Hello students, let's begin our class. In the last session, we've introduced basic concepts of rare and expensive Chinese herbs, functions of some common rare and expensive Chinese herbs and their applications. From this session, we're going to introduce another comnon type of Chinese herbs that can be used for both food and medicine. That's why this session is called Food and medicine share the same source and products used for both food and medicine. Last class, we've learned basic concepts of products that can be used for both food and medicine, their characteristics, application principle and category. From this class, we're going to introduce common herbs or products that can be used for both food and medicine. The first type is pathogen-removing herbs that can be used for both food and medicine. This type of herbs have two major functions. First, they can remove external pathogenic factors, and treat problems caused by these pathogenic factors. Second, they can preven t external pathogenic factors from damaging the human body. Now let's come to the first herb or product for both food and medicine Sheng Jiang (Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens). I'm sure you are all very familar with Sheng Jiang or fresh ginger. We can say it's indispensable in our daily life. We need to be clear about the following facts. First, it's often cooked with aquatic products, such as crab, or sea food. You may wonder why fresh ginger is added to dishes of aquatic products. Other than fresh ginger can remove the fishy smell, it has the property of Chinese herbs. We know that crab, or most river or sea food or most aquatic products are yin cold in nature. So although these products taste really good, you need to be cautious about their yin-cold property. With yin-cold property, these aquatic products may damage the spleen and stomach. Some people may suffer from vomiting or diarrhea after eating these products. They may also affect the respiratory tract or the lung. For people with chronic cough, fish, crab or shrimps may trigger or aggravate cough. What should you do? You love eating aquatic products but are also worried about their yin cold property. The solution is fresh ginger, because it is warm and heat in property, and it can counteract, neutralize and alleviate the yin cold property of aquatic products. This is the first aspect. The second aspect, actually there are many folk sayings about eating fresh ginger, like 'you don't need a doctor's prescription as long as you eat radish before going to bed and eat ginger after getting up in the morning'. That's to say, after you get up and before you go out, especially in cold winter or cold environment, eating a little bit of fresh ginger, can help, to some extent, to defend aganist external cold qi, and protect wind-cold from affecting your body. It can be seen that both as food in our daily life and as prevention, we know fresh ginger is warm in property; and it is hot and pungent. Warm, undoubtedly, can dissipate cold. Pungent can go upward and outward, in other words, can dissipate cold qi. What kind of cold qi does it dissipate? This is related to its meridian tropism. Fresh ginger mainly enters the lung and stomach meridians. So the characteristics of fresh ginger can be summarized into four words warming and dispersing the lung and stomach. Let's take a look. First, it can warm the the lung and dissipate cold. This is mainly used in two aspects: first, it can, in a certain degree, prevent and treat common cold due to wind cold, since it removes wind and dissipates cold. In our daily life it's a routine that when, by chance, you extract wind cold or being caught in a rain, followed by sneezing or nasal obstruction, even if you do not have common cold or just feel like catching common cold after extracting cold qi, however, you are reluctant to take either Chinese medicine or Western medicine, you can just decoct a coupled of pieces of fresh ginger and brown sugar, drink it and slightly sweat. This can prevent or treat common cold due to wind cold. This is its first function. Secondly, We need to know it can stop coughing by warming the lung, especially cough due to cold. What's the function of fresh ginger in this regard? It can be used to treat cough due to external pathogenic cold or internal cold qi. But I need to clarify that fresh ginger does not have immediate effect on cough, in other words, you need to combine other cough-stopping herbs to activate, improve and strengthen the effect. In other words, by