◇ The Chinese herbal ingredients in liangcha (herbal tea) are of a "cold" nature in traditional Chinese medicine. People with a "cold" body constitution, who are physically weak, suffer from night sweats, are anemic, or are menstruating should not drink liangcha, especially not the iced version.
◇ Even healthy individuals should drink liangcha in moderation. It is essential to be restrained, with one can a day being the recommended limit. It is also best not to drink liangcha on an empty stomach.
Early News Reporter, Bei Xiao
With the arrival of the scorching summer, various canned liangcha beverages have become hot sellers, and many people consider iced liangcha a magical remedy for cooling down and quenching their thirst.
A TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) expert in Shanghai reminded yesterday that herbal tea, made from Chinese herbs, is sweet in taste and "cool" in nature. Office workers who spend most of their time in air-conditioned rooms tend to have a constitution biased towards "yang deficiency" and should not "drink freely."
In response to this, the manufacturer of "Wong Lo Kat" liangcha stated that Guangdong-style liangcha should indeed be tailored to the individual, and those with a weak constitution should not drink it excessively. You can even get sick from drinking liangcha.
"Many people, fearing 'internal heat' in the summer, think they can drink as much liangcha as they want and be fine. They don't realize that liangcha is not just water; it must be suited to the individual," Cao Kangyu, director of the emergency medicine department of TCM at Shuguang Hospital, told reporters yesterday. Due to the recent continuous high temperatures, the daily number of patients at the TCM outpatient clinic has increased by 20% compared to usual, many of whom are suffering from abdominal pain and diarrhea due to excessive consumption of iced beverages and cold drinks in an attempt to escape the heat.
Liangcha is a "medicinal tea" with effects such as clearing heat, detoxifying, and reducing "fire" and dampness. Is it possible to get sick from drinking it? Cao Kangyu explained that because liangcha itself is sweet and "cool" in nature, people with a "heaty" constitution can drink it in moderation. However, those with a "cold" constitution, a cold stomach, weak spleen, indigestion, or a weak physical constitution should not drink liangcha, especially not the iced version. Moreover, office workers engage in excessive mental labor and insufficient physical labor, leading to a constitution biased towards "yang"...