It is a big mistake for everyone to drink this thing for winter tonic!

Winter is a good time to nourish and regulate the body, and my country's medicinal liquor with a long history is the most commonly used method for men to maintain health in winter. As the saying goes, "Wine is the best of all medicines", which shows that wine itself also has the effect of medicine. The organic combination of wine and medicine is a match made in heaven. In China, there are many types of medicinal liquors with different effects. Among them, internal medicinal liquors are mainly divided into two categories: one is the medicinal liquor with tonic effect, such as ginseng wine, deer antler wine, and ten-ingredient tonic wine, etc.; the second is the medicinal liquor with therapeutic effect, such as wind-chasing medicinal liquor and rheumatism medicinal liquor, etc.

There are some particularities in choosing medicinal wine

Alcohol can dissolve the fat-soluble and water-soluble active ingredients in medicinal materials, thereby better improving the efficacy of the medicine. When making medicinal wine, it is best to use liquor with an alcohol content of 50% or above, because liquor with an alcohol content of 50% or above can kill the bacteria, pathogens, harmful microorganisms, parasites, insect eggs, etc. present in the medicinal materials to a large extent when soaking them, making the medicinal wine safer and more effective. Beer is generally not used to make medicinal wine. Usually, Lao Baigan, yellow wine or high-concentration sorghum wine are used. After mixing them with medicinal materials and soaking them, they have an attractive and fragrant smell. Another advantage of choosing white wine is that it is not easy to deteriorate and is easy to store.

Not all medicinal materials are suitable for making medicinal wine

Plant medicinal materials should be free of sludge, impurities, etc. as much as possible and dried to ensure that the medicinal wine can exert its maximum efficacy.

For animal medicines, not only the sludge and impurities must be removed, but also the animal's internal organs. For venomous snakes, the heads should be removed and rinsed with clean water. You can use a stove or oven to bake, which can not only sterilize it at high temperature, but also make the medicinal materials emit a slight fragrance. After baking, the active ingredients in the animal medicine can be better dissolved in the wine, and the medicinal wine will be more mellow. It is important to note that when choosing animal medicinal materials, you must not choose those that are rotten, spoiled or moldy.

In addition, all mineral medicines with toxic ingredients, such as those containing mercury, lead, etc., cannot be used to make medicinal wine. It is reported that many emperors of my country's Tang Dynasty died due to taking elixirs and medicinal liquor containing lead and mercury.

Not everyone is suitable for using medicinal wine

Since it is better to use strong liquor to make medicinal wine, not everyone can adapt to it, and medicinal wine health care is not suitable for everyone. It also depends on physical condition, age, etc. Generally, tonic medicinal liquors have a mild nature and taste and are suitable for most people to drink. However, patients with cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, fatty liver, diabetes, etc. should not drink alcohol; at the same time, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding are also not suitable for drinking medicinal liquor. In addition, people who are taking medication need to stop drinking medicinal liquor to avoid affecting the efficacy of the medication.

Although medicinal wine has good health-care effects, it does not mean that the more you drink, the better. Experts recommend not to drink more than 10 ml of medicinal wine each time. The best time to drink it is within half an hour after dinner every day, and only drink it once. In addition, medicinal wine should not be consumed for a long time, otherwise it will affect metabolism and cause protein loss.

Some people cannot adapt to the bitter and strange taste of medicinal wine. You can add some honey to the wine, which can effectively reduce the irritation of the wine to the stomach and intestines.

Wine soaking misunderstanding: the longer the soaking time, the better

Many people believe that the longer the medicinal wine is soaked, the better the efficacy, and the older the wine is, the better. In fact, this is not true. If the temperature is high, the time period is short, and if the temperature is low, the time period is long. If the room temperature is around 20℃, the medicinal wine can be soaked for 15-30 days. In summer, it can be consumed after soaking for 5-7 days. If the soaking time is too long, it will affect the antibacterial effect of alcohol and may even cause the medicinal materials to mold, which will affect the efficacy of the medicine and even harm your health. Animal medicinal liquors take longer to brew because they may contain more bacteria and should be drunk as soon as possible after brewing.

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Selection of medicinal materials

Tonifying Qi: Ginseng, Atractylodes macrocephala, yam, Astragalus, Codonopsis pilosula, and American ginseng have the effect of tonifying the spleen and lungs.

Promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis: Salvia miltiorrhiza, Leonurus japonicus, Achyranthes bidentata, Safflower, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Curcuma aromatica, Panax notoginseng, and Viscum album have the effects of dredging blood vessels, removing blood stasis, and promoting blood circulation.

Nourishing blood: Angelica sinensis, mulberry, longan, Polygonum multiflorum, Rehmannia glutinosa, and Millettia reticulata, which are mainly used to treat blood deficiency and have the effect of nourishing the heart and liver.