In clinical practice, patients often ask, "Can I eat mung beans and radishes while drinking Chinese herbal medicine?"
Mung beans have varying medicinal properties
There has always been a folk belief that mung beans can detoxify and have medicinal properties. However, this is only partially true. Mung beans themselves are a type of Chinese herbal medicine with the effects of clearing heat, detoxification, relieving heatstroke, generating body fluids, and diuretic properties. Li Shizhen, a famous physician in the Ming Dynasty, recorded in his book "Compendium of Materia Medica" that "mung beans have a sweet and cold taste, and are non-toxic... they can detoxify all kinds of medicinal herbs, minerals, and poisons." The Ming Dynasty medical book "Principles and Treatment of Diseases" also mentions the use of mung beans in the formula "Mung Bean Drink" to treat poisoning caused by toxic substances such as aconite, croton, and arsenic, as well as food poisoning. In addition, modern research has shown that the detoxification effect of mung beans is due to the mung bean protein, tannins, and flavonoids they contain, which can bind with organic phosphorus pesticides, mercury, arsenic, and lead compounds to form precipitates, reducing or eliminating their toxicity and making them less easily absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, mung beans can indeed counteract some drug and food poisoning.
Whether Chinese herbal medicine and mung beans can be taken together depends on the type of disease and the individual's constitution. For conditions such as heat syndrome and excess syndrome, such as heatstroke, sore throat, cough with yellow phlegm, and acute constipation, taking mung beans while taking Chinese herbal medicine can have a complementary effect, and it is safe to do so without worrying about mung beans affecting the efficacy of the medicine. However, it should be noted that mung beans have a cold nature, so they are not suitable for people with a weak spleen and stomach or severe yang deficiency. People with a history of symptoms such as cold and numbness in the limbs and joints, recurrent gastroenteritis, frequent indigestion, dysmenorrhea, and cold limbs should avoid eating mung beans while taking Chinese herbal medicine. Otherwise, it may not only reduce the effectiveness of the medicine but also worsen the condition.
No need to specifically avoid radishes when taking Chinese herbal medicine
Not only ordinary people but also many doctors believe that radishes harm yang qi and should not be eaten while taking Chinese herbal medicine (especially qi-tonifying herbs such as ginseng). But is this really true?
Looking through the ancient Chinese medical literature, there is no record of ginseng being incompatible with white radish. The first explanation for the combination of ginseng and radish was made by Chen Shiduo in the Qing Dynasty in his book "New Compilation of Materia Medica." He wrote, "It is suspected that radish seeds can treat asthma and distension... why can they work together with ginseng?" The original intention was clearly that radish seeds can promote the movement of qi and prevent ginseng from stagnating. However, later generations took it out of context, leading to sayings such as "radish and ginseng are incompatible" and "radish hates ginseng." Zhang Xichun, a famous physician in the Republic of China, also believed that if ginseng, astragalus, and other qi-tonifying herbs are taken with radish, it can tonify qi without causing stagnation. Modern pharmacological research has also shown that the components in radishes do not antagonize the components in ginseng or affect the absorption of ginsenosides in the body.
From the perspective of the nature of Chinese herbal medicine, radishes have a pungent and sweet taste, are cool in nature, and enter the lung and stomach meridians. They have the effects of promoting qi circulation, aiding digestion, relieving cough and phlegm, moisturizing dryness, quenching thirst, and promoting bowel movements. There are folk sayings such as "When radishes are on the market, doctors have nothing to do" and "When radishes enter the city, doctors close their doors," which illustrate the benefits of radishes. Of course, eating radishes also depends on the season. In winter, when the yang energy of nature is dormant, eating radishes can help the body's yang energy to descend and adapt to the changes of yin and yang in the four seasons, achieving harmony between heaven and man and promoting health.
