Can pregnant women eat Pangdahai?

Can pregnant women eat Plantago ovata? This is a question worth pondering, because it is directly related to the health of the pregnant woman and the baby in her belly. Plantago ovata should not be unfamiliar to everyone, because many people often use it in their daily lives. Drinking Plantago ovata soaked in water has a certain effect of protecting the throat, and in reality many people also have throat problems.

Strictly speaking, Plantago ovata is a traditional Chinese medicine, but pregnant women are not allowed to take the medicine. Because pregnant women have relatively poor physical fitness, some medicines will have certain side effects on their bodies after taking them, which may in turn affect the health of the baby. So, can pregnant women drink Pangdahai? Let’s talk about this issue below.

Drinking Sterculia lychnophora is beneficial for clearing the lungs and reducing phlegm, clearing the intestines and relieving constipation, etc. It can be consumed during pregnancy. So, this also tells everyone that pregnant women can actually eat Plantago ovata.

Sterculia lychnophora Hance is also known as the sea, the sea seed, the big hole fruit, and the big hair. It is the dried mature seeds of the Sterculia lychnophora Hance plant of the Sterculaceae family. It is spindle-shaped or oval, 2 to 3 cm long and 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter. The apex is obtuse, the base is slightly pointed and crooked, with a light-colored round hilum, the surface is brown or dark brown, slightly shiny, and has irregular shrinkage wrinkles. The outer peel is very thin, brittle and easy to fall off. The middle layer of the fruit skin is thicker, dark brown, loose and brittle, and expands into a sponge-like state when in contact with water. Scattered resinous spots can be seen on the cross section. The inner pericarp can be peeled off from the middle pericarp, is slightly leathery, and contains 2 thick endosperms, which are broadly ovate; there are 2 cotyledons, which are thin, closely attached to the inside of the endosperm, and are the same size as the endosperm. It has a slight odor, light taste, and is sticky when chewed. It is often used to make tea, which can help lower blood pressure.

Plantago ovata is sweet and cool in nature. It enters the lung and large intestine meridians and has the effects of clearing lung heat, relieving throat, detoxifying, and moistening the intestines and promoting bowel movements. It is used for hoarseness caused by lung heat, sore throat, constipation due to heat, and excessive use of the voice.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that Plantago ovata is cold in nature and sweet in taste, and has two major functions. One is to clear the lung qi, and can be used for acute pharyngitis and tonsillitis caused by wind-heat invading the lungs, such as feeling fever, sore throat, dry mouth, and dry cough during a cold; the other is to clear the intestines and promote bowel movements, and can be used for constipation caused by getting angry.

However, the following situations are not suitable for using Sterculia lychnophora: First, the spleen and stomach are weak and cold, which is manifested by decreased appetite, cold pain in the abdomen, preference for warmth and pressure, and loose stools. Taking Sterculia lychnophora at this time can easily cause diarrhea and damage the vitality; second, cough and sore throat caused by cold, which is manifested by aversion to cold, weak constitution, and cough with white sticky phlegm; third, cough caused by lung yin deficiency, which is also manifested by dry cough without phlegm and hoarseness, but this situation is mostly a chronic respiratory disease.

So, after understanding this, we should also know that pregnant women can eat Sterculia lychnophora, but they must pay attention to the amount and never consume it excessively. Although Sterculia lychnophora is a traditional Chinese medicine and has certain effects on pregnant women, on the other hand, Sterculia lychnophora is toxic, so pregnant friends must eat less.