dispel dampness. Occasionally drinking it a few times may be effective, but drinking it for a long time can damage the spleen yang, and over time, it will only make the body more and more wet. Experts say," People with phlegm dampness constitution must strengthen the spleen and supplement the spleen yang while dispelling dampness. Yam, Poria cocos, Five Finger Peach, Lotus Seed, Euryale Seed, Atractylodes macrocephala, and Dried Ginger all have the effect of invigorating the spleen. "
In addition, dried tangerine peel can be called a treasure of summer diet. It enters the spleen and lung meridians, has the effects of promoting qi and strengthening the spleen, regulating the middle and appetizing, regulating qi and dampness. "Qi deficiency, dryness, or excessive heat make it unsuitable to take pure tangerine peel water. You can add an appropriate amount of Atractylodes macrocephala, Poria cocos, and other ingredients to soak in water, which can not only regulate qi, but also have a very good effect on invigorating the spleen." During the activity, Zhang Xiaoming introduced two small tea formulas for dispelling phlegm and dampness. "Firstly, Chenpi Poria cocos tea. Wash 5 grams of Poria cocos and 2 grams of tangerine peel, put them in a thermos, pour them in hot water, and wait for 5 minutes to drink. Secondly, Chenpi Biandou Yam tea, 30 grams of yam, 30 grams of stir fried white Biandou, and 3 grams of tangerine peel, all of which can be boiled in water and flavored with sugar."
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon has a nine character proverb that goes, "The spleen is bitter and damp, and urgent eating is bitter and dry.". Bitter is the taste of fire, so it can be dry. In daily life, bitter gourd, lettuce, bitter cabbage, bitter bamboo shoots, wild garlic, and goji berry seedlings are all bitter foods. Zhang Xiangming introduced that the Winter Melon and Bitter Melon Backbone Soup, which is cooked from 200g of Winter Melon, 150g of Bitter Melon, 200g of Pig Backbone, and 8g of Honey Date, has the effects of clearing heat and relieving heat, promoting convenient water circulation, and generating fluids and eliminating troubles. It is suitable for people who are thirsty and restless, sweat more and urinate less, lack of appetite, chest tightness and fullness, and have acne on the face to drink. Zhang Xiangming reminded, "The older the bitter gourd, the more nourishing it is. When making soup, you should choose the old bitter gourd. However, bitter gourd has a cooler nature, so it should be consumed in moderation. After drinking this soup, people will feel very comfortable and refreshing."
Exorcism and epidemic prevention, accompanied by "Ten Divine Soup" for health and fragrance
Since ancient times, there has been a saying among the Chinese people that "Poisonous May" means the fifth month of the lunar calendar, in which the body's qi and blood are not smooth, diseases are frequent, and it is difficult to recuperate. "Fragrance" can dispel epidemic qi, and ancient people often wore mugwort sachets on their bodies, making them less susceptible to infection. Dr. Zhu Weikang, Chief Physician of Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, introduced that sachets are usually filled with some fragrant and enlightening Chinese herbs, which have the effects of refreshing fragrance, deworming, avoiding plague, and preventing diseases.
Regarding the characteristics of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as heat, dampness, and the breeding of mosquitoes and insects, Zhu Weikang has provided an exclusive formula for the Dragon Boat Festival sachet, which includes 9g of Atractylodes macrocephala, 9g of patchouli, 9g of orchid, 6g of camphor wood, 9g of mint, 9g of Acorus calamus, 9g of Schizonepeta tenuifolia, 6g of Angelica dahurica, 9g of borneol, 3g of Lingxiangcao, 15g of Shannai, and 6g of roses. This not only refreshes the mind, but also dispels insects and dispels evil spirits.
For the recent cases of COVID-19's first positive and second positive, Zhu Weikang suggested taking the improved version of "Shishen Decoction", that is, 45g of Pueraria lobata, 9g of Cimicifuga, 9g of tangerine peel, 9g of roasted liquorice, 9g of Chuanxiong, 9g of perilla leaf, 12g of Angelica dahurica, 9g of roasted ephedra, 9g of red peony root, 9g of vanilla, 5 pieces of ginger, and 9g of burdock seed.
"The 'Shishen Decoction' is an ancient prescription, which was first recorded in the 'Prescription for Emergency Treatment' of the Tang Dynasty. Because of the sore throat symptoms after infection with COVID-19, and some patients still have difficulty in defecating, a taste of burdock was added to the original 'Shishen Decoction', which can facilitate the swallowing and defecation at the same time." Zhu Weikang said, "The improved 'Shishen Decoction' can be used at every stage after COVID-19 infection, whether there is fever or not. When taking it, one dose a day, one dose of medicine is decocted twice, and it is taken after meals. If you have onions at home, you can add two pieces of onion white with connected whiskers. Soak and decoct together with traditional Chinese medicine, and the effect will be better."
Zhu Weikang also reminded that children should consult a pediatrician before drinking the improved version of "Ten Divine Soup". If the situation is urgent, the dosage of the entire prescription can be halved and medical attention should be sought promptly.
This event is hosted by the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, the Shanghai Health Promotion Commission Office, and the Shanghai Health Promotion Center. It is hosted by the Chongming District Health Promotion Guidance Center, the Chongming District Disease Prevention and Control Center, the Communist Party of China Dongping Town Committee, and the Dongping Town People's Government of Chongming District.
