Principles of taking ginseng
The principles of taking ginseng can be summarized in four words: eat less, eat more often. You shouldn't take ginseng once or twice and then stop. A 90-year-old man named Zhang in Hong Kong has been taking wild ginseng for decades. After taking it, he feels energetic, but if he stops taking it for a while, he experiences a decline in vitality. However, when he starts taking ginseng again, his energy and strength return. Therefore, he adopts the principle of eating less and eating more often when taking ginseng, and achieves satisfactory results.
In Fushun County, Jilin Province, the birthplace of ginseng, everyone knows the principle of eating ginseng less and more often. You may wonder how much is considered "less." In general, adults should not consume more than 3 grams to 5 grams of dried ginseng per day, and not more than 0.1 grams to 0.3 grams of wild ginseng.
Precautions and contraindications for taking ginseng
1. Be cautious about giving ginseng to newborns
Ginseng experts in Japan and South Korea believe that ginseng can be used as a supplement for people of all ages, from infants to the elderly. However, some Chinese experts believe that newborns should not take ginseng. There have been cases where newborns experienced side effects after taking 0.5 grams of red ginseng orally. The reason for the side effects is that newborns have low tolerance and their organs are very fragile. Furthermore, the recommended dosage for adults is around 3 grams, so 1 gram of ginseng is clearly too much for a newborn. If a newborn is given 0.1 grams or 0.05 grams of ginseng, the situation would be different. In Korea, newborn babies have been given ginseng honey with good results. However, giving ginseng to newborns still requires caution.
2. Healthy children and adolescents do not need to take ginseng
Healthy children and adolescents do not need to take ginseng, but those with weak constitution or delayed development (including physical and intellectual) may benefit from taking ginseng. If healthy children take ginseng in excessive amounts, it may lead to problems such as premature sexual development.
3. Ginseng should not be combined with other drugs or animal products
Ginseng should not be indiscriminately combined with other medications or animal products. The traditional method of combining ginseng with chicken is outdated for most people today. The ancient medical saying "Ginseng fears wulingzhi and reacts against lilu" still holds true. Until new scientific viewpoints overturn this conclusion, it is advisable to follow the belief that ginseng should not be combined with wulingzhi and lilu to avoid problems. It is also best not to eat radishes when taking ginseng.
4. The five contraindications for ginseng are still debatable
More than one book records the five contraindications for ginseng as mentioned by a famous doctor in the Changbai Mountain area: coughing, pain, colds, fever, and ongoing blood loss. However, I believe that these five contraindications are worth discussing and researching further, and should not be blindly followed.
Upon reviewing some ancient formulas, there are several ginseng combinations used to treat coughs, such as Xiaotaiping Pill for chronic cough and sore throat, Ginseng Coix Seed Powder for lung weakness and cough, Jingtufu Decoction for cough and fever in children, and Xiaor Renshen Baidu Powder for infantile typhoid, cough, and heavy nasal congestion. These examples indicate that ginseng can be used to treat coughs and colds. There are also modern examples of people recovering from colds and coughs by taking ginseng, proving that ginseng can be used for these conditions.
Some say that ginseng should not be taken during ongoing blood loss, but can be taken after the bleeding stops. However, many contemporary experts from China and abroad have researched the hemostatic function of ginseng, as it contains the hemostatic component panaxtriol.
