Is it true that houttuynia causes cancer? A detailed look at food incompatibilities and whether children can eat it

Houttuynia cordata is a medicinal herb listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, also known as dog-heart grass and zhe'ergen gou dian er. It is harvested in summer when the stems and leaves are lush and there are many flower spikes, then the impurities are removed and it is sun-dried.So is it true that eating houttuynia causes cancer? What is it incompatible with? Can children eat it?

Is it true that eating houttuynia causes cancer?

1. Houttuynia cordata is the fresh whole plant of Houttuynia cordata in the lizard-tail family (Saururaceae), a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used clinically for many years. It was first recorded in the Northern and Southern Dynasties period in Tao Hongjing's "Record of Famous Doctors' Preparations." It is called houttuynia because it has a fishy smell, and houttuynia is slightly cold in nature and enters the lung meridian. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, dispersing abscesses and expelling pus, and promoting diuresis to treat strangury. It is mainly used for lung abscess with vomiting of pus, phlegm-heat wheezing and coughing, heat dysentery, heat strangury, and abscesses, swellings and sores.

2. Houttuynia cordata contains many kinds of chemical components, mainly volatile oils, flavonoids, alkaloids and so on. In addition, it also contains some organic acids, fatty acids, sterols, and inorganic salt components such as potassium chloride. Among these there is no aristolochic acid. Therefore, the online rumor that houttuynia may induce kidney disease and cause cancer because it contains aristolactam, from the analysis of carcinogenic components, is unfounded: houttuynia does not contain the nephrotoxic and carcinogenic aristolochic acid or aristolactam-I. From the long history of houttuynia's use as food and medicine, houttuynia also has no direct relationship with kidney disease, let alone cancer.

What is houttuynia incompatible with?

1. The advice many doctors give about houttuynia does not mention any food it is incompatible with. In many doctors' common knowledge, houttuynia is considered a versatile food, and there is no rule that it cannot be eaten with any particular food; on the contrary, it can be combined with many foods. But not everyone can eat houttuynia. Houttuynia is a cooling food and is very suitable for making soup. For people whose body constitution is cool in nature, they should not eat houttuynia; they should eat mild foods, and when making soup they can add a tiny bit just to get a taste.

2. When people with a cold constitution eat houttuynia, they should try not to pair it with chrysanthemum, winter melon, water duck meat and other things that are themselves cold and cool. Pairing these cool-natured foods together is bad for the spleen and stomach of people with a cold constitution.

3. Houttuynia brewed as tea can clear heat and detoxify, strengthen the stomach and aid digestion, and improve the body's immunity. People with a deficiency-cold constitution should not drink it.

The effects of houttuynia: clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and treating sores, promoting diuresis and removing dampness, clearing heat and stopping dysentery, and strengthening the stomach and aiding digestion. It is used to treat lung abscess, sores and swellings with toxic heat, hemorrhoids with bloody stool, and accumulated heat in the spleen and stomach caused by excess heat, heat toxin, damp pathogens, and acute heat. Modern pharmacological experiments show that this product has antibacterial, antiviral, immunity-boosting, and diuretic effects.

Can children eat houttuynia?

Children can take a small amount of houttuynia. Generally it does not cause any harm to the body, and houttuynia is a kind of Chinese medicine that generally does not contain antibiotics, nor does it regulate the body's hormones and development in any particular way. It also has the effect of clearing heat and invigorating blood, and helps eliminate a large amount of phlegm in the throat and helps relieve coughing. However, it is recommended not to eat too much, and it is recommended not to take it continuously for more than one week. It usually helps increase the body's excretion of toxins.