What are the reasons for dietary restrictions when taking Chinese medicine?
Core Tip: The various foods we consume daily each have their own properties, which can affect the onset, progression of diseases, and the therapeutic effects of medication. Therefore, there are many foods to avoid when taking Chinese medicine. The editor below will help you analyze them one by one.
Practice has shown that dietary restrictions are justified. This is because the various foods we consume daily each have their own properties, which can affect the onset, progression of diseases, and the therapeutic effects of medication.
1. When taking medication, certain foods should not be consumed simultaneously to avoid reducing efficacy or worsening the condition. When taking Chinese medicine to clear internal heat, it is not advisable to eat heat-inducing foods such as onions, garlic, pepper, lamb, or dog meat. When treating "cold syndromes" with Chinese medicine, one should avoid raw and cold foods. If these prohibited foods are consumed while taking the medication, the therapeutic effect will be unsatisfactory or even counterproductive.
2. Do not drink strong tea when taking Chinese medicine, because tea contains tannic acid, and strong tea contains even more. Taking it with Chinese medicine can affect the body's absorption of the active ingredients in the medicine, reducing its efficacy. Other beverages such as coffee, Coke, and Sprite should also be avoided; plain water should be the primary choice.
3. When suffering from a common cold or when a child's rash has not fully developed, it is not advisable to eat raw, cold, astringent, or greasy foods. When treating chest tightness and abdominal bloating caused by qi stagnation, it is not advisable to eat beans and sweet potatoes, as these foods can easily cause bloating. For example, patients with edema should consume less salt; patients with hepatitis should avoid spicy and greasy foods.
4. Patients with asthma or allergic dermatitis should eat less chicken, lamb, pork head meat, fish, shrimp, and crab. Because during an asthma attack, high-protein foods like eggs, milk, fish, and shrimp can become "trigger foods" that worsen the condition. Additionally, due to the nature of the disease, regardless of the medication being taken, any raw, cold, greasy, fishy, or other difficult-to-digest or specially irritating foods should be avoided.