What are the commonly used Chinese medicine pairings and contraindications?

For traditional Chinese medicine, the ratio of drugs and contraindications of use are knowledge that must be mastered in traditional Chinese medicine. In clinical practice, most people are relatively recognized for the conditioning and health-care effects of traditional Chinese medicine. However, when taking Chinese medicine, we generally avoid spicy and irritating foods because they will conflict with the ingredients in the medicine, resulting in the medicine not being able to work normally and effectively. In severe cases, it will also cause adverse effects on the body.

There are many taboos for drinking Chinese medicine. Here are some common ones:

1. Avoid peppers when taking antipyretic drugs

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.

2. Warm and hot medicines are most afraid of cold drinks

Although it is icy and snowy outside, the heating and air conditioning have created a warm spring-like environment inside the house. Therefore, many people like to drink cold drinks even in the winter. This may cause people's gastrointestinal tract to become weak without realizing it. Eating too much cold food will lower the temperature of the stomach and make it difficult to digest food.

3. Avoid white radish in warming and nourishing 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. In addition, mung beans, which have the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying, will also "offset" the tonic effects of medicines such as ginseng.

There is one thing that everyone needs to pay special attention to when taking Chinese medicine, that is, do not eat raw, cold, or fishy foods, because most of these foods are cold in nature and are difficult to digest after eating, which can easily cause a burden on the gastrointestinal tract and affect the absorption and efficacy of the medicine. It is particularly important for everyone to pay attention to that for patients with a history of allergies, the selection of medicinal materials is very critical, and we should try to fully understand the patient's physical condition before using the medicine.