The effects and functions of soaking in the sea

I believe many people are familiar with Plantago ovata. It is a relatively common Chinese medicinal material. Of course, in daily life, more people will choose to soak Plantago ovata in water and drink it, because Plantago ovata contains certain nutrients and can achieve certain therapeutic value. Studies have shown that Plantago ovata has a good effect in alleviating and treating symptoms such as throat diseases, lung heat coughs, and dry stools.

1. For pharyngeal diseases

Sore throat is mostly caused by heat and toxins in the throat or excessive heat in the lungs. The treatment should focus on clearing heat and toxins in the throat and clearing heat in the lungs. Plantago ovata is cold in nature and acts on the lung meridian. It is good at clearing the throat and clearing lung heat, so it is very suitable for treating sore throat. Whether used alone as tea or combined with other Chinese medicines for clearing heat, detoxifying and relieving sore throat, it is very effective. Plantago asiatica can not only clear the throat, but also is good at relieving sore throat and opening the voice. It is used to treat hoarseness and even aphonia, and is effective for both acute and chronic use.

In traditional Chinese medicine, throat sound production is primarily regulated by the lungs. If the lung qi is sufficient, the lung yin is moist, and the lung's function of dispersing and releasing is normal, the voice will be loud, the tone will be crisp and moist, and the pronunciation will be long-lasting; on the contrary, whether it is external evil invading the lungs, the lung qi is not released, or the lung qi is insufficient or the lung yin is deficient, the throat is not nourished, it will lead to throat voice disorders, ranging from hoarseness at a mild level to loss of voice at a severe level. Plantago ovata is sweet and cold in nature, and can moisten the lungs, relieve throat and open the voice. No matter what the cause of hoarseness or aphonia is, it can be treated in combination with other medicines. For example, it can be used with licorice to treat sore throat, with cicada shells to treat aphonia caused by lung qi stagnation, with astragalus and codonopsis to treat hoarseness and aphonia caused by lung qi deficiency, and with Ophiopogon japonicus and Scrophularia ningpoensis to treat hoarseness and aphonia caused by lung yin deficiency.

2. For cough caused by lung heat and dryness

Wind-heat invading the lungs or evil heat blocking the lungs can cause coughing and sputum, with the sputum being yellow and sticky. Dry evil damaging the lungs, the lungs failing to moisten and descend, or insufficient lung yin can cause dry cough with little or no sputum. Plantago ovata can both clear lung heat and moisten lung dryness, so it can be used to treat cough caused by lung heat or lung dryness. However, this effect of Plantago ovata is not significant, and it must be used in combination with other medicines, such as lung-clearing and cough-relieving medicines such as Scutellaria baicalensis, Houttuynia cordata, and Phragmites australis, for cough caused by lung heat; and Radix Trichosanthis, Ophiopogon japonicus, and Loquat Leaves, for cough caused by lung dryness.

3. For dry stool

Plantago ovata is a cold food and belongs to the large intestine meridian. It has the effect of clearing the intestine and promoting bowel movements. Therefore, it can be used for constipation and difficulty in defecation caused by heat accumulation in the large intestine. However, the laxative effect of Plantago asiatica is not strong and it is only suitable for mild symptoms and must be used together with other laxatives.

After all, the medicine is cold in nature, and excessive use will damage the body's yang energy, especially causing damage to the spleen and stomach function, resulting in side effects such as abdominal pain and diarrhea. Therefore, you should stop taking Pandanus lychnophora as soon as the effects start to appear and should not drink it as a health drink or tea for a long time. Some people have weak spleen and stomach, which manifests as decreased appetite, cold pain in the abdomen, preference for warmth and pressure, loose stools, etc. They should use Pandanus lychnophora with caution. In addition, women should use it with caution during menstruation.