combining other herbs, you'll get the effect of '1+1>2'. The reason lies in that it can warm and dissiapte cold qi. Fresh ginger has very good effects in dissipating both external and internal cold. As a result, the function of fresh ginger in warming the lung and dissipating cold is manifested in two ways: one is to prevent and treat common cold due to wind cold; and the other is to treat cough due to cold. This is its first function. Secondly, it can warm the stomach and dissipate cold. Undoubtedly, fresh ginger can be used to treat vomiting due to stomach cold. In Chinese medicine, fresh ginger is also known as sacred medicine for vomiting because of its remarkable effect on vomiting. But we have to know that fresh ginger is best indicated for vomiting due to cold qi, natural wind cold, or cold food damaging the spleen and stomach and subsequent adverse ascending of stomach qi. Fresh ginger can dissipate cold in the stomach and stop vomiting. In addition, fresh ginger can remove toxins and stop coughing. This is related to another function of fresh ginger. Gresh ginger has good effects in removing toxins, toxins in food. Food poisoning, contaminated food or poisonous food can cause vomiting, fresh ginger can remove toxins and stop vomiting. You can wipe the tongue tip using the fresh ginger, drink fresh ginger juice or chew ginger pieces to remove toxins and stop vomiting. This is one aspect of removing toxins. Another aspect, it can also prevent and remove toxins of Chinese herbs. For example, Sheng Ban Xia (Rhizoma Pinelliae) is toxic, especially to mucosa of the five sense organs. Prepared Sheng Ban Xia with fresh ginger can alleviate irritation of Ban Xia to the mucosa. So fresh ginger mainly acts to warm and dissipate. This function remind us that it is mainly used for cold syndrome. In other words, fresh ginger is contraindicated for non-cold or warm-heat syndrome, People with eye problems or hemorrhoids should be cautious of or avoiding fresh ginger. Particularly, you need to pay attention to the dose and time. So much for fresh ginger. Next, I'd like to introduce another common herb Niu Bang Zi (Fructus Arctii). Maybe you're not familiar with Niu Bang Zi, but you must have heard of or used Niu Bang. Today, Niu Bang is attracting more and more attention because of its dietary and medicinal value. In Japan, Niu Bang Zi is called Eastern ginseng. We may not know Eastern ginseng, but we all know American ginseng. Since Niu Bang Zi can be compared to American ginseng, we can assume that it plays a role in disease prevention and treatment as well as health cultivation. In Chinese medicine, we mainly use its fruit Niu Bang Zi. Here, I'd like to introduce Niu Bang Zi. In Chinese medicine, Niu Bang Zi has a couple of prescription names. Actually, it was first called Wu Shi, the first word 'Wu' means dislike; the second word 'Shi' means fruit. Why dislike? You can find there are thorns inside. You may accidently injure your hand and it's disliked in this sense. It's also known as Shu Nian Zi (Mouse-Sticking Fruit), also related to its thorns. It means that a mouse can be stuck by thorns of Niu Bang Zi, that's why it's called Shu Nian Zi. However, these two names are not common in prescriptions. In prescriptions, another two names are more common: one is Niu Bang Zi and the other is Da Li Zi. These two names actually share the same thing, meaning after taking this herb, you'll gain strength and become as strong as a bull. This can tell Niu Bang Zi has very good effect in health cultivation. In our daily life, compared with fresh ginger, Niu Bang food or drink such as Niu Bang Gen (great burdock root) or Niu Bang tea are cold in nature. In Chinese medicine, Niu Bang Zi falls under the category of wind-removing and heat-clearing herbs. Undoubtedly, it is also pungent. However, it is very bitter. So it is pungent, bitter and cold and mainly enters the lung and stomach meridians. I summarized the characteristics of this herb into three words dispersing, dissipating and clearing. By dispersing and dissipating, Niu Bang Zi releases the exterior. Its clearing function is related to the fact that it is bitter in flavor and cold in property. Relatively speaking, it is mainly used for lung system problems. Lung heat can be effectively treated with Niu Bang Zi. Let's take a look. First, since it can remove wind and clear heat, undoubtedly, Niu Bang Zi can release the exterior and can be used to treat wind heat exterior syndrome, for example, common cold due to wind heat. However, I have