Hawthorn's Uses and Contraindications
Taste and Nature: Sour, sweet, slightly warm, non-toxic.
Meridian Affinity: Spleen, Stomach, Liver.
Functions: Resolves food stagnation, dispels stasis.
Indications: Food stagnation, epigastric and abdominal bloating and pain, diarrhea and dysentery, menstrual pain and amenorrhea due to blood stasis, postpartum abdominal pain, and lochia.
Usage and Dosage: Internal: Decoct in water, 3-10g; or made into pills/powders. External: Apply an appropriate amount, used as a wash or crushed for application.
Effects of Hawthorn:
1. Anti-cancer: Recent research has found that hawthorn contains a compound called vitexin, which has anti-cancer properties. Nitrosamines and aflatoxins can induce or worsen digestive tract cancers. Experimental studies have shown that hawthorn extract can not only block the synthesis of nitrosamines but also inhibit the carcinogenic effects of aflatoxins. Therefore, high-risk groups for digestive tract cancers should consume hawthorn regularly. For patients already with cancer, hawthorn can be cooked with rice into a congee to aid digestion and provide auxiliary anti-cancer effects when experiencing indigestion.
2. Cardiotonic, lowers blood lipids and blood pressure: Clinical studies have confirmed that hawthorn can significantly lower serum cholesterol and triglycerides, effectively preventing and treating atherosclerosis. Hawthorn can also act as a cardiotonic and prevent angina by enhancing myocardial contractility, increasing cardiac output, dilating coronary arteries, increasing coronary blood flow, and reducing myocardial oxygen consumption. Furthermore, the total flavonoids in hawthorn have a vasodilatory and persistent blood pressure-lowering effect. Therefore, patients with hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and coronary heart disease can take 15-30 grams of raw hawthorn daily, decocted in water as a tea substitute.
3. Treats menstrual pain and irregular menstruation: Traditional Chinese medicine considers hawthorn to have the effect of invigorating blood and dispelling stasis, making it an excellent dietary therapy for patients with blood stasis type menstrual pain. This type of pain often manifests as lower abdominal pain on the first or second day of menstruation or 1-2 days before, which gradually lessens or disappears when menstrual blood flows smoothly. The menstrual blood is dark and contains clots. Patients can take 1000 grams of fresh, whole hawthorns with pits, wash them, add an appropriate amount of water, and simmer over low heat until the hawthorns are soft. Add 250 grams of brown sugar and simmer for another 10 minutes until it becomes a thin paste. Begin taking it 3-5 days before menstruation, consuming 30ml of the hawthorn paste in the morning and evening each day, and stop 3 days after menstruation ends. This is one course of treatment, and effects can be seen after three consecutive courses. It is also suitable for those with irregular menstruation diagnosed as blood stasis in TCM.
4. Promotes digestion: Hawthorn contains lipase, which can promote fat digestion and increase the secretion of gastric digestive enzymes, aiding the digestive process. It also has a regulatory effect on gastrointestinal function.
5. Antibacterial effect: Hawthorn has a strong antibacterial effect against *Shigella dysenteriae* and other bacteria; it also has antibacterial effects against *Staphylococcus aureus*, *Streptococcus beta*, *Escherichia coli*, *Proteus*, *Bacillus anthracis*, *Corynebacterium diphtheriae*, *Salmonella typhi*, and *Pseudomonas aeruginosa*.
Contraindications for using Hawthorn as medicine:
1. *Compendium of Materia Medica*: Eating too much raw can cause a feeling of fullness, irritability, and hunger, and damage the teeth.
2. *Commentary on the Materia Medica*: For those with a weak spleen and stomach accompanied by stagnation, it should be used together with tonifying herbs and should not be overused.
3. *Bencao Pei Mu*: Contraindicated for those with qi deficiency and loose stools, or a weak spleen and loss of appetite. Also contraindicated for those taking Ginseng.
4. *Dietary Instructions for a Peaceful Life*: Excessive consumption consumes qi, damages teeth, and causes hunger. It is contraindicated for those on an empty stomach, the weak, or those recovering from a debilitating illness.