A, the characteristics of Chinese medicine tea therapy
1.Fast absorption
As a liquid preparation, there is no disintegration and dissolution process after oral administration; it can be absorbed directly after entering the gastrointestinal tract, so the medicinal tea has the characteristics of fast absorption and rapid effect.
The tea can be compounded, the drugs can promote each other, mutual restraint, to enhance the curative effect, moderate the purpose of the drug, can give full play to the role of Chinese medicine prescriptions in drug combination.
At the same time, tea therapy can be added or subtracted at any time according to changes in the condition, in line with the principles of Chinese medicine, add or subtract with the disease, which is also one of the characteristics of medicinal tea.
2.It is conducive to improve the effectiveness of drugs
In order to give full play to the efficacy of drugs, it is necessary to choose a good choice of suitable dosage form and route of administration.
The medicinal tea preparation crushed the herbs into coarse grains or powder, which increases the contact surface of the solvent and the herb tissue and accelerates the leaching of the active ingredients. Generally speaking, the finer the crushed herbs, the larger the surface area of the particles, the larger the contact surface with water, the more conducive to leaching. According to experimental studies, the concentration of the decoction of crushed fruit seeds and roots is much higher than the concentration of the original drug, which is conducive to improving clinical efficacy. At the same time, the medicinal tea can retain more volatile components.
Volatile oil, also known as essential oil, has pharmacological effects of cough, expectorant, asthma, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, analgesic, sedative, hypnotic, hypothermic, hypotensive, anti-cancer, etc. Other effects include promoting the secretion of bile and gastric juice. Generally aromatic, volatile oil containing drugs, such as peppermint, patchouli, Chen Pi, artemisia, cinnamon, calamus, rose hips, etc. in the decoction process, its volatile components easily volatilized with water vapor and loss.
The components of volatile oils with low boiling points are lost more than those with high boiling points. It is now known that the volatile oil components contained in the decoction can be volatilized at room temperature, and thus more easily volatilized with water vapor, and the long decoction makes the active ingredients volatile and ineffective.
Tea therapy using the brewing method, steeped in hot water below 100 ℃, can partially dissolve the volatile components. At the same time after brewing with a cup cover tight cover, so that with the water vapor volatile components condensed in the cup cover, with water droplets dripping, volatile oil re-entered into the medicinal tea, which can also improve the effectiveness of the medicine.
Some drugs are easy to decompose and destroy after long decoction. Such as hook vine contains hook vine alkaloids, decoction 20 minutes or more of its antihypertensive components are easily destroyed. Almond contains bitter amygdalin, long decoction is hydrolyzed to produce hydrocyanic acid, with water vapor dissipation, weakening the cough effect. After changing the decoction method to tea therapy, the above active ingredients will not be destroyed.
3.Wide application
As early as the Tang Dynasty, Chen Zangqi in the “Materia Medica Gathering” proposed: “the medicine for each disease, tea for all diseases.” Showing that the main treatment and application of tea is very wide.
Modern research on tea shows that tea efficacy more, a wide range of pharmacological effects, a wider clinical application, if it is combined with drugs, the application is even wider, can be used for most diseases, that is, most diseases can be treated with tea therapy and complementary treatment and prevention. Therefore, another characteristic of tea therapy is the wide range of applications.
4, good taste and little poison
Since ancient times in China, there is a “good medicine bitter mouth”, but the tea therapy used tea has the characteristics of good taste, can be said to be “good medicine delicious”, and medicine tea with most of the drugs taste sweet, taste light, even if there are a few bad taste of drugs, can also be masked.
”Medicine is three points of poison” is also known, but the tea therapy formula generally does not use toxic drugs, tea therapy used in the tea is relatively better than other drugs taste, non-toxic, generally adults, children, the elderly can be accepted.
5, easy to prepare, easy to take
At present, Chinese medicine formulations are not yet fully adapted to clinical needs, such as Chinese medicine in the emergency room to rescue patients, the need for efficient, fast-acting Chinese medicine.
Some Chinese medicine preparations such as tonics, preparation is more complex, while the preparation of medicinal tea is relatively simple.
