What season is best for eating white wormwood, and the contraindications for drinking it as an infusion, plus whether pregnant women can eat it
The tender stems and leaves of white wormwood are a favorite of many friends, not only because they taste delicious when eaten, but most importantly because they can provide certain medicinal value; it is a wild vegetable that serves as both food and medicine! So what season is best for eating white wormwood? What are the contraindications for drinking it as an infusion? Can pregnant women eat it?
What season is best for eating white wormwood?
White wormwood is the whole plant of Artemisia sieversiana, a plant in the Asteraceae family. It is a biennial herb, 50-150cm tall, with a single main root that is narrowly spindle-shaped; the lower part of the stem is slightly woody, with obvious longitudinal ridges and many branches, and the stems and branches are covered with whitish fine hairs. White wormwood is a perennial small subshrub with a taproot. It turns green early in spring and grows quickly, beginning to grow from mid-March to April, flowering in mid-August, setting seed in early September, and maturing in early October.
Every year in mid-March (the middle of the second lunar month), the white wormwood sprouts hidden in the grass have already grown into clusters of buds. This is when the buds have the most moisture and are the most tender and plump, and it is also the best time to eat white wormwood.
The effects and benefits of drinking white wormwood as an infusion
1. Protecting and safeguarding the liver: As is well known, white wormwood is a distinctive Chinese medicinal herb with liver-protecting effects, especially with good therapeutic effects on hepatitis A and B and icteric hepatitis, so doctors sometimes combine white wormwood with other Chinese medicinal herbs to treat liver disease!
2. Clearing heat and draining dampness: Another benefit of white wormwood is that it can cool the blood and stop bleeding. Long-term consistent consumption can help lighten the body, boost qi, promote longevity, and keep the complexion fair for years. In addition, it can also have therapeutic effects on generalized yellowing, difficult urination, reducing head heat, removing latent abdominal masses, unblocking the joints, removing stagnant heat, typhoid, and other diseases.
3. Antibacterial and sterilizing: Research has found that the flavonoid substances in white wormwood can inhibit and eliminate bacteria in the human body, reducing the probability of developing diseases such as pneumonia, tracheitis, cough, enteritis, and gastritis.
4. Lowering blood pressure: Some friends with high blood pressure and high blood lipids can consume white wormwood to achieve blood pressure-lowering and blood lipid-lowering effects, so it is most suitable for people whose blood pressure exceeds the normal range.
How to drink white wormwood as an infusion
Usually, sun-dried white wormwood is used to make an infusion, or pitted red dates can be added when making the infusion, three times a day, 40-50 milliliters each time! It should be noted that when harvesting white wormwood, in order to prevent it from becoming moldy, it is best to keep the temperature within 60 degrees when drying it; after drying, place it in a cool place to dry, and when making the infusion, just take it out and use it directly.
Contraindications for drinking white wormwood as an infusion
White wormwood should not be taken together with safflower. In addition, although white wormwood has good medicinal value, it should not be taken in excess, especially by those with deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach, who had best take less of it!
White wormwood is a medicine that clears heat, drains dampness, and reduces jaundice. If there is nothing abnormal in the body, drinking it as an infusion over the long term will certainly affect one's constitution; after all, every medicine has some toxicity. Suggestion: it can be consumed in moderation, but it is best not to drink it as an infusion over the long term.
Can pregnant women drink white wormwood water?
White wormwood is a type of Chinese herbal medicine. Its smell is relatively sweet, and it is a little bitter. Generally speaking, it has a very good therapeutic effect on treating cough or sore throat in humans, especially for strangury caused by internal heat, or rheumatism, and it also has a very good effect on vomiting blood. If you have external bleeding from an injury, it can also be used for treatment. Generally speaking, its method of use should follow the method for using Chinese herbal medicines. People with a relatively weak spleen and stomach should still eat less of this medicine, otherwise it may cause discomfort in the stomach and intestines.
When a pregnant woman develops jaundice, she can drink an appropriate amount of white wormwood water, because white wormwood water can effectively inhibit staphylococcus and can also have a protective effect on the human liver. It is recommended to take it under a doctor's guidance. White wormwood water is known to many people. For pregnant women, drinking an appropriate amount of white wormwood water is still very helpful to their own health, because pregnant women inevitably develop jaundice during pregnancy. If jaundice occurs, drinking white wormwood water can effectively resolve it, and its effect is still very significant; it can also inhibit the action of staphylococcus.