Some women insist on drinking some dried flower tea with heat-clearing and detoxifying functions every day to beautify their skin and maintain their health. Experts remind that some dried flower teas have medicinal properties and certain toxic side effects, and should not be consumed at will.
Experts introduced that some women heard that drinking dried flower tea can not only promote blood circulation and regulate menstruation, improve complexion, but also clear heat and detoxify, so they prepared their own honeysuckle, rose, and chrysanthemum to make tea. To their surprise, not only did their complexion not change, but they also experienced symptoms of excessive menstrual bleeding and had to see a gynecologist. Doctors believe that these adverse symptoms are largely caused by drinking large amounts of dried flowers.
Dried flower teas have medicinal properties and are suitable for specific groups of people; they must be consumed under the guidance of a doctor. For example, Shuanghua (a combination of honeysuckle and forsythia) has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and relieving pain, but it cannot be commonly used by people with weak spleen and stomach; Honghua (safflower) has the effect of activating blood and breaking stasis, but improper use can cause excessive menstrual bleeding or cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, especially as it can lead to miscarriage in pregnant women. Roses have the effect of promoting blood circulation and regulating menstruation, but improper use can cause excessive menstrual bleeding. Honeysuckle has the effect of reducing swelling and relieving pain, but it is not suitable for people with weak spleen and stomach to use it frequently. Chrysanthemum is not very suitable for people with a deficiency of yang.
In terms of whether they are beneficial to the human body, flowers can be divided into four categories: the first category is flowers that are beneficial and harmless to the human body, such as chrysanthemum; the second category is poisonous flowers, such as peony flowers, which should absolutely not be used; the third category is flowers that are neither beneficial nor harmful, and are only for ornamental purposes; the fourth category is flowers that can be used as medicine for certain indications, such as Chinese rose, lotus flower, and rose. For flowers that can be used as medicine, they should only be used for specific symptoms under the guidance of a doctor after contracting a certain disease. "All medicines have some toxicity," so flowers cannot be casually consumed as health drinks. Eating or drinking flowers should be done under the guidance of a doctor, using the right flower for the right condition.
In addition, people's constitutions vary individually, with distinctions between deficiency and excess, cold and heat. The ancient Chinese medical book "Compendium of Materia Medica" clearly states that all flowers are inherently cold in nature. Women belong to the yin category, and yin is cold, which means that cold medicines treat hot diseases, and people with a cold constitution should not drink flower tea excessively unless other medicinal materials are added, such as: adding goji berries to chrysanthemum tea; adding a few drops of red wine to rose tea; adding licorice to osmanthus tea. In short, do not drink a single type of flower tea alone, otherwise, drinking too much can lead to a weak constitution in women, making them prone to allergies, coughing, or leukorrhea.
For pregnant women, there are even more taboos. Teas such as ginseng tea, Job's tears tea, red date tea, angelica tea, cassia seed tea, rose, mint tea, chrysanthemum tea, and jasmine tea can all increase uterine contractions or bleeding, so they should not be consumed in large quantities. Aloe vera, raspberry, angelica, saffron, cowhorn, black cohosh, water celery seeds, cinnamon, hyssop, fern, datura, rosemary, tansy, etc., also have the effect of stimulating the uterus or promoting blood circulation, and are similarly unsuitable for pregnant women. Black or green tea can prevent cancer, but during pregnancy, the fetus is in a period of cell differentiation and growth, so it is better to drink less.