to clarify that Niu Bang Zi does not have strong effect in releasing the exterior. It is not commonly used for cold due to wind heat. Niu Bang Zi is more importantly used for early stage epidemic febrile diseases. Initial stage means an exterior syndrome. Exterior syndrome in initial stage of epidemic febrile diseases is very similar to influenza, i.e., contagious common cold. In Chinese medicine, there are two principles in the treatment of early stage epidemic febrile diseases. One... to release the exterior by removing wind and clearing heat. Niu Bang Zi can remove wind and clear heat. Because it is contagious and often related to toxic heat. We need to clear heat and remove toxins. Niu Bang Zi is bitter in flavor and cold in property and has good effects in clearing heat and removing toxins. So Niu Bang Zi, with its functions, can play an important role in prevention and treatment of early stage febrile disease. This is the first point. Secondly, it is very effective for throat problems. In this regard, Niu Bang Zi can clear and benefit the throat. Consequently, it has remarkable effect on sore throat due to toxic heat. Because of its throat-benefiting effect, Niu Bang Zi is effective for throat problems due to toxic heat or other reasons. That's why I call it a special herb for throat problems, either acute or chronic. Its third application is also related to the lung. In what way? It can resolve phlegm and stop coughing. What's the characteristic in this regard? Two opposite aspects. The fundamental function is to stop coughing. It can be used to treat cough with scanty phlegm, or couhg coupled with difficulty expectoration, because it can help to discharge phlegm. This is the first aspect. The second aspect is opposite used for cough with profuse phlegm. Niu Bang Zi can help to remove phlegm and stop coughing. It's also commonly used for externally contracted conditions, such as cough due to common cold, cold due to wind heat, throat discomfort. Some people may experience a scratchy throat and cough. Niu Bang Zi can clear and benefit the throat, resolve phlegm and stop coughing. So it can be used to treat cough due to throat diseases or Cough due to internal injury, especially chronic cough. Consequently Niu Bang Zi has remarkable effect in allevaiting coughing. This is the second application of Niu Bang Zi. Thirdly, Niu Bang Zi has three more functions: (1) it can clear heat, remove toxins and resolve swelling. With this function, it can be used to treat problems due to toxic heat such as sores or ulcers. I'm not going to say more about this. I'd like to mention its role in treatment of parotic swelling, which is similar to epidemic parotitis in modern medicine. Patients may experience swelling and pain of the cheek and throat. Niu Bang Zi can clear and benefit the throat, clear heat, remove toxins and resolve swelling, and can therefore treat mumps, targeting both the symptoms and pathogenic factors. At the same time, it can also prevent infection. Secondly, it is also used to promote eruptions and stop itching, to promote eruptions of measles and stop itching. What's the difference betwee Niu Bang Zi and other herbs in eruptions? Obstructed eruption often manifests in two ways: half-hidden rashes in initial stage of measles. By dispersing, dissipating and exterior-releasing function, Niu Bang Zi can help promote eruptions and make the treatment thorough. Another way: in middle stage of measles, for difficult eruptions due to exuberant toxic-heat, we need to remove toxins and promote eruptions. What's the characteristics of Niu Bang Zi? It can be used to promote eruptions by either dispersing or removing toxins in early and middle stages of measles. The last function of Niu Bang Zi is to promote bowel movements. Its seeds can moisten the large intestine and promote bowel movements, and can therefore be used to treat constipation due to intestinal dryness. Since Niu Bang Zi has the function of promoting bowel movements, it may become a side effect when you do not really need this function. For example, after using Niu Bang Zi, a patient with normal bowel movements may develop loose stools. This reminds us that you need to be cautious of using Niu Bang Zi for patients with loose stools, you need to be very cautious about the dose and course of treatment, at least by combining with other herbs. So much for Niu Bang Zi. In this class we've introduced two herbs: one is fresh ginger (warm in property); the other is Niu Bang Zi (cold in property) So much for this class.
