Cilantro is a commonly consumed aromatic vegetable with functions such as stimulating appetite and improving digestion. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is believed that cilantro expels all pathogenic qi and has the effect of warming the middle jiao to strengthen the stomach. People with a cold constitution can appropriately consume cilantro to alleviate symptoms such as stomach cold pain, indigestion, and incomplete rash eruption.
However, individuals who are prone to colds should avoid consuming cilantro. This is because such people often have varying degrees of qi deficiency. Cilantro's pungent nature can disperse qi, and excessive or long-term consumption can deplete qi and damage the spirit, thereby triggering or worsening qi deficiency and leading to more frequent colds. In addition to recurrent colds, those with qi deficiency often experience discomforts such as excessive sweating, fatigue, and lassitude. Individuals with obvious qi deficiency symptoms should eat cilantro sparingly or not at all. Postpartum and post-illness patients often have a certain degree of qi deficiency as well, so they should also keep their distance from cilantro.
Although people who frequently catch colds should draw a clear line from cilantro, those with a strong constitution, good health, and occasional colds can use it to treat a cold. In clinical practice, TCM often uses pungent and warm herbs to release the exterior for treating wind-cold colds, and cilantro happens to have such an effect. For patients with wind-cold colds, 9 grams of cilantro and 10 grams of scallion white can be decocted in water, sweetened, and taken. In addition, people with a weak and cold spleen and stomach can moderately consume cilantro to warm the stomach, disperse cold, aid digestion, and relieve stomach pain. When making congee, one can add tangerine peel, which aids digestion and regulates qi, and ginger, which warms the stomach and disperses cold, and sprinkle in chopped cilantro just before serving to make cilantro congee.
People who experience stomach pain from eating greasy food can also enlist cilantro's help: take 50-100 grams of fresh cilantro, wash and pound it to extract the juice, and take it to effectively relieve stomach pain.