Can You Drink Dandelion Tea Every Day? Benefits, Effects and People Who Should Avoid It Explained in Detail
Dandelion, also known as huanghua diding, popodding, huahualang and so on, is one of the common wild vegetables in rural areas, and it is a plant used both as food and medicine, so many people brew dandelion tea for health and wellness. So what are the benefits and effects of dandelion tea? Can it be drunk every day? Who should not drink it?
I. Introduction to Dandelion Tea
Dandelion tea is made from finely cut and dried roots or leaves. Plants of the genus Taraxacum are commonly known as dandelion, huanghua diding, popodding, huahualang, pugongcao, edible dandelion, urination-bed grass and Western dandelion. It belongs to a genus of the order Asterales, family Asteraceae, and is a common plant from temperate to subtropical zones. It is mainly produced in regions such as Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Zhejiang, northern Fujian, Hunan, northern Guangdong, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan.
II. Benefits and Effects of Dandelion Tea
Dandelion is bitter and sweet in nature and cold; it enters the liver and stomach meridians. Dandelion is generally brewed as a health tea. It is understood that dandelion has the following five benefits and effects:
1. Dandelion has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying: Dandelion is sweet, slightly bitter and cold, and has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. It is very suitable for various heat-toxin diseases, and has a certain auxiliary effect on severe redness and swelling pain caused by liver heat, as well as various diseases after wound infection or suppuration; secondly, if you have internal heat, you might as well drink some dandelion tea at this time, which can help reduce the heat.
2. Dandelion has the effect of removing damp-heat: According to the “Compendium of Materia Medica”: “Dandelion resolves food toxins, disperses stagnant qi, transforms heat toxins, and reduces malignant swelling and tuberculosis.” Dandelion can purge fire and remove dampness, can improve problems such as nausea and yellow tongue coating caused by damp-heat, and also has a certain auxiliary effect on acne caused by damp-heat.
3. Dandelion has the effect of reducing carbuncles, dissipating nodules and promoting lactation: Dandelion has the effect of removing fire. If the body has persistent high fever or swollen sores and toxins, you can take more dandelion tea; in addition, dandelion water has a certain effect on treating breast carbuncles, and women after childbirth taking more of it can promote lactation.
4. Dandelion has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects: Certain substances contained in the leaves and roots of dandelion play a role in eliminating bacterial infections in the human body and can inhibit the growth of bacteria in the body. Summer is a high-incidence period for urethritis and urinary tract infections. At this time, women might as well brew a cup of dandelion tea, which has a certain auxiliary effect on relieving inflammation. However, to treat diseases, it must still be used under the guidance of a doctor, and it must not be used indiscriminately.
5. Dandelion has the effect of protecting the liver and promoting urination: Dandelion enters the liver meridian, and in Canada it is officially registered as a herbal medicine for promoting urination and relieving edema, and dandelion root has a very good effect on preventing hepatitis.
III. Who Should Not Drink Dandelion?
Although dandelion is good, there are also five contraindications:
1. People with deficient cold of the spleen and stomach or yin cold should not drink it: Dandelion is cold in nature, and people with deficient cold of the spleen and stomach are not suitable to drink it. Otherwise, the condition will not improve and side effects will instead appear, leading to diarrhea and worsened body cold.
2. Patients with low blood pressure are not suitable to drink it: Dandelion has a certain effect on lowering blood pressure. Patients with low blood pressure had best not drink dandelion tea, so as to avoid causing blood pressure to become too low.
3. People with allergies are not suitable to drink it: After taking dandelion tea, a few individuals will experience allergic reactions such as urticaria and generalized itching. This is clearly an allergy to dandelion, so it is best not to drink dandelion tea either.
4. Pregnant women and children are not suitable to drink it: Dandelion belongs to traditional Chinese medicine, so pregnant women and children must take it with caution.
5. Those who cannot distinguish cold from heat should not drink it: Dandelion is mainly used to treat patients with heat patterns. It is necessary to distinguish whether the patient has a heat pattern or a cold pattern. Taking dandelion indiscriminately will cause adverse reactions in the body.
IV. Can Dandelion Be Drunk Every Day?
After all, dandelion belongs to traditional Chinese medicinal materials and is cold in nature, so it cannot be drunk every day. Excessive intake of dandelion can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and so on, leading to various abnormal symptoms of gastrointestinal function. Dandelion tea can be drunk 2-4 times a week, with 3-5g per serving, which allows the health and wellness effect to reach its best.
V. What Can Dandelion Tea Be Drunk With?
1. Dandelion + rose (in a 3:1 ratio)
Dandelion is slightly cold in nature and can be paired with mild rose. The combination of the two is neither cold nor drying and can remove liver toxins, nourish the stomach and protect the liver, and regulate the endocrine system.
Suitable groups: People with endocrine disorders and those prone to internal heat.
2. Dandelion + red dates (2g dandelion, 3-4 slices of large jujube)
Dandelion enters the stomach meridian, while red dates supplement qi and nourish blood, strengthen the spleen and benefit the stomach. The combination of the two has a good effect on people with body deficiency.
Suitable groups: People with yin deficiency and hyperactive fire.
3. Dandelion tea + goji berries (2g each)
Goji berries nourish yin, nourish blood and protect the liver, and are mild in nature.
Suitable groups: People with weak kidney qi and excessive liver fire.
4. Dandelion tea + licorice (in a 1:1 ratio)
Licorice supplements the spleen and boosts qi, moistens the lungs and stops coughing, and is sweet and neutral in nature, regulating the cold and cool nature of dandelion.
Suitable groups: People who are often tired and weak, and those with lung heat and chronic cough.
Conclusion: Through the introduction in this article, dandelion tea is indeed a very good health and wellness drink, but we should also note that it cannot be drunk in large amounts and should be consumed in moderation. Secondly, dandelion is also a medicinal material. If you want to treat a certain disease, you must consult a doctor’s advice before using it.