Can I still drink Chinese medicine if it gets mushy?

As we all know, if you choose traditional Chinese medicine for treatment, you actually need to drink Chinese medicine. Although few people make Chinese medicine by themselves now, there are still some people who choose to make it by themselves. However, when you prepare Chinese medicine yourself, it is very easy to burn it. So, someone asked, can we still drink Chinese medicine if it has become a paste? In fact, experts do not recommend it.

In fact, there are many things to pay attention to when decocting Chinese medicine. If the water and the decocting time are incorrect, it will easily cause the medicine to become burnt. Many younger people have a headache about decocting Chinese medicine, but it is actually a very simple thing and can be easily dealt with as long as you find the right tricks. Let’s take a look at some tips for decocting Chinese medicine. I hope it will be useful to you.

Can I still drink Chinese medicine if it gets mushy?

When decocting Chinese medicine, the medicine juice often dries up or even becomes a burnt paste due to adding too little water, using too high a fire or forgetting the decocting time. So some people add more water during the second decoction, thinking that they can boil out the amount of medicine from the first decoction. This practice is wrong. For medicines that have been boiled dry but not yet into a paste, add an appropriate amount of water and boil them for a while before taking them. However, the medicinal ingredients in the decoction are destroyed and the efficacy is reduced.

Some medicines have other effects after being decocted into a paste. For example, Schizonepeta is an antipyretic drug, but after being decocted into a paste, it becomes Schizonepeta charcoal, which loses its antipyretic effect and instead produces hemostatic effect. Another example is Puhuang is used to invigorate blood circulation, but after being decocted into a paste, Puhuang charcoal becomes hemostatic, which has the opposite effect.

3 easy-to-use techniques for decocting Chinese herbs

1. The medicine jar must be cleaned

When decocting Chinese medicine, the medicinal juice is concentrated due to evaporation of water, and a layer of medicine scale often accumulates at the bottom and around the medicine pot. If the medicines decocted in the medicine pot are frequently changed and the accumulated medicine scale is not wiped off in time, the medicine scale will dissolve when new medicines are put in for decoction, interfering with and reducing the efficacy of the medicines, and even delaying the treatment of the disease. Especially if you have ever decocted highly toxic medicines or external medicines that cannot be eaten, it may cause poisoning.

In addition, if the Chinese medicine is not cleaned immediately after each decoction, the scale at the bottom of the medicine pot will become thicker and thicker, and it will easily burn when the medicine is re-decocted, thus losing its efficacy.

2. Whether to cover the medicine

Generally speaking, in order to ensure that Chinese medicine is decocted thoroughly, it is best to cover it. Especially Chinese medicines containing volatile ingredients, such as mint, patchouli, perilla leaves, etc., must be decocted in a short time to prevent the volatilization of the effective ingredients. Certain precious medicines, such as ginseng, deer antler, wolfberry, etc., to fully release the active ingredients.

Some Chinese herbal medicines are light in weight and large in size, such as Centella asiatica, Prunella vulgaris, Achyranthes bidentata, Luffa loofah, and Corn silk. They should not be covered during cooking, otherwise they will often overflow from the pot. The lid can be opened for cooking, and stirring is required at any time.

3. Fry thoroughly and squeeze dry

"Decoction thoroughly" means to fully release the effective ingredients of the medicine, which is the basic requirement for decocting medicine. Medicines with a tough texture that are difficult to release their active ingredients at once can only be made thick and fully effective by decocting them separately, decocting them first, or decocting them for a long time. Medicines with a loose texture and light and aromatic properties do not need to be decocted for too long; however, herbs with a light texture and large size should be stirred frequently to facilitate decoction.