The Benefits of Medicinal Tea: Traditional Chinese Medicine for Health and Wellness

Medicinal tea is a method of drinking that involves combining medicine with tea or replacing tea with medicine. Medicinal tea therapy is a precious heritage of traditional Chinese medicine, with advantages such as economy, usefulness, simplicity, good effectiveness, and no side effects. Especially for elderly and weak patients with chronic diseases or difficulties in taking medication, appropriate use of medicinal tea can achieve good results.

1. Heatstroke prevention tea: 6g of tea leaves, 9g each of patchouli and perilla leaves, decocted in water and used as a tea substitute. Used for prevention and treatment of heatstroke; 250g of fresh lotus root, washed and sliced, boiled with appropriate ginger and sugar to make a tea substitute. Used for preventing heatstroke; 1-2 fresh lotus leaves, boiled and used as a tea substitute. Used for heatstroke prevention and also has the effects of reducing blood lipids and cholesterol; 9g of goji berries, 12g of vinegar-fried schisandra, 6g each of peppermint and chamomile flowers, brewed with boiling water as a tea substitute. Mainly used for treating internal heat in the five organs, relieving heat-induced headaches and thirst. It also has the effects of nourishing the liver and kidneys, improving hearing and vision, strengthening tendons and bones, and enhancing vitality and intelligence. It is particularly suitable for those who have poor appetite and weight loss during the summer, as well as those suffering from "quansummer" (bitter summer) syndrome.

2. Hypotensive tea: 9g each of bitter tea, chamomile flowers, mulberry leaves, white pampas grass roots, and cat's claw, boiled and used as a tea substitute. It has the effect of clearing heat, reducing dizziness, and lowering blood pressure. It can be used for high blood pressure, headaches, fainting, bitter taste in the mouth, and dry throat; 1.5g of lotus seed heart, 9g of cassia seed, brewed with boiling water as a tea substitute. Used for high blood pressure, dizziness, and restlessness; 15g of watermelon rind (dry), 9g of cassia seed, boiled and used as a tea substitute. Used for prevention and treatment of high blood pressure.

3. Vertigo-clearing tea: 9g each of alisma and white atractylodes, 5 lotus leaf stalks, 6g of chrysanthemum flowers, 3g of perilla leaves, brewed and used as a tea substitute. It has the effect of resolving phlegm and eliminating dampness, and is used for vertigo, vomiting of phlegm and saliva, and heavy body and head.

4. Nephritis tea: appropriate amounts of corn silk, dried winter melon rind, and red adzuki beans, boiled and used as a tea substitute. Used as an adjuvant treatment for edema and acute and chronic nephritis.

5. Orange-red tea: dissolve one piece of orange-red in 4.5g of green tea, brew with boiling water, then steam in a boiling water pot for 20 minutes to make a tea substitute. This formula has the effect of relieving cough and resolving phlegm. It is used for cough with excessive phlegm, sticky and difficult to expectorate, especially in the elderly.

6. Persimmon leaf tea: Fresh persimmon leaves picked in June and July are washed and blanched in boiling water for about 10 minutes, then removed and dried in a shaded place or dried in a pot with low heat. When drinking, add tea leaves and brew together, with a slightly sweet and fragrant taste. Drinking it regularly has certain effects on purpura, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. It also has calming, diuretic, and anti-inflammatory effects. Due to its rich content of vitamin C and components such as rutin and choline, it is a drink that can be consumed year-round for lowering blood pressure, reducing blood lipids, treating purpura, and arteriosclerosis.