Sometimes we really have to live like bugs

Mulberry leaves are the dried leaves of the mulberry plant of the Moraceae family, also known as domestic mulberry, mulberry, mulberry tree, yellow mulberry, etc.

Mulberry leaves are cold in nature, bitter and sweet in taste, and belong to the lung and liver meridians. Mulberry leaves have the effects of dispersing wind-heat, clearing the lungs and moistening dryness, calming liver yang, clearing the liver and improving eyesight, cooling blood and stopping bleeding. It is used for wind-heat cold, lung heat and dry cough, dizziness, headache, red and blurred eyes, etc. It is not suitable for women during menstruation and pregnant women.

Mulberry leaves are best harvested after frost, and are called frost mulberry leaves or winter mulberry leaves. Mulberry leaves have a wide range of uses. They can be eaten or used to make medicine. They are found in many places in my country and have the effects of lowering blood pressure, blood lipids, and anti-inflammatory. In addition to its pharmacological and cosmetic effects, mulberry leaves can also be eaten as a good food, and using them to make tea is more beneficial to health.

In the "Shennong Bencaojing" of the Han Dynasty in China, mulberry leaves are called "immortal grass", which has the effects of nourishing blood, dispersing wind, dissipating heat, benefiting the liver and ventilating, lowering blood pressure and promoting diuresis. It can be seen that ancient medical scientists have realized that mulberry leaves are a good medicine for removing heat and stopping sweating.

According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, "it can be taken as a substitute for tea and stop sweating if taken regularly";

It is clearly recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica: "The decoction can be used instead of tea to quench thirst."

According to Zhu Danxi's "Danxi Xinfa" in the Yuan Dynasty, it was recorded: "Grind frost-covered mulberry leaves into powder and take with rice water to stop night sweats." Fu Qingzhu, a famous doctor in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, was particularly good at using mulberry leaves to stop sweating. He successively formulated several prescriptions such as "Sweat-stopping Magic Pills", "Sweat-stopping Pills", and "Sweat-stopping and Calming Pills", all of which used mulberry leaves as the main medicine and praised mulberry leaves as "a wonderful product for stopping sweating."

Mulberry leaves clear the lungs and purge the stomach, cool the blood and dry dampness, dispel wind and improve eyesight. They became quite popular after the late Qing Dynasty. "Sangju Drink" is taken as the main medicine and becomes an important medicine in contemporary prescriptions. People in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas like to use "frost mulberry leaves" to treat febrile diseases, because their ability to cool blood and clear heat is more pronounced after being frosted. There is also "rice mulberry leaves", which are made by steaming them in a rice cooker. This method removes their wind-dispersing power and retains their lightness and clarity, making them good for treating various head and eye diseases, and many doctors of the time appreciated their use. I have explored its mysteries in clinical practice and found the following wonderful uses.

one

Night sweats: "Introduction to Medicine" says: "Excessive thinking causes sweating only at the heart orifices... Pick the second batch of leaves of Qingshuang with frost, dry them in the shade, or roast them into powder, and take them with rice drink." It is indeed effective in clinical use. A countrywoman, Ms. Wang, was sixty years old and had suffered from night sweats for more than two years. When asked, she had no other complaints and ate and drank as usual, but she felt mentally exhausted. Initially using invigorating Qi and strengthening the exterior, and then using nourishing Yin and reducing fire, both were ineffective. Later, I ground frosted mulberry leaves into powder and took 9 grams of it with rice drink, once in the morning and once in the evening. I was cured in half a month and the disease never recurred. The recent wise man Mr. Qin Boyi also likes to use this flavor to treat sweating on the head and face (commonly known as steamed head), which has a similar origin.

two

Patients with yin deficiency and internal heat who have just caught a cold and have alternating chills and fever are not suitable for the dissipating effect of Chaihu. My father-in-law, Yi Lu Gong, likes to use mulberry leaves and moutan bark together instead of Chaihu, which is an imitation of Ye Gui's style. I have imitated it and it has worked well for many people. I have also used this method to treat other diseases, such as new blood infections and chills and fever during menstruation, to prevent heat from entering the blood chamber. Use lightness and clarity to remove excess, thereby calming the blood vessels, causing slight sweating and relief, which is the key to success.

III

Meridian-guiding drugs: In clinical treatment of facial pigmentation, Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction is used to clear the blood and remove blood stasis, supplemented with mulberry leaves (mulberry bark) to guide the meridians into the lungs, taking advantage of the fact that the lungs govern the skin and fur. In prescriptions for treating acute and chronic nephritis, mulberry leaves or mulberry bark are often used as adjuvants to guide the meridians into the lungs to unblock the water source, which is beneficial for diuresis and swelling reduction. In the treatment of senile constipation, mulberry bark is used to unblock the lung qi and facilitate changing clothes. This method is often effective.

IV

Recipe handed down from generation to generation: Empirical evidence shows that for treating persistent vomiting of blood, grind roasted mulberry leaves in the evening and take three grams of it with herbal tea. "Qian Jin Fang" says that to treat short hair growth, boil mulberry leaves and hemp leaves in sloppy water and then wash the hair. "Ji Jian Fang" treats tears under the eyes caused by wind by boiling mulberry leaves for less than the twelfth lunar month, and use it to wash the eyes with the water every day, or add Glauber's salt. Fusang Pills (black sesame and mulberry leaves in equal parts) are commonly used to treat high blood pressure, dizziness, constipation in the elderly, rheumatic paralysis, skin and nail disorders, etc.

Wu

People make pillows with frosted mulberry leaves dried in the shade. It can cure dizziness and blurred vision, and calm the mind and help one sleep. It is indeed effective and was the early pioneer of "medicinal pillows".