With the increasing understanding of traditional Chinese medicine, more and more people choose to drink traditional Chinese herbal medicine for treatment. After the herbal medicine is decocted, there is usually sediment at the bottom of the bowl, which is the residue of the medicine. Many people think it's okay not to drink the residue and discard it. So, should we drink the sediment of traditional Chinese herbal medicine?
【Should we drink all the sediment in the herbal medicine decoction】
After decoction, a bowl of traditional Chinese herbal medicine soup is dark brown in color, turbid in appearance, and bitter in taste. It is commonly believed that the sediment at the bottom of the bowl is inevitable due to the color of the herbal medicine itself. The bitter taste of the medicine is not seen as a bad thing because people have a saying that "good medicine tastes bitter and is beneficial for curing diseases." As for the turbidity of the medicinal liquid, people are unsure whether it is good or bad. Whether to stir the sediment at the bottom of the bowl with some water or simply discard it is a practical problem that should not be underestimated as it directly affects the efficacy of the medicine.
In order to determine whether to drink or discard the sediment in the herbal medicine decoction, let's take the co-decoction of Coptis chinensis and licorice as an example. Modern scientific research has shown that the main active ingredients of Coptis chinensis are berberine and other alkaloids, while the main active ingredients of licorice are glycyrrhizic acid and glycyrrhetic acid. These two types of ingredients have a high solubility in water, so they can dissolve out from the herbal medicine when decocted with water. When these two medicines are co-decocted, berberine and glycyrrhizic acid from each medicine may meet in the liquid, forming salts or complexes with low solubility in water, suspending fine particles in the decoction, making the decoction turbid. If the decoction is left to settle, it may precipitate at the bottom of the bowl, forming sediment.
Some people have conducted experiments on co-decoction of Coptis chinensis and licorice. If the amount of licorice is large and the resulting decoction is clarified after settling, the clear liquid can achieve a non-bitter taste, but the antibacterial effect is greatly reduced. This indicates that berberine, which has a bitter taste and has antibacterial effects, is deposited at the bottom of the bowl, i.e. in the sediment. Therefore, it is obvious that if the decoction containing Coptis chinensis and licorice is used, the sediment obtained at the bottom of the bowl after settling will affect the efficacy of the medicine if discarded.
The correct approach is to add some water to the sediment and stir it, and then drink the resulting mixture. There are many famous prescriptions in traditional Chinese medicine that contain both licorice and Coptis chinensis, such as Huanglian Tang in "Shanghan Lun" (composed of Coptis chinensis, dried ginger, cinnamon twig, pinellia tuber, codonopsis root, licorice, and jujube), Ge Gen Huang Qin Huang Lian Tang (composed of kudzu root, Scutellaria baicalensis, Coptis chinensis, and licorice), and Shao Yao Tang in "Bao Ming Ji" (composed of peony root, Scutellaria baicalensis, Chinese angelica, areca seed, Coptis chinensis, rhubarb, agarwood, licorice, and cinnamon) and other prescriptions. For the decoction obtained, it is suitable to add water to stir and drink the sediment, or simply stir the entire bowl of decoction and drink it. Other decoctions obtained from co-decoction of these two medicines should be taken in the same way.
After the herbal medicine settles, there will be a viscous part at the bottom and clear liquid on the top. We need to stir up the viscous part at the bottom and drink it together in order to fully exert the efficacy of the herbal medicine. Now you know that you should drink the entire decoction of herbal medicine, right!
【Discard the overcooked herbal medicine】
The reason why herbal medicine can treat diseases lies in its active ingredients such as alkaloids, saponins, and tannins. The purpose of decocting herbal medicine is to extract the active ingredients from the medicinal herbs for the treatment of diseases.
The method of decocting medicine has a great impact on its efficacy. If the decoction time is too short, the effective ingredients of the medicine may not be fully extracted, affecting the therapeutic effect. If the decoction time is too long, it may destroy or lose the effective ingredients (such as volatile components), and the medicine may become overcooked. Once the herbal medicine is overcooked, its properties will change. For example, the taste of nourishing herbal medicine will change from sweet to bitter, and it will no longer have the nourishing effect. Blood-activating and stasis-removing herbs will turn into herbs with hemostatic effects. Most herbal medicines will have their effective ingredients destroyed or even have the opposite effect after being overcooked, and they should be discarded.
【Overcooked herbal residue is more suitable for foot soaking】
According to traditional Chinese medicine, "soaking feet in hot water is like taking tonics; soaking feet in herbal medicine is even better than taking tonics." People can buy some Chinese herbal medicine, such as safflower and mugwort, to soak their feet.
In fact, soaking feet with self-cooked herbal medicine is more targeted and effective. Generally, after herbal medicine is decocted twice, it becomes residue and is discarded. However, there are still medicinal effects in these herbal residues. Using these herbal residues to soak feet can exert their residual effects. In addition, Chinese medicine experts point out that self-cooked herbal medicine is more suitable for foot soaking because the prescription is based on individual constitution after the diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine experts, which is more beneficial for the exertion of the efficacy of Chinese medicine.
【Soaking feet in summer to cool down and improve resistance】
As the weather gets hot, more and more people wear sandals or go barefoot. Traditional Chinese medicine reminds us that the foot has a thin layer of fat, poor heat insulation, and the farthest distance from the heart, which leads to poor blood supply. Therefore, the skin temperature of the soles of the feet is the lowest and is prone to coldness. Once the feet are exposed to cold, the resistance will significantly decrease, and airborne bacteria will take advantage of the opportunity to cause various diseases such as colds. Therefore, it is important to soak your feet more in summer. Soaking feet in summer has many benefits, not only can relieve fatigue but also cool down and alleviate irritability.
【Reminder: Cooking herbal medicine longer does not make it stronger】
In daily life, most people think that the longer herbal medicine is decocted, the stronger its effect will be. They believe that the longer the decoction time, the more active ingredients will be extracted. However, this is not true. Decocting herbal medicine is a process of continuously releasing and dissolving the active ingredients of the medicinal herbs. When the concentration of the active ingredients in the herbal medicine and the decoction reaches equilibrium, the process stops. Continuous decoction will not further dissolve the active ingredients inside the medicine but will cause the evaporation and reduction of the active ingredients in the decoction, and even lead to the destruction of the active ingredients under long-term high temperature, resulting in a decrease in the efficacy of the medicine.
Therefore, it is not true that the longer herbal medicine is decocted, the better. Different prescriptions have different requirements for the decoction time after boiling, and should be followed according to the doctor's instructions.
From the above article, we know that the sediment in the herbal medicine decoction should be drunk after settling for a period of time. Of course, if the herbal medicine is overcooked, it should be discarded. In addition, the herbal residue can be used for foot soaking.
