The secret to not tasting bitter Chinese medicine

As the saying goes, "Good medicine tastes bitter." For those who are reluctant to take Chinese medicine because of its bitter taste, are there any methods that can remove the bitter taste and make it easier to swallow without affecting the effect of the medicine?

“Golden time” for taking medication

Studies have found that the "golden period" for the human body to absorb drugs within 24 hours a day is 8-10 am and 2-3 pm. This stage is when the body's metabolism is most active, and the bitter taste of the drug is not likely to cause obvious irritation to the body. Taking the medicine more than half an hour after a meal can not only prevent nausea and regurgitation, but also reduce the bitter taste of the medicine. If there is no special need, the medicine can be taken within the above time period.

Let it cool before drinking

The temperature inside the human mouth is 36.2℃-37.2℃, and the taste nerve fibers are mostly distributed on the tongue. When the temperature of the medicine soup is close to the temperature of the tongue, the taste nerves are in the best working state and are most sensitive to the five flavors. At this time, the medicine soup tastes the most bitter. Therefore, the temperature of Chinese herbal decoctions should be controlled at 15-36°C, which can not only prevent burns to the mouth but also reduce the bitterness.

Speed ​​up medication

Practice has shown that the longer a Chinese herbal decoction stays in the mouth, the more bitter it will taste. Therefore, drinking the medicine in one breath is a good way to reduce the bitterness of the medicine.

Drink plenty of warm water

After taking Chinese herbal decoction, if you can drink some warm water immediately, it can reduce the residue of the medicine in your mouth and reduce the bitterness of the medicine to a certain extent.

Add the right seasoning

Most people are accustomed to putting some sugar in Chinese medicine decoctions (especially when giving medicine to children) to make it taste better. In fact, it is not advisable to add sugar randomly to remove the bitterness. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, sugar is also a medicine. In addition, adding sugar may affect the function and absorption of the active ingredients of certain drugs. For example, brown sugar contains ingredients such as iron and calcium, which can easily interact with some ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine and affect the therapeutic effects of the medicine; adding sugar to many antipyretic traditional Chinese medicines may weaken their heat-clearing effects.