Appropriate development of tea therapy to give full play to the drug effect and reduce toxic side effects, can play a very good role in conjunction.
For patients with chronic diseases, to facilitate long-term medication; for elderly and pediatric patients, can still solve the difficulties of taking medication.
After the preparation of medicinal tea, the proportion of the required amount of medicine can be taken at the time of use, avoiding the tedious daily decoction, and small dose, easy to take and carry, adopted by the general public.
6.Saving medicinal materials
The dose of drugs used in general medicine tea is small, can save the source of medicine.
In the case of black bean curd tea, a packet of tea daily amount of only 0.3 grams of black bean curd, while taking the soup to use more 8.7 grams.
If a pharmacy every day with 200 payments onion and black bean soup, a year will consume 626.5 kilograms of thorny mustard.
And so on, the number of various herbs saved after switching to tea is considerable.
At the same time, the tea can be brewed in a warm cup with boiling water, saving the decoction time.
7.Cheap price
Compared with granules, oral liquids, tonics and other dosage forms, the preparation of tea is simple, the production generally does not need to add sugar, honey, color, preservatives, adhesives and other excipients, so the cost is greatly reduced, coupled with the amount of medicine used in tea is much less than tonics, so tea therapy also has the characteristics of cheap.
Second, the extensive pharmacological effects of tea
Many Chinese and foreign scholars have conducted in-depth research on tea using modern science and technology, and detected that tea contains more than 300 kinds of chemical substances, with high nutritional value and medicinal effects, has a wide range of pharmacological effects.
1.Excitation of the central nervous system
The pharmacological effects of tea are mainly produced by its xanthine derivatives caffeine and theophylline. Caffeine and aromatic substances in tea is a stimulant, can excite the higher nerve centers, especially the cerebral cortex, thus improving the thinking activities, improve the perception of external stimuli, so that the spirit of excitement, active thinking, eliminate fatigue, beneficial to work and study. The amount causes insomnia, palpitations, headaches, tinnitus and other uncomfortable symptoms. According to research, drinking tea and coffee, although they are refreshing, but drinking coffee will lead to atherosclerosis, while drinking tea can inhibit atherosclerosis. This is because tea contains more tea polyphenols and vitamin C, to avoid the adverse effects of coffee.
2, enhance the function of the circulatory system
Caffeine, theophylline can directly excite the heart, so that myocardial contraction is strengthened, heart rate accelerated, expansion of coronary arteries, expansion of peripheral blood vessels, and promote blood circulation. Tannin in tea, with vitamin P activity, can maintain or restore the normal resistance of capillaries, enhance the flexibility and elasticity of blood vessels, can reduce blood cholesterol, prevent fat deposition in the walls of blood vessels.
According to animal experiments suggest that the concentration of serum cholesterol and the ratio of cholesterol to phospholipids in rabbits taking Longjing tea are significantly lower than those not taking Longjing tea. After anatomical observation, rabbits taking Longjing tea aortic sclerosis lesion process also significantly reduced. The above experiments prove that tea can prevent coronary heart disease, chronic cardiac insufficiency, hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis, etc.
3.Anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory effect
Tea infusion or decoction in the test tube, on all types of dysentery bacillus have antibacterial effect. According to clinical observation, there are effects on acute and chronic bacillary dysentery. Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerae also has a significant killing effect. Tea antibacterial active ingredient is generally considered to be tannin. Its antibacterial potency is not comparable to that of Huanglian. Generally speaking, the antibacterial efficacy of flower tea and green tea is greater than that of black tea. Tea contains silicic acid, which can contribute to the formation of scarring at the site of tuberculosis lesions and stop the spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Silicic acid can also increase white blood cells, which is of great help to enhance the body’s ability to fight diseases.
4, antiviral effect
Tea has an antiviral effect, tea contains theaflavin and other infectious nucleic acids can be combined with the virus can hinder the virulence.
Indian scientists have confirmed that a variety of tea water extracts on the growth of human intestinal viruses have inhibitory effects, including poliovirus, coxsackie virus, echovirus inhibition rate of more than 99.75%, the active ingredients for the catechol polyphenolic compounds and caffeine.
