Wang, a 90-year-old woman from the Tujia ethnic group in Hubei, has never been to a hospital in her life. Apart from some hearing problems, she is in good health and has a strong constitution. Wang has a lively personality and clear eyesight, and she has always loved eating coarse grains. She wakes up at 5 o'clock every day, eats breakfast, and then goes to the mountains to collect medicinal herbs with her packed lunch (sweet pastries). This kind of spirit puts us young people who often complain about suboptimal health to shame.
During the spring and summer seasons, the grass sprouts and the flowers gradually bloom, which is the perfect time to harvest honeysuckle. After a busy morning, Wang spreads the honeysuckle she collected from the mountains in her own yard, and the fragrance fills the air. Wang says honeysuckle is a treasure to her, and she loves drinking honeysuckle tea, which has kept her in good health.
Honeysuckle has a cold nature, sweet taste, and can clear heat and detoxify. It is mainly used to treat fever, rashes, sore throat, heat-induced diarrhea, abscesses, and sores. Honeysuckle flowers, stems, and leaves can be distilled into a dew called "honeysuckle dew," which can be used as a beverage to relieve heat. Nowadays, honeysuckle is processed into medicine and is a sought-after medicinal material by pharmaceutical companies.
1. Antimicrobial and antibacterial effects. It has inhibitory and bactericidal effects on various pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Shigella, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, and influenza virus.
2. Heat-clearing, anti-inflammatory, and detoxifying effects. It has a certain effect on early-stage wind-heat or febrile diseases, such as fever, headache, restlessness, insomnia, coma with red tongue, dry throat, and dry mouth.
3. Cooling blood and stopping diarrhea. It has detoxifying, antidiarrheal, cooling blood, and relieving throat effects on heat-toxin diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, damp-heat obstructing the throat, and swollen and painful throat.
[Honeysuckle Remedies]
1. Acute nephritis: 15g honeysuckle, 15g Viola philippica, 30g Imperata cylindrica. Decoction, take one dose daily, continuously for 5-7 days.
2. Rheumatoid arthritis: 30g Lonicera japonica, 30g Gypsum fibrosum, 15g Epimedium. Decoction, take one dose daily.
3. Wind-heat common cold: 12g Lonicera japonica, 15g Isatis tinctoria, 9g Mentha haplocalyx. Decoction, take one dose daily.
4. Bacterial dysentery: 15g Lonicera japonica, 30g Plantago asiatica. Decoction, take one dose daily, continuously for 3-5 days, with obvious effect.
5. Prevention and treatment of summer boils: 30g Lonicera japonica, 5g Chrysanthemum indicum, 3g Glycyrrhiza uralensis. Decoction, take one dose daily.
6. Cholecystitis: 30g Lonicera japonica, 20g Taraxacum mongolicum, 10g Isatis indigotica. Decoction, take one dose daily.
