Oranges are loved by people for their golden and vibrant outer skin and their sweet and sour flesh. Dr. Chi Xiaoling, director of the Liver Disease Department at Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that it is a pity that most people throw away the peel after eating oranges. In fact, orange peel is a traditional Chinese medicine called "Chenpi". It has a slightly bitter and pungent taste, warm in nature, and enters the spleen and lung meridians. It has the effects of regulating qi, invigorating the middle, drying dampness, and transforming phlegm. In addition to being used as medicine, orange peel can also be used to make various medicinal and culinary dishes. It can be used to treat symptoms such as stagnant qi in the spleen and stomach, distention and fullness in the epigastrium, vomiting, as well as chest stuffiness, poor appetite, and loose stools caused by dampness obstruction. "Compendium of Materia Medica" says, "Orange peel, bitter and purgative, pungent and dispersing, warm and harmonizing, it treats all diseases by regulating qi, drying dampness."
Here are a few simple tips for using Chenpi to prevent and treat diseases or make medicinal dishes:
- Chenpi Clove Tea: Treats cold stomach pain and belching caused by stomach cold. Method: Take 3 grams of orange peel and 3 grams of clove, decoct in water and drink as tea. It has the effects of regulating qi, dispersing cold, and alleviating pain.
- Chenpi Tea: Treats cold phlegm cough. Method: The orange-red part of the orange peel has stronger phlegm resolving and cough suppressing effects. It is especially suitable for bronchitis with white-colored sputum. If there is a cough with white-colored sputum caused by wind-cold, you can add 5-10 grams of orange-red when cooking porridge. It is not only fragrant and delicious but also helps to resolve phlegm and suppress cough.
- Chenpi Ginger Brown Sugar Tea: Treats wind-cold common cold. Method: Take 1 piece of orange peel, 5 slices of ginger, and an appropriate amount of brown sugar, decoct in water and drink as tea. It has the effects of releasing the exterior, dispersing cold, regulating qi, and transforming phlegm.
- Chenpi Ginger Tea: Treats cold stomach vomiting. Method: Take 1 piece of orange peel, 3-6 slices of ginger, decoct in water and drink as tea. It has the effects of regulating qi and invigorating the stomach.
In addition, orange peel can also be used to relieve alcohol intoxication, prevent motion sickness and vomiting, and prevent and treat hyperlipidemia and hypertension. It can be made into candied fruit, soaked in orange peel wine, or processed into Jiuzhi Chenpi. It is not only delicious and convenient but also beneficial for preventing and treating diseases.
