Is it better to take Chinese medicine before or after meals?

The side effects of traditional Chinese medicine are less than those of western medicine. Therefore, many people now prefer to drink bitter traditional Chinese medicine to treat diseases. If you want to maximize the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine, in addition to paying attention to decoction, you must also pay attention to the time of taking the medicine. However, people are confused about the time to take traditional Chinese medicine, and don’t know whether to drink it before or after meals. In fact, the best time to take traditional Chinese medicine cannot be generalized. So, should Chinese medicine be taken before or after meals?

Should I take Chinese medicine before or after meals?

Take on an empty stomach

Also known as taking medicine at dawn, it means taking the medicine in the morning before eating. Decoctions with tonic effects should be taken on an empty stomach in the morning to facilitate full absorption. Drugs used to deworm or treat limb blood vessel diseases should also be taken on an empty stomach, so that the drugs can enter the intestines quickly and maintain a high concentration to quickly exert their effects. The same is true for decoctions with laxative effects to enhance the efficacy.

Take before meals

Generally, take the medicine 30 to 60 minutes before meals. If the disease is located in the lower part of the body, the medicine should be taken before meals so that the medicinal properties can be easily delivered to the lower part of the body, such as liver and kidney deficiency or diseases below the waist. For the treatment of intestinal diseases, it is also advisable to take medicine before meals. Because, when the stomach is empty, the drug solution can directly contact the gastrointestinal mucosa and pass through the stomach into the intestine more quickly, so that more of it can be absorbed and take effect, without being diluted by food in the stomach and affecting its efficacy.

Take after meal

Generally, take the medicine 15 to 30 minutes after a meal. If the disease is located in the upper part of the body, the medicine should be taken after meals. If you are treating diseases related to the heart, lungs, chest, diaphragm, or stomach, you should take the medicine after meals to allow the medicinal properties to move upward. Taking drugs that are irritating to the gastrointestinal tract after meals can reduce damage to the gastrointestinal mucosa.

Take before bed

It is usually taken 15 to 30 minutes before bedtime. Drugs that nourish the heart and spleen, calm the mind, and induce sleep can be taken at this time. In addition, some western medicines such as hypnotics, anthelmintics and anti-allergic drugs should generally be taken half an hour before going to bed at night.

Final reminder: What is the best temperature for taking Chinese medicine?

"Drink while it's hot" is the habit of most people when drinking decoctions. In fact, you don’t have to drink medicine while it’s hot.

In general, Chinese herbal decoctions should be taken "warm", that is, the decoction should be filtered out immediately after boiling, and then cooled to 30℃ ~ 40℃ at room temperature before drinking. In particular, for drugs that are irritating to the gastrointestinal tract, such as Trichosanthes seed and frankincense, taking them warm can soothe the stomach and spleen and reduce irritation.

Chinese patent medicines in the form of pills and powders should be taken with warm water, which is also a type of warm administration. Traditional Chinese medicines that dispel wind and cold, such as ephedra, cinnamon twig, schizonepeta, and saposhnikovia, should be taken hot, and you can eat some hot porridge or hot water after taking them to help the efficacy of the medicine.

Granular heat-clearing Chinese patent medicines such as Ganmao Qingre Granules usually contain some ingredients that clear away heat and relieve symptoms of the disease. Excessively hot water will also affect the efficacy of the medicine. Therefore, for this type of granular Chinese patent medicine, it should be dissolved in water at 60℃~70℃ and then taken when the water temperature drops to around 40℃.

Finally, the editor would like to summarize for everyone, whether to take Chinese medicine before or after meals, different diseases and different medicines have different taking times, and it cannot be generalized. What we need is to make targeted choices under the guidance of a doctor and match the prescription that suits our disease, and then take it on time. All medicines are toxic to some extent, so don't take them indiscriminately.