In traditional Chinese medicine, the correct method of taking medicine is essential for ensuring effectiveness. Xu Dachun, a famous physician in the Qing Dynasty, said, "Even if the prescription is suitable for the disease, if it is not taken correctly, it will not only be ineffective, but may also be harmful." One important aspect of taking medicine correctly is avoiding certain foods, known as dietary restrictions when taking Chinese herbal medicine.
The Compendium of Materia Medica also contains many references to dietary restrictions when taking medicine. For example, licorice should not be taken with pork, purslane, or seaweed; coptis chinensis and rhizoma coptidis should not be taken with pork or cold water; scutellaria baicalensis should not be taken with pork; platycodon grandiflorum and prunus mume should not be taken with pork; rhizoma xianmao should not be taken with beef or cow's milk; evodia rutaecarpa should not be taken with pork heart or pork; and salvia miltiorrhiza, poria cocos, and poria cocos sclerotium should not be taken with vinegar. The 2015 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (Volume I, Chinese Herbal Medicine) records as many as 112 dietary restrictions when taking medicine.
Dietary restrictions when taking medicine are the result of long-term clinical practice. They can be categorized into the following four aspects:
Foods that hinder drug absorption
Fatty, greasy, and hard-to-digest foods hinder drug absorption and should be avoided regardless of the type of medication being taken. This is a general rule for dietary restrictions when taking medicine. As stated in Annotations on the Compendium of Materia Medica by Zhang Ji, "When taking medicine, one should not consume fatty pork, dog meat, fatty broth, or fish."
