Can ceramic pots be used to boil Chinese medicine?

Nowadays, due to physical illness, some people have to take Chinese medicine regularly every day. The utensils used when boiling Chinese medicine are very important, because the utensils can also determine whether the Chinese medicine is suitable for our physical condition after being boiled and will not deteriorate due to the utensils. Generally, ceramic pots are not very good for boiling Chinese medicine. It is recommended that you choose professional Chinese medicine pots or casseroles when boiling Chinese medicine.

The most important part of Chinese herbal decoction is the decocting process. The decocting method and time must be correct, and the vessel for decocting the medicine must be correct.

If the utensils are not right, it will affect the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine. Here, casseroles or special ceramic medicine jars are the first choice because they conduct heat evenly and are non-toxic and harmless. The main component of the casserole is silicate, which has stable chemical properties, heats evenly, transfers heat slowly, and the water is not easy to evaporate when decocting medicine, making it the first choice for decocting medicine. It should be noted that sudden heating or cooling of the casserole will cause cracks. Therefore, do not wash the casserole that has just been used to boil medicine with cold water immediately. Let it cool on dry wood chips or racks before cleaning the medicine stains. Do not soak the grease on the casserole with detergent to prevent sewage from seeping into the pores. It can be wiped with leftover tea leaves, or soaked in rice water to heat it, and then scrubbed with a brush.

As for aluminum products, there is some controversy. Since aluminum products are safe for long-term use as tableware, there will not be any major problems if they are used for short-term or occasional use to decoct Chinese medicine. However, if there are some acidic or alkaline drugs in the Chinese medicine prescription, such as black plum, hawthorn, schisandra, papaya, borax, etc., it is best not to use aluminum utensils to decoct the medicine.

Copper and iron utensils are also not recommended for boiling Chinese medicine. The ancients have always advocated not using copper utensils to decoct medicine because copper can cause human poisoning. Although iron utensils are widely used in daily life, they are not suitable for decocting Chinese medicine. Iron can react with tannins in traditional Chinese medicine to generate aluminum tannate and iron tannate, producing black-green precipitates, which can cause nausea and vomiting after taking them. Aluminum and iron can also undergo replacement reactions with traditional Chinese medicines containing heavy metals such as cinnabar to generate toxic free mercury.

The above content can be summarized into the following three points:

1. The best ceramic vessels for boiling Chinese medicine are casseroles and sand pots, because they have stable chemical properties, are not easy to react with the medicinal ingredients, and have uniform heat conduction and good warmth retention.

2. Secondly, you can use white enamelware or stainless steel pot.

3. Avoid using metal utensils such as iron, copper, and aluminum when decocting medicine. Because metal elements can easily react chemically with the Chinese medicinal ingredients in the medicine, the efficacy may be reduced or even produce toxic side effects.

I hope everyone can choose the right container when boiling Chinese medicine so that the medicine can be more effective.