We all know that scallions are an important seasoning in our daily lives. When cooking meat, scallions can remove the gamey taste, and stir-frying with scallions before cooking other dishes can make the food fragrant and delicious. But did you know that scallions also have certain medicinal properties? Let's read the article below!
Migraine: Scallions Stir-fried with Baijiu
Remedy: Scallions, an appropriate amount of Baijiu (white liquor). First, wash and chop the scallions, place them in a pan, stir-fry while sprinkling with Baijiu. After heating, wrap them in a cloth and apply as a hot compress to the temples and the area of pain until the headache subsides. The temperature should generally be tolerable for the patient.
Comments: Migraines often occur in the elderly, and their pathogenesis is currently not well understood. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes it is often caused by improper daily routines, exposure to wind, cold, dampness, or heat; emotional imbalance; improper diet; or a weakened body after illness, leading to stagnation of vital energy, obstruction of collaterals, imbalance of Qi and blood, and blockage of clear Yang, resulting in pain due to obstruction.
Scallions are pungent in taste and warm in nature, with effects such as expelling pathogenic factors from the exterior, soothing the liver and regulating Qi, activating Yang energy, benefiting the five organs, promoting urination and bowel movements, reducing swelling, invigorating blood, and detoxifying. Therefore, they have a good effect on headaches.
From the perspective of modern medical research, scallions are rich in vitamin C, which can dilate small blood vessels and promote blood circulation, thus preventing dizziness caused by high blood pressure.
In addition to external use, eating eggs boiled with Chuanxiong (Lovage root) can also effectively relieve headaches. This is because Chuanxiong invigorates blood and moves Qi, expels wind, and alleviates pain, making it very effective for headaches caused by wind pathogens.
Cold Deficiency of the Stomach: Scallions Stir-fried with Ginger
Remedy: Scallions, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns. Pound them together, stir-fry them in a pan until hot, then place them in a cloth bag and use as a hot compress on the epigastric region and the area of pain. Reheat and reapply when it cools down until the stomach pain is relieved.
Comments: Stomach cold refers to a condition of Yang deficiency in the spleen, caused by excessive consumption of raw and cold foods or pathogenic cold leading to the stagnation of Yin cold in the stomach. The main causes of stomach cold are related to dietary habits, such as irregular eating and a preference for raw and cold foods. Frequently eating cold and hot foods together, irregular meal times, or alternating between hunger and satiety can gradually lead to stomach cold. Coupled with the fast pace of modern life, mental stress, and irregular diets, the incidence of spleen and stomach diseases is increasingly high.
The stomach generally prefers warmth and dislikes cold. Therefore, people with "stomach cold" commonly experience a worsening of pain with cold and relief with warmth, meaning that eating cold food aggravates abdominal pain, but the pain can be relieved by applying heat or massaging the abdomen.
In this remedy, scallions, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns can all warm the middle burner to dispel cold and have a heating effect. Applying them externally to the stomach acts as a hot compress, thus effectively relieving the discomfort caused by stomach cold. It should be noted that in this remedy, the scallion bulbs should be chosen with their roots attached.
Stomachache: Scallion and Pepper Paste
Remedy: Scallions, white pepper. Mash the scallions, mix with white pepper to form a paste, apply to the navel, cover with a towel, and then apply a hot water bottle for 20 minutes.
Comments: In TCM, there is a term called "cold pain in the heart and abdomen," which refers to abdominal pain caused by pathogenic cold or deficiency and cold in the spleen and stomach.
In this remedy, the white part of the scallion has effects such as inducing sweat, activating Yang, detoxifying, and killing parasites, and can treat abdominal pain due to Yin cold. Pepper has effects such as warming the middle burner, promoting the descent of Qi, resolving phlegm, and detoxifying. In clinical practice, it is often used as an adjunctive treatment for cold phlegm and food stagnation, epigastric and abdominal cold pain, regurgitation, vomiting of clear fluid, and diarrhea. Therefore, this external therapy is effective for abdominal pain caused purely by pathogenic cold.
However, from a Western medicine perspective, there are many causes of abdominal pain, especially acute abdominal pain, which can have a sudden onset, complex etiology, and varying degrees of severity. If not diagnosed or treated promptly, it can lead to serious consequences, and may even be life-threatening. Therefore, sudden abdominal pain should never be taken lightly; one should seek medical attention immediately to rule out the risk of serious underlying conditions.
Urinary Retention: Scallions Mixed with Honey
Remedy: One jin (about 500g) of scallions, half a small cup (about 200ml) of white honey (often referring to acacia honey). Mash the scallions and mix with the honey, then apply to the patient's lower abdomen. Use the conflicting interaction between scallions and honey to promote the flow of turbid urine. To prevent the juice from leaking, you can cover it with plastic wrap or a plastic bag during external application.
Comments: In TCM, difficulty in urination is called "Long Bi," a disorder characterized by difficulty urinating, or even complete urinary obstruction. "Long" refers to a chronic condition with difficult urination, dripping drop by drop; "Bi" refers to an acute condition with complete urinary blockage.
This remedy is not new. In the 1930s and 40s, the famous Shanghai physician Mr. Chen Cunren recorded in his book "Jin Jin Wei Wei Tan" the use of a paste made from scallions and honey applied externally to the navel to treat urination difficulties in children. For elderly people with urinary retention, one can first take the "Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang" (a TCM formula) and then apply this paste externally, which can also promote urination. The patient should rest in bed and avoid tension.
TCM has many external methods that can be effective for urinary retention. For example, applying a hot compress of stir-fried scallions and salt can also treat this symptom. The specific method is as follows: Scallions and salt. First, chop the scallions, stir-fry them with salt in a pan, then wrap them in a cloth and apply as a hot compress to the navel and bladder area until urination is smooth.