Some studies have shown that insisting on gargling with tea can effectively prevent influenza. This is mainly because the tea extract can prevent the adsorption of influenza virus on animal cells, and thus can reduce the infestation of influenza virus. Some studies have also shown that the active ingredients in tea also have a certain inhibitory effect on HIV.
5.Enhance immune function
Studies have shown that tea can improve the number and activity of leukocytes and lymphocytes in the human body, enhance the immune function of the human body, and have a protective effect on the immune function of patients with malignant tumors in radiotherapy.
In recent years, some people have carried out experiments on the efficacy of humoral and cellular immunity of tea polysaccharides in coarse old tea leaves, showing that it has a significant effect of enhancing two-way immunity and improving the cellular immune function of the body, especially for the elderly whose body resistance is reduced, the effect is obvious.
6, anti-cancer effect
The anti-cancer effect of tea has been confirmed by animal experiments and epidemiological studies. It is generally believed that the anti-cancer effect of green tea is stronger, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Institute of Oncology research found that: green tea catechins have a strong free radical scavenging and inhibit cell mutation, cancer, can inhibit the occurrence of smoking-induced tumors. There are also studies that show that green tea has the effect of inhibiting the spread of cancer cells.
Numerous studies have shown that the anti-cancer mechanism of tea is mainly through.
(1) inhibiting the synthesis of carcinogens in the body.
(2) inhibiting the carcinogenic effect of carcinogens.
(3) inhibiting the growth and spread of cancer cells
(4) enhancing the immune function of the body to achieve the purpose of anti-cancer.
7.Diuretic and antihypertensive effects
Caffeine, especially theophylline can inhibit the reabsorption of renal tubules and increase the excretory function of the kidneys, thus having a diuretic effect.
As tea also has an antibacterial effect, so the pyelonephritis, cystitis and urinary tract infections have an auxiliary therapeutic effect. Tea also has a certain antihypertensive effect on hypertensive patients can help reduce blood pressure.
8, help digestive effects
Modern research shows that the caffeine in tea can stimulate the secretion of gastric juices, enhance appetite and promote the digestive function of the stomach.
Tea contains vitamin B and aromatic oils, is also appetizing and strengthen the spleen, to help digestion of the effective substances, appetite for poor appetite to improve the appetite of those who have a sluggish diet to ease the downstream effect. And black tea is fermented, which contains yeast, therefore, drinking black tea more help food digestion.
9, the effect of bright eyes
Tea contains many vision-related nutrients, such as vitamin A, vitamin B1, B2, C, etc., are indispensable for the maintenance of normal vision.
Vitamin A: is an important nutrient for the retina at the base of the eye, such as lack of can cause night vision impairment, night blindness.
Vitamin B1: is a nutrient to maintain the function of nerves (including the optic nerve), such as the lack of which can cause blurred vision.
Vitamin B2: In the process of metabolism, it plays a nutritional role in the epithelial cell tissue of the eye, so its deficiency can also affect vision.
Vitamin C: It is an essential nutrient for the intraocular crystals, and safeguarding the supply is also a major factor in maintaining normal vision.
10.Other effects
(1) tea contains theophylline can relax smooth muscle, so it is used to treat bronchial asthma, biliary colic, etc.
(2) caffeine can increase the secretion of gastric glands, so there is to promote appetite, help digestion, but active peptic ulcers should not drink more.
(3) tannins in tea and metal or alkali substances combined, so that they precipitate, have delayed the body’s absorption of toxic substances, so it can detoxify.
(4) tea has an antiviral effect.
(5) certain components in tea have a certain control effect on leukemia, of which oolong tea is the most effective.
(6) Japanese scholars found that drinking tea has a certain effect on the treatment of diabetes, and also has a certain effect on the prevention of radioactive material damage.
(7) Tea contains trace amount of fluoride, which can prevent and control dental caries.
(8) Tea has a disinfectant and antiseptic effect, rinse the skin ulcers with strong tea, can promote wound healing.
(9) In addition, tea also has anti-oxidant effect and anti-aging, anti-fatigue, anti-ulcer, anti-allergy, anti-coagulation and other effects.
