How to Eat Ginseng: A Detailed Guide to Methods, Timing and Contraindications

Ginseng is the fleshy root of the perennial herbaceous plant ginseng in the Araliaceae family, produced in northeastern China, and is one of the widely renowned “Three Treasures of the Northeast”. It usually flowers at 3 years and bears fruit at 5-6 years, and its medicinal value is quite high, earning it the name “King of a Hundred Herbs”. So, how do you eat ginseng? When is the best time to eat it? What are the dietary contraindications? Below is an introduction to the consumption methods, timing and contraindications of ginseng!

I. How do you eat ginseng?

1. Chew it: Ginseng can be eaten raw; simply put fresh ginseng into your mouth, chew it, and swallow.

2. Hold it in the mouth: Slice fresh ginseng, then hold the ginseng slices in your mouth, continuously swallowing saliva, until the slices dissolve.

3. Steam it: Put fresh ginseng in a bowl, add water, covering the ginseng, place the bowl in a pot, cover it, and steam until thoroughly done, then drink the liquid and eat the solid pieces.

4. Boil it in water: Put fresh ginseng in a clay pot, add water, bring to a boil, and then drink it. Note: avoid using metal cookware, as it will cause the medicinal effect to be lost.

5. Stew it in soup: Slice fresh ginseng, stuff it into the belly of a prepared silkie chicken, add water and seasonings, and simmer over low heat. Once done, you can eat the ginseng and drink the chicken soup.

6. Brew it in water: Slice fresh ginseng, put it in a bowl or cup, and steep it in boiling water for 15 to 30 minutes before drinking. You can drink while refilling with water, until there is no ginseng flavor left, then eat the ginseng slices as well.

7. Soak it in liquor: Slice fresh ginseng and soak it in baijiu (white liquor). Once the medicinal effect of the ginseng has infused into the liquor, you can pour out the liquor and drink it. After the first batch of liquor is used up, you can add more to the original bottle, until the ginseng skin turns snow-white.

8. Grind it into powder: Grind dried ginseng into powder, take an appropriate amount of ginseng powder daily, and take it with warm boiled water.

9. Juice it: Put fresh ginseng into a juicer and extract the juice, then drink the juice. The remaining ginseng residue can be brewed in water or boiled in water to drink.

II. When is the best time to eat ginseng?

Ginseng is a tonic, mainly used to tonify qi. It is suitable for people who are physically weak, have insufficient qi and blood, are short of breath, have anemia, or have neurasthenia. It is generally best eaten in the morning, and can be taken on an empty stomach. It is recommended to take it on an empty stomach after rinsing the mouth in the morning, in small amounts several times. When starting, begin with a small dose, 1-3 thin slices per day, taken as a decoction or held in the mouth. If there is no discomfort, the dose can be gradually increased. Ginseng must not be consumed in excess. The consumption of fresh ginseng from artificially cultivated plants of 5 years or less must not exceed 3.5g per person per day, and dried ginseng must not exceed 3g. Try to avoid eating it at night, because ginseng has a stimulating effect on the brain, and eating it at this time can easily cause insomnia.

III. What are the dietary contraindications of ginseng?

1. What can ginseng not be eaten with?

Ginseng should not be eaten together with radish, white radish, water radish, cherry radish, radish leaves, tea, garlic, grapes, etc.

Eating ginseng with radish makes digestion difficult and causes bloating in the abdomen; eating it with white radish causes diarrhea and leads to gastrointestinal dysfunction; eating it with water radish causes the effects to cancel out because the medicinal effects are opposite; eating it with cherry radish affects the body's absorption of nutrients; eating it with radish leaves causes symptoms such as general weakness, nausea, and dry heaving; eating ginseng with tea, the tannic acid in tea affects the absorption of the ginseng's medicinal effects; eating it with garlic neutralizes the medicinal effects of ginseng; eating it with grapes, the tannic acid in grapes combines with the protein in ginseng to form deposits, reducing the medicinal effects of ginseng.

2. Who should not eat ginseng?

People with insomnia, people with stomach conditions, people with allergies, people with high blood viscosity, people with cholecystitis and gallstones, people with colds and fever, and infants and young children should not eat ginseng.

Ginseng has the effect of stimulating the central nervous system, so people with insomnia will have worsened insomnia after taking it; ginseng has a protective effect on Helicobacter pylori, the chief culprit causing stomach conditions, so people with stomach conditions will have worsened conditions after eating it; people with allergic constitutions may develop skin rashes after eating it; ginseng has the effect of promoting red blood cell growth, so people with high blood viscosity will have even higher blood viscosity after eating it, causing blood to be unable to circulate; ginseng has estrogen-like effects, so people with cholecystitis and gallstones will have increased bile concentration after eating it, leading to worsened conditions; ginseng contains hormone-like substances, and consumption by children can lead to precocious puberty, and newborns should especially be forbidden from taking it; people who are in good health have no need to eat ginseng.

IV. Can ginseng enhance male potency?

Ginseng is a very good tonic and is somewhat helpful for improving sexual function, but eating ginseng alone does not have a very obvious potency-enhancing effect; it can be stewed in soup together with other ingredients.