Plantain, the common roadside herb: benefits, uses, how to eat it, and side effects of drinking it as tea

Plantain can be found everywhere along roadsides and in the wild. When I was little, my mother often pulled it up and brought it home. It can be eaten and used as medicine. Once dried, it can be steeped in water to drink, or used in baths and foot soaks. So, do you really know the benefits and uses of plantain? What are the ways to eat plantain? Are there any side effects from eating it?

Traditional Chinese medicine holds that plantain is sweet in taste and cold in nature. It can reduce edema, clear heat and promote urination, clear the liver and brighten the eyes, and drain dampness to stop diarrhea. It is suitable for edema caused by internally accumulated damp-heat. It not only has a significant diuretic effect and can treat urinary tract infections, but also clearly helps resolve phlegm, fight bacteria, reduce inflammation and lower blood pressure. It has a good effect on intestinal infections such as enteritis and dysentery, and also has a good effect on gynecological inflammation in women such as excessive vaginal discharge.

As a Chinese medicine that is both medicinal and edible, plantain is also a delicious wild vegetable and an excellent food therapy. Specific ways to eat it:

If you choose fresh plantain for treatment, the dosage is generally larger, about 200 g to 300 g. After washing it clean, simply boil it in water and drink the liquid. You can also pick it, wash it clean, and make it into a cold dish; it has a preventive and therapeutic effect on mild inflammation.

For ordinary home consumption, simply boiling it in water and drinking the liquid is enough. You can also gather fresh plantain, blanch it briefly in boiling water, and then serve it cold, use it as a filling (such as for dumplings or steamed buns), make soup with it, or mix it with flour and steam it. All are good options.

You can also make plantain tea: take 100-150 g of fresh plantain and 0.5-1 g of green tea. Add water to the plantain, boil for 5 minutes, then add the green tea while it is still boiling. Take 1-2 doses daily, divided into 3 servings.

Below are some proven recipes for everyone to study and discuss. Please follow a doctor's advice before use.

1. Promote urination and reduce edema

Take an appropriate amount of fresh tender plantain leaf buds and a little honey. Wash the plantain, pound it to extract about 100 ml of juice, mix in the honey, and drink it all at once, twice a day. It can promote urination, reduce swelling, stop cough and resolve phlegm.

2. Clear the liver and brighten the eyes

Take 250 g of fresh tender plantain leaf buds and 150 g of dried tofu. Wash the plantain, blanch it in boiling water until cooked, rinse in cold water to remove the bitterness, drain, add salt and marinate for 10 minutes, squeeze out the water, cut finely, add sesame oil and mix well. Cut the dried tofu into shreds, blanch briefly in boiling water, rinse with cool boiled water, drain, place in the plate with the plantain, add sugar, soy sauce and monosodium glutamate, mix well and eat. It can clear the liver and brighten the eyes.

3. Resolve phlegm and promote urination

Take 50 g of plantain leaf buds, 100 g of rice and 2000 g of watermelon flesh. Wash the plantain and chop it. Remove the seeds from the watermelon. Wash the rice, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then switch to low heat and cook until the rice is thoroughly done. Add the plantain and refined salt, cook for another 10 minutes, then mix in the watermelon flesh and eat. It has the effects of clearing heat, brightening the eyes, resolving phlegm and promoting urination.

4. Bedwetting in children

Take 60 g each of plantain and angelica, and 10 g of ephedra. Boil down to 200 ml. Those under 14 years old take 100 ml, and those over 15 years old take 200 ml. Take it 1 hour before bedtime each night, with 7 days as one course of treatment.

In general, taking plantain does not have particularly notable side effects. However, every medicine has some toxicity, so if no obvious effect appears after taking plantain for a period of time, then you should stop taking it to avoid adverse effects on the body and the intestines and stomach. Also, everyone should be reminded that plantain is cool in nature, so friends with weak and cold spleen and stomach, those who easily get diarrhea, and those with cold hands and feet should not eat it.