Traditional Chinese medicine is a treasure of traditional medicine in mainland China
It has a unique theory and rich experience,
For the prevention and treatment of various diseases
It has an irreplaceable role.
But, you know what?
The seemingly simple "boiling medicine" is actually very particular,
If the decoction is not properly cooked,
Not only will it affect the efficacy of the drug,
It can even lead to drug toxicity.
Today
Let the pharmacist reveal some common secrets for everyone
misunderstanding of decoction of traditional Chinese medicine,
Let you take effective Chinese medicine
Popular science on maternal and child health
Myth 1: Use an iron pot or aluminum pot to decoction
In daily life, we often use iron pots and aluminum pots to cook vegetables, and we take it for granted that cooking medicine is just a pot, which is very wrong!
The chemical composition of traditional Chinese medicine is relatively complex, and it is easy to react with iron, aluminum and other metals, reducing the efficacy and even producing toxic substances. Stainless steel, ceramic, or casserole pots should be used.
Myth 2: Use mineral water and mountain spring water to cook medicine
Some people think that boiling chicken soup with mineral water or mountain spring water tastes good, and it must be better to use it to cook medicine, which is also a wrong idea. Mountain spring water and mineral water contain unknown mineral elements, and decoction with traditional Chinese medicine will affect the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine. Use clean tap water.
Myth 3: Chinese medicine is cleaner after washing
Some people like to wash Chinese medicine, thinking that it is cleaner. Many traditional Chinese medicine contains ingredients that are easily soluble in water, and some components will be lost after washing; some powdered medicinal materials will be lost after washing, such as Haijinsha and Puhuang; and some medicinal materials are concocted with wine or bile, which will dissolve the excipients in water and be lost after washing. In fact, the Chinese medicine taken home from the hospital is all Chinese medicine decoction pieces, which have been processed and can be used directly without cleaning.
Myth 4: It is faster to add water to decoction directly or boil medicine with boiling water
Some people think that this saves time and effort, so why not do it. Although this is done quickly, the plant protein and starch in the medicinal materials will be coagulated or gelatinized due to high temperature, which will make the plant cell wall not easy to rupture, which will make it difficult for the active ingredients inside the medicinal materials to be fully dissolved, thereby reducing the efficacy of the drug. Generally, cold water is used to soak, and the soaking time can not be too long, especially in summer, it is easy to breed bacteria, and it is generally advisable to soak for about half an hour.
Myth 5: Repeatedly open the lid and add water repeatedly during decoction
The pot has a different size and heat, and when cooking the medicine, you will worry that the water is not enough, or the psychology is bottomless, and you will repeatedly open the lid of the pot to see the medicine, or you will be afraid that the medicine will not be enough, so you will add water many times. In order to make the decoction of the medicine thorough, it is advisable to cover and decoction, especially when the traditional Chinese medicine containing volatile components such as mint, Su leaf, Huoxiang, etc., not covering or opening the lid many times will cause the active ingredients to be lost with water vapor and affect the efficacy of the medicine. If you find that the potion is not enough during the decoction process, you can add cold or hot water appropriately, and if you add water frequently and repeatedly, it will also affect the efficacy.
Myth 6: The longer you fry it, the better
Some people will think that the more the soup is boiled, the more fragrant it is, and the longer the medicine is definitely better. As everyone knows, the longer the active ingredient of the anti-epithetical and aromatic herbs is boiled, the more volatile it is, and the content of the active ingredient decreases, which affects the efficacy, or the long-term high-temperature decoction will also destroy the active ingredient and reduce the effect. Cold relief is generally boiled over high heat for 10~15 minutes. After other general medicines are boiled over high heat, boil slightly over low heat for about 30 minutes. Generally, decoction is done twice, mixed twice, and taken in 2~3 times. Some Chinese herbs take a long time to cook, and they need to be stirred several times during the decoction process to avoid the bottom of the pan.
Myth 7: Add water and cook after the medicine is boiled
Some people didn't pay attention to the fire, the pot was pasted, and they were afraid of wasting, so they simply added water to boil. This behavior is wrong. It is not recommended to leave or leave for too long when cooking medicine, if you don't pay attention to it, it is easy to boil dry and boil, and the boiled Chinese medicine has been carbonized, and many active ingredients have been destroyed, which may produce completely different effects, such as nepeta, whose effect is to relieve the surface and dispel wind, if the paste pot, it will become nepeta charcoal, and the effect has changed, becoming a blind hemostatic drug, and no longer has the function of solving the surface. Some medicines may also produce harmful ingredients that can cause harm to the body and should not be used again. At this time, the medicine pot should be cleaned and another dose of medicine should be taken and re-decoction.
Myth 8: Large packets of medicine are cooked together
Many people take the medicine home and see that there are some small packages, and they don't care, so they soak and cook them together with the big packets of medicine, which is wrong. Small-sized packages of medicine generally have special decoction requirements. Different Chinese medicines have different properties and different effects, and the decoction requirements are also different. Generally, the common decoction includes first frying, then lowering, wrapping decoction, cooking, and frying.
First decoction: if the drug is minerals and shellfish, these drugs should not only be put into the pot for 20~30 minutes, but also broken, so that the active ingredients can be fully dissolved; if some toxic drugs, such as aconite, aconitum, etc., these toxic drugs need to be decocted for 30~60 minutes, which can reduce the toxicity of the drug;
After: Drugs containing aromatic volatile components, such as peppermint, Huoxiang, almonds, etc., should not be cooked for too long, generally 5~10 minutes before the decoction of other medicines is put in and cooked together;
Wrapping decoction: It is to wrap the medicine in gauze, and then soak it with other medicines and decoction together. Seeds or powders, if not decoctioned, will make the liquid medicine turbid, extremely viscous, and easy to make the bottom of the pot burned, such as psyllium, puhuang, etc.;
Another decoction: Some precious medicines cannot be decocted together with other herbs, if mixed with decoction, the active ingredients can not be fully decocted, resulting in waste, such as ginseng, American ginseng, deer antler velvet, etc. It should be decocted separately, and then the liquid medicine should be combined with other decoction liquids;
Calming: There are some gum drugs, such as ejiao, deer horn gum and other gums, if they are decocted together with other medicines, it is easy to cause the active ingredients to be absorbed by the residue, which should be dissolved with water or wine, or it can be slightly heated until it dissolves, and then it is taken together with the decoctioned Chinese medicine;
Preparation: Powders that are easily soluble in water, such as miscanthus salt, etc. Pour the medicine into the decoction solution, stir well, and take it together.
Text丨Cao Xuehuan