What are the dietary taboos during taking Chinese medicine?

One thing that both Western medicine and Chinese medicine have in common is that there are contraindications when using the medicines. I cannot use drugs with different or even conflicting effects together, otherwise it may cause more serious diseases. Especially traditional Chinese medicine, because it uses a lot of food as medicinal materials, if you are not careful in normal times, the medicine may lose its efficacy. Next, let’s talk about the dietary taboos when taking Chinese medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it is best not to drink tea while taking Chinese medicine, as this will not only affect the efficacy of the medicine, but also easily cause some side effects. This is because the chemical components contained in tea can reduce the therapeutic effect of drugs and also produce some side effects. Therefore, experts recommend that it is best not to drink tea while taking Chinese medicine.

Normally, you cannot take Chinese medicine with tea, because tea has the effect of what we often call an antidote. This is because tea contains a large amount of tannic acid, which can easily form insoluble precipitation with biological alkali. Many important active ingredients are alkaloids. For example, common Chinese medicines such as Coptis chinensis, Phellodendron chinense, Corydalis yanhusuo, Ephedra sinica, etc. contain various bioalkaloids. When it is taken with tea, precipitation will occur, which will seriously affect the efficacy of the traditional Chinese medicine.

In addition, the tannic acid contained in tea has an astringent effect, which will prevent our body from absorbing some nutrients such as protein. If we drink tea, especially strong tea, after taking tonic medicines containing ginseng, yam, and codonopsis, this will greatly reduce the effectiveness of the important medicines.

Dietary taboos during taking Chinese medicine

1. Do not eat spicy food

All spicy foods, such as peppers, leeks, garlic, wine, ginger, etc. belong to this category of food.

2. Don’t eat too greasy food

We all know what greasy foods are, and such foods seem to be very popular, but these foods have a bad effect on our stomach, intestines and spleen, and will also weaken the effectiveness of our medicines.

After knowing these taboos, we must pay special attention when drinking Chinese medicine. Don't eat casually. Diet must be strictly controlled. This will allow the drug to work better. This will also allow the disease to be treated better. If you use Chinese medicine to treat diseases, the treatment time may be longer, so be mentally prepared.