The magic medicine for nourishing the kidneys, moistening the lungs and lowering the three highs is hidden in the bushes

Polygonatum sibiricum is produced in both the north and south of China. It has been a good medicine for replenishing qi and blood, and prolonging life since ancient times. It is widely valued by doctors and Taoists.

Li Shizhen, a famous doctor in the Ming Dynasty, was not only an expert in medicine, but also an upright person who was always thinking about benefiting the people.

Once, Li Shizhen went to other places to collect herbs. When he arrived at a county town to rest, he saw that the whole county was decorated with lights and lanterns, and there was a lot of people coming and going and traffic near the county government office.

Li Shizhen asked a passerby the reason, and it turned out that today was the county magistrate's birthday, and the whole county was mobilizing forces to celebrate. A passerby kindly told Li Shizhen: "The magistrate was originally a good official, but in the past two years he has colluded with the rich and powerful, and has become a different person because of his greed. If you attend the birthday party without giving a gift, they will find an excuse to punish you afterwards!"

Li Shizhen was not in a hurry. He went to the drugstore, bought something, put it in a gift box, and took the gift list to the yamen to celebrate the birthday.

The gatekeeper saw that Li Shizhen was wearing ordinary cloth clothes and wanted to drive him away with a stick. Li Shizhen held up the gift list and said, "I'm here to celebrate your birthday." The bailiff looked at the gift list and then led Li Shizhen into the county government office.

The magistrate took the gift list, on which was written "four taels of gold", and smiled so much that his eyes narrowed into slits. He also invited Li Shizhen to sit in the seat of honor.

In front of everyone, the magistrate opened the gift box and was immediately furious. He shouted angrily: "How dare you tease me with herbs? I'll beat you with forty sticks and kick you out!"

Li Shizhen laughed and said calmly: "Master, please don't be angry! This medicine is called Huangjing, which can moisten the lungs and kidneys, nourish the spleen and replenish qi. It is a top-grade tonic for the five labors and seven injuries. Today is the master's sixtieth birthday, and I will not hesitate to risk my life to climb the ten-thousand-foot dangerous peak and descend the thousand-foot valley to collect this hundred-year-old Huangjing as a birthday gift. The gift list wrote "Huangjing" as "gold", with three intentions: first, although gold is expensive, it cannot cure diseases and keep fit, while Huangjing can make people rejuvenate and prolong their lives; second, "Huangjing" and "gold" have the same pronunciation but different shapes, even if ten thousand taels of gold, it is difficult to buy this hundred-year-old Huangjing; third, if "Huangjing" is not written as "gold", the master's messenger and the master only have eyes for gold, and they would have rejected me long ago. How could the master get Huangjing, which is more valuable than gold?"

After hearing this, the magistrate was so ashamed that he was speechless. From then on, the magistrate changed his ways and began to work hard for the welfare of the people...

Polygonatum sibiricum has a long history of being used as medicine. Because it is both edible and medicinal, and it tastes sweet and is neutral in nature, it has the effects of moistening the lungs and nourishing yin, and tonifying the spleen and replenishing qi.

The Taoist "Biography of Immortals" once recorded: "Yin Gui studied Taoism and often took Huangjing. He was hundreds of years old and later went to Taihe Mountain. Wang Lie often took Huangjing and was 338 years old. He still looked young and went on adventures in mountain climbing and could walk as fast as flying."

The Song Dynasty's "Rihua Zhujia Bencao" says: "Taking Huangjing alone, steamed for a long time and exposed to the sun for nine times, can keep your face young and stop eating."

Huang Gongxiu of the Qing Dynasty wrote in his book "Compendium of Materia Medica" that "Huangjing is highly praised. If you take it for a long time, you will not feel hungry. His words are absolutely true."

Polygonatum sibiricum can be used as both medicine and food. Its flowers, leaves and fruits can all be eaten or used for medicinal purposes. Modern pharmacology research shows that it can increase immunity, delay aging, resist fatigue, improve blood circulation, resist viruses, lower blood pressure, lower blood lipids, and lower blood sugar.

In traditional Chinese medicine, Polygonatum odoratum is considered sweet in taste and neutral in nature. It can nourish the kidneys and lungs, tonify the spleen and replenish Qi. It is often used to treat dizziness, weakness in the waist and knees, premature graying of hair and thirst caused by kidney deficiency and essence deficiency; dry cough with little sputum due to dryness of the lungs, chronic cough due to yin deficiency and fatigue; and weak spleen and stomach syndrome.

When choosing and using Polygonatum sibiricum, choose the processed ones for internal use. The ones that taste sweet when taken orally are best. The bitter ones cannot be used for medicinal purposes.

Because both Polygonatum sibiricum and Rehmannia glutinosa have the function of replenishing kidney essence, they are often used together.

A frequently used tonic medicinal food, Huangjing cooked ground spine soup

Ingredients: Pork spine: Polygonatum odoratum: Rehmannia glutinosa, prepared in a ratio of 10:1:1

Cut the pork spine into sections and clean. Slice the Polygonatum sibiricum and Rehmannia glutinosa. Put all three into a casserole, add appropriate amount of water, and a small amount of onion, ginger, cooking wine and salt. After boiling over high heat, switch to low heat and simmer until the spine is cooked through, then serve.

Huangjing Shudi Jigu Soup has the effect of nourishing the kidney and replenishing essence, and is helpful for kidney deficiency, soreness of waist and knees, fatigue, etc.