Inheriting the legacy of Qi Huang, focusing on life and health
Ai Yu Xiang Tang
Source / Kang Sheng Hao Fang
Everyone is familiar with the sweet and sour candied hawthorn, but do you know that hawthorn has other medicinal values besides its taste? Here, I will introduce it to you.
The hawthorn tree is a deciduous tree with ovate leaves that are deeply lobed. The flowers are white, and the fruit is spherical, deep red with small spots, sour in taste, edible, and also used in medicine.
It has excellent effects in lowering blood pressure and protecting blood vessels, making it a“blessing” for people with high blood lipids.
A Blessing for Cardiovascular Disease Patients
First, those with cardiovascular diseases should drink more. Hawthorn can prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases, has the effects of dilating blood vessels, strengthening the heart, increasing coronary blood flow, improving cardiac vitality, preventing arteriosclerosis, anti-aging, and anti-cancer.
Ordinary people can also drink hawthorn water to stimulate appetite and aid digestion, especially effective for the stagnation of meat food. Many digestive medicines include hawthorn. However, those with poor stomach function should drink less.
Hawthorn is a food with excellent health benefits. After consumption, it promotes digestion and can also prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases and cancer with regular use.
Effects of Hawthorn1、Digestive Aid
Hawthorn has the effect of strengthening the stomach and aiding digestion. The Da Shan Zha Wan is a well-known representative. Those with poor gastrointestinal function and digestion can consume it.
2、Blood Pressure Lowering
Hawthorn is effective for borderline hypertension. Drink water infused with fresh hawthorn or dried hawthorn daily.
3、Lipid Lowering
Hawthorn can strengthen the spleen and stomach, aid digestion, and lower blood lipids. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that the external factors causing hyperlipidemia and arteriosclerosis are due to excessive consumption of rich and fatty foods, while the internal factors are due to aging or congenital deficiencies causing kidney yin-yang imbalance. It is suitable for hyperlipidemia with food stagnation and internal accumulation.
4、Beauty and Skin Care
Fresh hawthorn is very rich in vitaminC, ranking fourth among commonly eaten fruits, second only to prickly pear, fresh jujube, and kiwi, and is twice that of loquat. VitaminC has antioxidant effects, inhibits the formation of pigment spots, and promotes their regression, thus having beauty and skin care effects.
5、Bone Strengthening
Among fruits, hawthorn has a calcium content only lower than that of kumquat and lemon. Eating some hawthorn can help avoid common physical discomforts caused by calcium deficiency, such as cramps and back pain.
6 Ways to Consume Hawthorn for Health
1、Method for Avoiding the Three Highs:
Patients with borderline hypertension can drink water infused with hawthorn daily (either fresh or dried) with the consent of their doctor.
2、Heart Protection and Lipid Lowering Method:
Wash and slice 10 grams of Dan Shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) and 15 grams of hawthorn, put them in a pot with an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes, strain the soup, and take it in two to three doses throughout the day. Dan Shen and hawthorn tea has the effect of activating blood and resolving stasis, improving blood flow to the cardiovascular system, especially suitable for those with high blood lipids.
3、Method for Lightening Chloasma:
Boil hawthorn and dried tangerine peel in water, strain, let cool, and add honey to drink continuously for over a month. Women with chloasma often have liver qi stagnation due to stress, leading to qi stagnation and blood deficiency.
4、Method for Reducing Beer Belly:
Boil 15 grams of hawthorn, 20 goji berries, and 10 grams of Bai Zhu (Atractylodes macrocephala) in an appropriate amount of water for 20 minutes, and drink as tea. This method is suitable for men with beer bellies, as it can help strengthen the spleen and eliminate dampness.
5、Method for Stimulating Appetite and Aiding Digestion:
Slice 10 grams of hawthorn, steep in boiling water for 5 minutes, add a little green tea, and drink while hot. This is suitable for those with gastrointestinal dysfunction due to dietary indiscretion, such as abdominal distension and loss of appetite.
6、Method for Regulating Menstruation in Women:
Boil 50 grams of fresh hawthorn, strain, and add an appropriate amount of brown sugar, and drink while hot. Hawthorn and brown sugar drink has the effect of activating blood and regulating menstruation, suitable for women with menstrual irregularities.
Warm Reminder: Hawthorn contains triterpenes and flavonoids, which have significant vasodilatory and blood pressure-lowering effects, enhance myocardial function, prevent arrhythmias, and regulate blood lipid and cholesterol levels.
Hawthorn + Dan Shen for Preventing and Treating Arteriosclerosis
Many middle-aged and elderly people suffer from arteriosclerosis or thick blood, which can lead to abnormal blood supply to the heart and brain. Some may say that taking enteric-coated aspirin can solve these problems.
Enteric-coated aspirin is indeed effective, but it has a significant impact on the stomach, so it must be taken under a doctor’s guidance, and one must remember not to misuse medication. By using the two herbs “Dan Shen and Hawthorn,” blood circulation can be promoted, blood vessels can be dilated, and blood waste can be cleared.
Dan Shen is an excellent medicine for activating blood and resolving stasis
Dan Shen is an excellent medicine for activating blood and resolving stasis. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that middle-aged and elderly people often have qi deficiency and blood stasis, making them susceptible to cardiovascular diseases.
According to the “Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic”: “Dan Shen is bitter and can drain, warm and can disperse, long-term use benefits qi, specifically enters the blood aspect, its function is to activate blood and promote circulation.” This means that Dan Shen can be taken for a long time, and its bitter taste can drain. “Drain” means “to facilitate downward movement,” Dan Shen can promote blood downward, but unlike other blood-activating herbs like Dang Gui (Angelica sinensis), it does not cause blood to rise to the brain, which could lead to cerebral hemorrhage.
Dan Shen + Hawthorn: The Golden Combination
Dan Shen not only activates blood and resolves stasis but also tonifies qi. The inclusion of hawthorn is due to its effects in preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases, lowering blood pressure, lowering blood lipids, and promoting digestion.
Dan Shen + Hawthorn for preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases is the “golden combination” for lowering blood lipids and preventing vascular hardening.
Usage: Grind 100 grams each of Dan Shen and hawthorn into powder, and take 10 grams daily with warm water.
Note: Middle-aged and elderly individuals with thick blood can use the above method, and over time, excellent results will be achieved.
This content is for clinical reference only; non-professionals in Traditional Chinese Medicine should not attempt to needle or medicate.
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Ai Yu Xiang Tang
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