What fruits and foods can’t be eaten while taking Chinese medicine?

There are many types of Chinese medicine, and their effects are different for different diseases. Although taking Chinese medicine can regulate the body, it also has many taboos. Regarding the question of what fruits cannot be eaten when taking Chinese medicine, be sure to stay away from fruits with high content of vitamins to avoid affecting the medicinal properties.

1. Don’t eat mangoes to treat allergies.

Nowadays, even in the winter in the north, we can buy tropical fruits such as mangoes and lychees. Here we would like to remind everyone that in addition to seafood, peanuts, etc., mangoes and lychees are also considered "irritating foods". People who are taking Chinese medicine to treat allergic diseases such as asthma and dermatitis should not eat these foods.

2. Don’t eat cold fruits

Pears, sago, water chestnuts, tangerines, lilies, bananas, sugar cane, persimmons, etc. In order to ensure the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine and enable it to better play its therapeutic role, it is necessary to avoid certain foods when taking traditional Chinese medicine.

3. Avoid using white radish in warm tonic Chinese medicine.

Ginseng replenishes qi, while radish promotes qi movement, lowers qi, and breaks up qi. If radish and ginseng are eaten at the same time, the qi-replenishing effect of ginseng may be weakened. Other warm tonic medicines, such as American ginseng, Codonopsis pilosula, Astragalus membranaceus, Polygonum multiflorum, Rehmannia glutinosa, etc., have similar effects to ginseng and are not suitable to be taken with radish. Whether raw or cooked, radish has the effect of promoting qi circulation, but care should be taken to avoid using it with tonic medicines.

4. Stomach-nourishing Chinese medicine is "afraid" of glutinous rice.

Foods such as glutinous rice, meat, and beans are difficult to digest. People who are taking Chinese medicine for strengthening the spleen and stomach should eat less of them to avoid increasing the burden on the stomach and intestines and affecting the patient's recovery. If the elderly whose gastrointestinal function has declined eat too much of this kind of food, it will often cause the gastrointestinal tract to be overwhelmed.

5. Heat-clearing medicine should stay away from chili peppers.

If you are taking bitter and cold medicines such as rhubarb, coptis chinensis, scutellaria baicalensis, or cold medicines such as peony bark, phellodendron, honeysuckle, platycodon, mulberry leaves, and forsythia suspensa, you should avoid eating spicy and irritating foods such as chili peppers, pepper, curry, alcohol, etc., otherwise it will weaken the efficacy of Chinese medicines for clearing heat and cooling blood.

6. Note

The following points should usually be noted: Do not drink strong tea when taking Chinese medicine, because tea contains tannic acid. Strong tea contains more tannic acid. When taken with Chinese medicine, it will affect the body's absorption of the active ingredients in the medicine and reduce its efficacy.