Can Poria Powder Be Eaten Raw? Learn the Correct Way to Consume It

Poria powder is the powder ground from the traditional Chinese medicine poria. In traditional Chinese medicine, poria has a very wide range of uses. It can treat diarrhea due to spleen deficiency, palpitations and insomnia, difficult urination, edema and other conditions. In traditional Chinese medicine it is hailed as one of the "Four Gentlemen and Eight Treasures." Poria is generally produced in the primitive forests of mountainous areas, and is a parasitic fungus on the roots of plants in the pine family. So can poria powder be eaten raw?

I. Can poria powder be eaten raw?

Poria powder can be eaten raw. Poria contains very few toxic components, so few that they can be ignored. Generally, poria powder is ground from poria that has already been cooked, and it is non-toxic and harmless to the human body. However, in order to obtain better taste and effects, it is best to take it as a decoction or mixed with water. Poria powder ground from raw poria is best not eaten raw.

Poria powder is commonly white or light gray, and turns dark gray after being mixed with water. Regular consumption of poria can significantly improve the body's immune capacity, and can also cause the oxygenated hemoglobin in the blood to release more oxygen to supply tissue cells, making cells more vital and making people look more energetic, with healthier skin tone.

II. The medicinal history of poria

In traditional Chinese medicine, poria has a medicinal history of more than two thousand years. In the Divine Farmer's Materia Medica, poria is listed as a top-grade herb, with the effect of “taken over a long time, it calms the soul and nourishes the spirit, prevents hunger and prolongs life.” Before the Northern and Southern Dynasties, poria was used as a whole in medicine, and during that period people mostly took advantage of poria's effect of promoting diuresis and draining dampness while paying little attention to its tonic effect. In the Tang Dynasty and afterward, medicinal materials of the poria type were better differentiated and utilized, and poria's tonic effect also received full attention. Among the poria-producing areas in our country, the one with the best medicinal value is the poria produced in Yunnan, called Yunling.

That is all for our discussion of the relevant knowledge about poria. For all plants used medicinally in medicine, it is best to take them according to a doctor's advice, and not to consume them casually on your own.