Dong Quai is a common health product that most women know can effectively replenish qi and blood. But how should Dong Quai be consumed to nourish the blood? Traditional Chinese medicine teaches you some correct methods of consumption.
I: The efficacy and function of Dong Quai
Dong Quai is mainly used to replenish blood, regulate menstruation and relieve pain, and moisturize the intestines. It treats irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, abdominal pain, masses, excessive menstruation, blood deficiency headaches, dizziness, weakness, difficult bowel movements, and recurring dysentery. It also treats abscesses, ulcers, injuries, and falls.
① "Ben Jing": "Treats coughing and reversing qi, warms malaria, cold and heat, women's excessive menstruation, infertility, all kinds of sores and ulcers, boil it and drink it."
② "Bie Lu": "Warms the middle, relieves pain, eliminates internal blood stasis, treats wind spasms, lack of sweating, damp bi syndrome, evil qi, and coldness, nourishes the five organs and generates muscles."
③ "Yao Xing Lun": "Relieves vomiting and reversing, treats deficiency and fatigue, cold and heat, breaks up overnight blood stasis, treats women's excessive menstruation, coldness in the intestines and stomach, nourishes various deficiencies, relieves diarrhea and abdominal pain. Boil it alone and drink the juice to treat malaria, relieve women's lumbar pain caused by excessive bleeding, and treat unbearable toothache. It is used in patients with coldness and deficiency."
④ "Ri Hua Zi Ben Cao": "Treats all types of wind, blood, and fatigue, breaks up evil blood, nourishes new blood, and treats various skin diseases."
⑤ "Zhen Zhu Nang": "Stops bleeding in the head, promotes blood circulation in the body, and stops bleeding in the tail." ("Tang Ye Ben Cao" quotes it as "stops bleeding in the head, regulates blood circulation in the body, and promotes bleeding in the extremities.")
⑥ Li Gao: "Dong Quai tops treat various diseases, break up evil blood, and are used to treat postpartum evil blood rushing upwards, eliminate various sores, and treat boil-related evil blood, warm the middle, moisturize dryness, and relieve pain."
⑦ Wang Haogu: "Treats paralysis, aversion to cold, and pain in the legs. Disease in the Chong vessel leads to urgency in the intestines; disease in the belt vessel leads to abdominal pain, waist tension as if sitting in water."
⑧ "Ben Cao Meng Quan": "Disperses blood clots caused by falling and striking, and relieves heat-induced dysentery and pain, stopping stagnation in the intestines and stomach."
⑨ "Gang Mu": "Treats headaches, abdominal pain, nourishes the intestines, stomach, tendons, bones, and skin. Treats abscesses, promotes suppuration, stops pain, and nourishes and supplements blood."
⑩ "Ben Cao Zai Xin": "Treats swelling throughout the body, disharmony of blood vessels, insufficient yin, aids in childbirth, and treats miscarriage."
II: Dong Quai recipes
1. Dong Quai and Motherwort Egg
Ingredients: 20g Dong Quai, 30g Motherwort, 2 eggs
Method: Put the ingredients in a pot with some water and cook until the eggs are cooked. Take out the eggs, peel them, and poke several holes with a needle. Put the eggs back into the herbal decoction and cook for 3-5 minutes. Drink the soup and eat the eggs once a day for 30 days as a course of treatment.
Efficacy: This recipe nourishes blood and kidneys, regulates menstruation, relieves pain, and is suitable for kidney deficiency and blood deficiency, blood stasis caused by qi stagnation, cold coagulation obstruction, irregular menstruation, abdominal pain during menstruation, endometriosis, anovulation, or fallopian tube blockage.
2. Dong Quai, Ginger, and Lamb Soup
Ingredients: 15g Dong Quai, 15g Ginger, 200g Lamb
Method: Slice the ginger, cut the lamb into small pieces, and slice the Dong Quai. Put all the ingredients in a pot with some water and cook the soup. After the lamb is cooked and tender, add chopped green onion, pepper powder, lard, monosodium glutamate, and salt to taste. Drink the soup and eat the meat.
Efficacy: This recipe nourishes and regulates blood, dispels cold, stimulates appetite, invigorates qi, strengthens the spleen, warms the meridians, and relieves pain. It can be used to treat postpartum blood deficiency abdominal pain, dizziness, chest tightness and abdominal pain caused by cold stagnation and qi stagnation, irregular menstruation, cold limbs, fatigue, lack of energy, and loss of appetite.
3. Dong Quai Porridge
Ingredients: 10g Dong Quai, 1 bowl of rice
Method: Cut the Dong Quai into small pieces and simmer it in water. Steam the rice until it becomes dry rice. Put the dry rice into the Dong Quai water and simmer for half an hour until the porridge is thick and the rice is cooked. Note: Cooking porridge directly with white rice will result in a colder porridge that may cause gastric acid reflux. Cooking the porridge with dry rice can avoid excessive gastric acid.
Efficacy: Dong Quai promotes blood circulation, regulates menstruation, relieves pain, and moisturizes the intestines for smooth bowel movements. It is often used together with Astragalus.
III: Precautions for consuming Dong Quai
Although Dong Quai is a versatile ingredient, it is not the case that the more you consume, the better. Dong Quai has a pungent and aromatic nature, and it promotes bowel movements. It is not suitable for those with excessive menstruation, bleeding tendencies, yin deficiency and internal heat, or loose stools. Improper use of Dong Quai can worsen symptoms such as bleeding and diarrhea.
Dong Quai has a blood-breaking effect on the tail, so pregnant women should not consume it. Also, it is important to note that different parts of Dong Quai have slightly different effects:
The body of Dong Quai has a nourishing and consolidating effect, while the tail has a blood-activating effect. The head of Dong Quai has an upward nature, so it is suitable for conditions such as rectal bleeding, urinary bleeding, and uterine bleeding. If there is a rise of qi and fire in cases of vomiting blood or nosebleeds, assisting with warming and ascending will worsen the condition.