Of course, although the benefits of drinking tea, but also in moderation is appropriate.
Drinking tea should not be too strong, otherwise it will make the brain extremely excited, rapid heartbeat, insomnia, affect digestion and absorption, insomnia and hypertension patients should not drink strong tea.
Drinking tea should not be too much, too much will increase the water in the body, urinate more often, increasing the burden on the kidneys.
Third, the health care function of tea
Tea is one of the world’s excellent beverages, has become a consensus. Tea, according to generations of Chinese medicine books and practice has proved that it not only has a variety of health care functions, but also the role of treatment of a variety of diseases, the so-called “tea for each disease medicine”.
According to pharmacological research, tea contains a variety of vitamins, constant elements and trace elements, a total of more than 30 ingredients. These components have an important role in the prevention and treatment of diseases in the human body. The country’s most influential works of traditional Chinese medicine in the past generations, there are “tea” or “medicine tea” of the special treatment. Zhang Zhongjing, Hua Tuo, Wu Pu, Tao Hongjing, Sun Simiao, Zhang Yuan, Luo Tianyi, Gui Yilin, Li Shizhen, Fei Boxiong, Pu Fu Zhou and a large number of ancient and modern famous Chinese medicine practitioners have also carried out in-depth research and serious summary of tea therapy. Chinese medicine after thousands of years of practice, to explore the tea has a brain refreshment, clear head and eyes, clear heat and diuretic, lung expectorant, down the gas and food, summer heat and thirst, weight loss and fat, detoxification and dysentery and many other functions.
1.Energizing and refreshing
China’s tea has a wide range of names, summarized in five categories.
(1) black tea, fermented, warm in nature.
(2) green tea, unfermented, slightly bitter cold.
(3) Oolong tea, which is half black and half green tea, with mellow aroma.
(4) Flower tea, processed by adding flower embryos, with aromatic odor and soothing.
(5) tightly pressed tea (tea brick, tuocha), bitter and astringent, fat elimination and fishy filth.
Can be used in accordance with regional habits and needs, respectively.
When people are dizzy, mentally exhausted, a cup of freshly brewed tea, suddenly feel refreshed, as the release of Kyauk Ryam “tea song” said: “a drink to clean drowsy sleep, the feelings of refreshing splash heaven and earth. Drink again to clear my mind, suddenly like flying rain sprinkled with light dust.” Suixiju diet recipe” said: “tea slightly bitter slightly sweet and cool, clear the mind and wake up sleep and remove annoyance”, is also this meaning.
2, clear the head and eyes
Long-term drinking tea can clear the head and eyes, to achieve a clear brain, bright eyes and ears.
Zhang Jie Gu said: tea can “clear the head and eyes”. Suixiju diet recipe” said: tea can “cool the liver and gallbladder”, “bright eyes to quench thirst”.
Why tea can brighten the eyes? Because the liver is open to the eyes, once the liver fire rises, the eyes are not clear. The “Compendium of Materia Medica” says: “tea bitter and cold, yin in the yin, sink also, drop also, the most can lower the fire …… fire down then on (head and eyes) clear carry on.” Drinking tea can prevent liver fire on the hyperactive, clear the head and eyes. Analysis, tea can brighten the reason seems so, in fact, tea can clear the head and eyes is the result of the combined effect of a variety of components. Such as drinking tea can diuretic heat and fire, is also an important factor in the prevention and treatment of eye disease, protection of vision.
3, to quench the summer heat and thirst
Although a wide variety of drinks to prevent heatstroke, but still tea as the beverage of choice.
The advantage of tea is refreshing after drinking, followed by “in addition to quench thirst, quench greasy clear” (“Daily Herbal”), tea is not like other sugary drinks after drinking a sticky feeling in the mouth. The herbs say: tea can “cure the summer heat”. Yang Shiying said: “ginger to help Yang, tea to help Yin, and can eliminate heat, detoxification of alcohol and food”. Sui Xiju diet recipe” said: “Where the summer heat filthy gua gas abdominal pain …… (tea) drink it easily.” Drinking tea can quench the summer heat and thirst, is also the experience of generations of medical practice, and stressed that tea “food should be hot, cold is gathered phlegm” (“herbal pick-up”).
