Can I eat candy after taking Chinese medicine?

Traditional Chinese medicine tastes bitter and is good for treating diseases, but most adults find it hard to tolerate the bitterness, let alone children. However, when children are sick, parents now choose to treat them with traditional Chinese medicine. Because Chinese medicine has no side effects, it is easier for children to accept than Western medicine. It will not affect the functioning of other organs in the body. However, many children cannot tolerate the bitterness of Chinese medicine. So, can they eat candy after taking Chinese medicine? I believe most parents will have such questions.

1. Main ingredients of Chinese medicine

Generally, Chinese medicine practitioners will add licorice as a seasoning when prescribing Chinese medicine. But for some children, the sweetness of licorice alone is not enough to make them accept the pungent and bitter taste of traditional Chinese medicine. At this time, it is actually a good choice for parents to add some honey to the traditional Chinese medicine to make it taste better. The main components of honey are fructose and glucose, which are easily absorbed by children's stomachs. They are rich in nutrients and have medicinal value such as moistening the lungs and intestines. However, it should also be noted that the various trace elements in honey may change the efficacy of the medicine, so you need to follow the doctor's advice.

2. Sugar treatment of Chinese medicine

If white sugar is added to traditional Chinese medicine, that is another matter. Traditional Chinese medicine has four properties: cold, hot, warm, and cool, and five flavors: pungent, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. Chinese medicines with different tastes have different medicinal effects. White sugar is hot in nature, so some Chinese herbal decoctions add white sugar, which will change the medicinal properties and affect the efficacy. Even if you add sugar to traditional Chinese medicine for flavoring, you should pay attention to the amount. It is unnecessary to make a bowl of traditional Chinese medicine too sweet.

3. How to take Chinese medicine

Many people will pinch their noses, drink a large bowl of Chinese medicine, and then eat something else immediately to dilute the bitter taste remaining in their mouths. However, in fact, after taking Chinese medicine, it is not suitable to eat spicy, greasy, fishy or other irritating foods. For example, eating seafood after taking Chinese medicine will stimulate the dilation of blood vessels and easily cause side effects.

Here are some tips to forget the pain:

First, pay attention to the temperature of the medicine. Relevant expert research has confirmed that the tongue is particularly sensitive to temperatures above 37°C. Therefore, the temperature of bitter decoctions should be kept between 15°C and 37°C.

Second, pay attention to the part where you hold and swallow the Chinese medicine. Human bitter taste receptors are mainly concentrated in the front half of the tongue, especially the tip of the tongue. Therefore, after the medicine enters the mouth, it is best to hold the medicine at the root of the tongue immediately and swallow it naturally. You can also use a spoon to directly send the medicine to the root of the tongue and swallow it naturally.

Third, pay attention to the speed of taking the medicine. The longer the medicine stays in your mouth, the bitterer it tastes. Therefore, bitter Chinese medicine should be taken quickly rather than slowly. Fourth, you can rinse your mouth with cold water immediately after taking the medicine, and then drink an appropriate amount of warm water.