The "general" in traditional Chinese medicine is really effective

Rhubarb is an ancient and magical medicine. Rhubarb is named after its yellow color. It has strong medicinal properties, is innovative, and has quick effects, so it is called "General". In fact, the benefits of rhubarb are very great and far-reaching. It is truly a good medicine, a miraculous medicine, a magical medicine, and a wonderful medicine. Rhubarb can be used to treat critical and severe illnesses, like the courage of a "good general" who wins a battle; it can also be used to treat chronic diseases, like the strategy of a "good prime minister" who appeases everyone. Therefore, it was very insightful that Zhang Jingyue, a famous doctor in the Ming Dynasty, called rhubarb, aconite, ginseng and rehmannia "the four dimensions of medicine."

Let’s first talk about the anti-aging effects of rhubarb. Everyone knows that rhubarb is a laxative that can relieve heat. The Chinese medicine textbooks classify rhubarb as a laxative. It is generally hard to imagine that rhubarb also has anti-aging effects. It is even harder to imagine that rhubarb was a traditional Chinese medicine used in large quantities in the Qing Dynasty court. Modern scholars are inspired by the fact that camels become fat, strong and have a longer lifespan after drinking rhubarb water. This is also confirmed by the fact that camel herders who often drink rhubarb water can prevent and cure diseases and prolong their lives. Modern research has also confirmed that rhubarb has anti-aging and antioxidant effects. Xu Dachun, a famous doctor in the Qing Dynasty, said in his "Precautions for the Elderly" that "those who can live a long life must have their own unique strengths... However, only one or two out of ten people have excessive yin, while eight or nine out of ten have excessive yang. As for those with excessive yang, it is necessary not only to replenish yin, but also to clear fire to preserve yin. Therefore, all elderly people suffer from hot heads, deafness, red faces, dry stools, and various yang symptoms." Rhubarb is bitter, cold, and can clear and descend, so it can be said to be a good symptomatic medicine that "clears fire to preserve yin."

In fact, rhubarb is a mysterious medicine for preventing and treating geriatric diseases, which is entirely due to its function of "tonifying by clearing". Ge Hong, a famous doctor in the Jin Dynasty, once said, "If you want to live long, keep your intestines clean; if you want to be immortal, keep your intestines free of feces." This shows that keeping bowel movements smooth is the key to curing diseases and prolonging life. The bowel movement is smooth, the lung qi can descend, the spleen qi can rise, the clear qi rises and the turbid qi descends, the body's qi flow is smooth, all diseases will not occur, and all symptoms will be reduced.

"Shennong's Herbal Classic" records that rhubarb can "promote the flow of water and food, regulate the middle and eliminate dampness, and calm the five internal organs." The Qing Dynasty court often used rhubarb instead of tea for daily conditioning, taking advantage of its effects of clearing heat, clearing the bowels, and strengthening the stomach. The best rhubarb for tea is cooked rhubarb, but raw rhubarb can also be used but the amount must be very small.

Another important application of rhubarb in the palace was to treat amenorrhea and delayed menstruation. "Shennong's Herbal Classic" says that it can "remove blood stasis and blood retention"; "Ming Yi Bie Lu" says that it is used to treat "cold blood retention and swelling in women"; the medical saint Zhang Zhongjing used rhubarb to treat "menstrual problems in women". It should be noted that the rhubarb used at this time is mostly wine rhubarb or vinegar rhubarb, which can enter the blood and promote blood circulation. And the patient must have symptoms of blood stasis, such as abdominal pain due to blood stasis, dark tongue with petechiae, purple and distended sublingual veins, abdominal pain before menstruation, black menstrual blood with blood clots, etc.

Rhubarb is also one of the first choice medicines for treating liver cirrhosis and jaundice. Whenever there is internal accumulation of dampness and heat or blood stasis in the liver and spleen, it is particularly appropriate to use rhubarb. Even for patients with other types, the reasonable use of rhubarb has benefits and no harm.

Rhubarb also has magical effects in treating recurrent oral ulcers. Let me introduce a folk remedy to you: 30g of raw rhubarb, add 250ml of water, boil, take 200ml of the liquid, take it warm after meals, twice a day, and gargle with rhubarb water at the same time. It usually takes 2 days to relieve the symptoms.

Rhubarb has been included in the pharmacopoeias of 19 countries in the world, and it has become a global herbal medicine. It should be noted that rhubarb can enter both the qi and the blood. To make good use of this good medicine that "can enter the general and the minister", it is necessary to pay attention to syndrome differentiation and consider the patient's physical factors. If the syndrome differentiation is accurate, you can use it boldly and stop taking it when the disease is cured. It should not be taken for a long time. It is also necessary to pay attention to the different decoction methods, preparation methods and dosages, as the effects are also different.

The key to the attacking and tonifying effect of rhubarb lies in the dosage. Small doses are mainly for "tonifying" purposes, while large doses are mainly for "attacking" purposes. A small dose of less than 0.3g has the effect of strengthening the stomach and aiding digestion; a medium dose (1-2g of rhubarb powder taken with water or 6-12g decocted) has the effect of relieving diarrhea and removing blood stasis; a large dose (15-30g) has a stronger effect of clearing the bowels and removing blood stasis. Those who have no experience in using rhubarb can start with a small dose. A large dose will cause frequent bowel movements and diarrhea, while a small dose will not cause diarrhea. If used to treat geriatric diseases and anti-aging, 1-2 bowel movements a day is appropriate.

Xu Lingtai pointed out in "On the Origin and Development of Medicine": "The method of decocting medicine should be explained in depth. The effectiveness of the medicine depends entirely on this." This fully illustrates the importance of decocting medicine. There are different ways to cook rhubarb: decocting it first, adding it later, or decocting it together with the other ingredients. Cooking it first can help clear away dampness and heat, and expel blood stasis; adding it later can help take advantage of its strong expelling effect; and decocting it together with the other ingredients can help alleviate its purgative effect.

There are many ways to prepare rhubarb, and there are many details to pay attention to. Raw rhubarb is good in purging heat, detoxifying, attacking accumulation and relieving stagnation; cooked rhubarb has weak laxative effect but is good in clearing dampness and heat; wine rhubarb has strong blood-activating and blood-moving effect; rhubarb charcoal is astringent, hemostatic and antidiarrheal, and stops bleeding without leaving blood stasis; vinegar rhubarb is good at purging blood and removing excess heat, and is often used in combination with blood-activating and menstruation-regulating drugs.