Drinking hot tea why can reduce summer heat? Because many components of tea can only be fully dissolved in boiling water or even hot water, and hot tea can promote the role of aromatic oils, caffeine and other components of tea as soon as possible, expand blood vessels, open sweat glands, so that the body slightly sweat, the body’s heat, so as to achieve the purpose of cooling the summer heat. Plus hot tea can increase the amount of urine after drinking, to promote urinary excretion, naturally part of the heat with urine out of the body. Sweating, urination so that the body temperature is lowered, the feeling of thirst to drink is also relieved. Because theophylline can relax the gastrointestinal smooth muscle, relieve gastrointestinal spasm, so drinking tea can also treat summer heat, “guaqi abdominal pain”.
4, weight loss and fat reduction
There are many ways to lose weight and reduce fat, which is most common to drink tea to lose weight, but also the most simple and easy.
Many of today’s weight loss and fat reduction tea, although more than a combination of several natural plant drugs processed, but all with tea as the matrix, that tea is the main body. The materia medica for truth” said: “tea taste sweet gas cold, so it can enter the lungs to clear phlegm and water, into the heart to clear heat and detoxification, is to dirt and grease can be cleaned, sizzling can be solved ……” “the materia medica preparation” further said: “drinking tea has detoxification of alcohol, grease, burning of poison. Drink more fat, the most can go to the oil.” Therefore, there are tea “long food is thin” said.
According to the effective ingredients contained in the tea, weight loss and fat reduction with green tea is preferred.
Green tea contains a variety of ingredients, like a large compound, its comprehensive function, has a good weight loss and lipid-lowering effect, can delay atherosclerosis, prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease.
If further analysis of its reasoning, tea contains a large number of tea polyphenols, flavonoids, quercetin and a variety of vitamins, especially a large number of vitamin C, and tea polyphenols can dissolve fat, flavonoids, quercetin can help reduce blood cholesterol, vitamin C can help diuretic, promote cholesterol excretion, other vitamins can improve the metabolism of the body, but also help prevent and control vascular sclerosis.
Secondly, the chlorophyll in green tea can destroy the cholesterol in food after entering the body and hinder the digestion and absorption of cholesterol, thus achieving the effect of reducing the cholesterol content in the body.
5, down the gas to eliminate food
People often eat greasy meat, you need to make a cup of tea to drink frequently, in the town so, the countryside also so, this has almost become a custom in China, and has been a long tradition.
That tea can help digestion, grease, in addition to the food. This is derived from long-term practical experience, the second is a deep-rooted understanding.
Drinking tea can also be “down the gas to eliminate food” “the herb Jingliu” explained: “down the gas to eliminate food, bitter can be down the drain, so the gas down the fire down, and both clean the stomach and intestines, then the food from the elimination of carry on. “is to dirt and greasy can be cleaned”, “where all food accumulation does not dissolve, take it can be effective.”
6, detoxification to stop dysentery
Dysentery is a summer and autumn intestinal infectious disease, the treatment of drugs, methods are many, with the right symptoms can also receive good results. However, the diet therapy is the easiest, and patients are happy to accept.
Some people may have doubts about the effect of drinking tea for dysentery. In fact, for light dysentery at the beginning of the use of it does have a good effect. Daily use of the herbs” said: tea “fried decoction drink, treating pyrotoxic red and white dysentery.” Yang Shiying that tea can not only treat acute dysentery (dysentery), can also treat chronic dysentery (cold dysentery), he pointed out: “ginger, tea dysentery, ginger helps Yang, tea helps Yin, and can eliminate the summer heat and wine food poison. And a cold and a hot, adjust the level of yin and yang, regardless of the red and white hot and cold (dysentery), the use of all good.” Suixiju diet recipe” on the basis of this and expand the scope of application, pointing out that “where the summer heat and cholera abdominal pain, cholera, dysentery and other evidence of the first, (tea) drink it easily.” Here the Gua gas, cholera, similar to acute summer enteritis, but not true cholera, the two and dysentery with the intestinal tract disease, so together with the tea treatment.
