A piece of "leaf" can replenish qi, strengthen the spleen, clear away heat and detoxify, and reduce the three highs

In modern society, the number of people suffering from hypertension, high blood lipids and high blood sugar is increasing day by day, and the "three highs" have become a contemporary medical topic. The Chinese medicine we are talking about today is Gynostemma pentaphyllum, which has been confirmed by modern pharmacology and clinical experimental research to have the effect of lowering the three highs.

Gynostemma pentaphyllum, also known as "seven-leaf gall" and "five-leaf ginseng", is the whole herb of Gynostemma pentaphyllum, a plant of the genus Gynostemma in the Cucurbitaceae family. It mainly grows in various places south of the Yangtze River. Gynostemma pentaphyllum tastes bitter and is cold in nature. It enters the lung, spleen, and kidney meridians. It has the effects of invigorating qi and strengthening the spleen, clearing away heat and detoxifying, and removing phlegm and relieving cough. It is the only plant found to contain ginsenosides other than the genus Panax. The main active ingredient of Gynostemma pentaphyllum is "total saponins", which have the effects of lowering blood lipids, blood pressure, blood sugar, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.

Studies in recent years have shown that Gynostemma pentaphyllum has a significant lipid-lowering effect, and can improve microcirculation and resist thrombosis, thus helping to improve diabetic vascular disease. The total effective rate of Gynostemma pentaphyllum in lowering blood pressure is similar to that of nifedipine. Its antihypertensive effect may be directly related to its ability to reduce blood viscosity and improve microcirculation.

Let’s get back to the topic. For people with three highs, drinking Gynostemma pentaphyllum soaked in water is a good choice. People in the south have long had the custom of drinking Gynostemma tea (made by brewing Gynostemma with tea). Take 10g of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (fresh or dried) and brew it with boiling water, just like drinking tea, several times a day. However, there is one type of people who are not suitable for drinking Gynostemma pentaphyllum tea alone, and that is people with weak spleen and stomach. Because Gynostemma pentaphyllum is cold in nature, using it alone may cause damage to the spleen and stomach.

Current clinical reports on Gynostemma pentaphyllum involve its use in the treatment of atrophic gastritis, leukopenia, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetic nephropathy, brain dysfunction after cerebral infarction, hepatitis B, malignant tumors, recurrent oral ulcers, tinea pedis and many other diseases.

It is worth mentioning here that Gynostemma pentaphyllum is very effective for the treatment of tinea pedis and tinea manuum. The specific method is: take an appropriate amount of tender stems and leaves from the head of fresh Gynostemma pentaphyllum, rub them with your hands until juice comes out, then wrap them with gauze to allow the juice to seep out from the seams of the gauze, and then rub them on the affected area repeatedly, 3-4 times a day. This method has a definite therapeutic effect on all superficial fungal diseases, so you may want to give it a try.