Tea decoction or infusion, all types of dysentery bacillus have antibacterial effect, the antibacterial effect and the yellow effect is not similar. In general, flower tea, green tea antibacterial efficacy is greater than that of black tea.
Tea antibacterial is a variety of tea components of the combined effect, of course, which contains tea polyphenols, tannin in the antibacterial play a major role, and tannin on the intestinal mucosa also has an astringent antidiarrheal effect.
Whether dysentery or enteritis, because diarrhea is accompanied by varying degrees of dehydration, drinking a lot of strong tea, not only can replenish water, which contains a variety of mineral ions, but also can correct the body’s water, electrolyte imbalance.
So it makes sense to use tea for dysentery.
7, clear heat and diuretic
Tea has a clearing and diuretic effect. Tang “Food Therapy Materia Medica” first recorded that tea has a “heat” effect, followed by the “Materia Medica Collection” contains its “break the heat”, “with the rest of the diet spectrum” contains its “clean heat” and so on. According to the modern “Chinese medicine sea” records: “(tea) can cure the bladder damp heat of urine unfavorable evidence, tea bitter cold, into the bladder meridian, bitter can dry dampness and lower the drainage, cold can clear heat and diarrhea, dampness to heat is removed from the evidence of self-healing.”
The diuretic effect of tea helps to clear the heat. Research shows that people drink hot tea 9 minutes after the body temperature can drop 1 ℃ ~ 2 ℃. The diuretic effect of tea has been recorded in ancient and modern times, such as the “Qianjin Yifang”, “drink good about”, “the herbal collection” and so on, tea can “urine”, “water”. Tang Materia Medica” contains, “tea, main fistula, urine”. It can be seen, tea’s clear heat diuretic effect is affirmed by ancient and modern medical doctors.
8.Clearing lung and expectorant
The role of tea in clearing the lungs and expectorant, the herbal medical texts of the past generations have been recorded.
Tang Materia Medica” first recorded that tea has “to remove phlegm and hot thirst” effect, “Food Therapy Materia Medica” contains “phlegm” function, “Compendium of Materia Medica” contains “strong decoction, spitting wind-heat phlegm saliva”. The Qing Dynasty Zhao Xuemin’s “Compendium of Materia Medica Collection” said tea can “expel phlegm”, “clean phlegm and clear the lungs”. The “Ben Jing Feng Yuan” pointed out that “tea, bitter and cold, the most can lower fire and eliminate phlegm.” It can be seen that the ancient doctors have a relatively deep understanding of the role of tea to resolve phlegm.
Modern clinical that is useful tea to clear the lungs and resolve phlegm. Such as “Dictionary of Chinese medicine” that tea has phlegm function, “Chinese medicine sea” on the role of tea phlegm also explained: “this product can treat phlegm heat depression lung evidence. Tea bitter and cold, into the lung meridian, the function of clearing heat and draining fire, heat clearing phlegm is not to be born, so with the effect of clearing heat and phlegm purging the lungs.”
9, anti-cancer and anti-aging
Tea polyphenols in tea can block the formation of carcinogenic nitroso compounds in the human body.
Green tea has the strongest blocking effect, the blocking rate of more than 90%, the general tea blocking rate is also more than 55%, and thus can reduce the risk factors for cancer.
Tea tannins in tea can control lipid peroxidation produced in the body, its inhibitory effect on fatty acid peroxidation up to 74%, greatly exceeding vitamin E, and thus tea can slow down the aging process. In addition, tea has a number of other health care therapeutic functions. For example, drinking tea can reduce intoxication and relieve the symptoms of chronic alcoholism. Because tea contains trace elements of fluorine, long-term consumption has a dental caries protection effect. Tea can dilate the peripheral microvascular, enhance urination function, and tea contains a large amount of vitamin C, which is conducive to delaying the hardening of blood vessels, so it can help lower blood pressure for patients with hypertension.
Tea contains theophylline, can relax the bronchial smooth muscle, so it has the effect of clearing the lungs and phlegm cough. In the future, as the application of tea broadens, there will be new effectiveness will be discovered.