What are the benefits and effects of drinking honeysuckle (Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica) steeped in water?
There are many ways to consume honeysuckle, among which steeping it in water is the most common, and the benefits of drinking honeysuckle steeped in water are the most obvious. So how do you steep honeysuckle in water, and what are the benefits of drinking it?
Benefits of drinking honeysuckle steeped in water
1. Clearing heat and detoxifying. According to the "Bencao Zheng," honeysuckle is "sweet in taste, neutral in qi, and slightly cold in nature," and has a very significant effect on clearing heat and detoxifying. Especially in the hot summer, if you can drink a cup of cool and delicious honeysuckle tea, it will surely relieve the summer heat and cool you down, leaving you refreshed and relaxed.
2. Preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Drinking honeysuckle steeped as tea can help the body promptly clear fat and harmful substances from the blood, increase blood flow in the vessels, and effectively prevent dangerous cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction.
3. Preventing flu. Research has found that honeysuckle can inhibit and resist a variety of bacteria that cause colds, and drinking it can increase our antiviral capacity and boost human immunity. It can be called the "traditional Chinese medicine antibiotic" of the TCM field.
4. Clearing heat and relieving summer heat. According to the "Zhiwu Mingshi Tukao," "In Wuzhong during the summer months, the flowers are added to tea and drunk, and tea houses value newly delivered honeysuckle." This shows that drinking honeysuckle steeped as tea is a good remedy for relieving summer heat.
5. It has the effect of dispersing heat and dispelling pathogens, and has a certain effect on externally contracted wind-heat or the early stage of warm disease, with symptoms such as body heat and headache, restlessness and scant sleep, clouded spirit and crimson tongue, and dry throat and mouth;
6. It has the effect of cooling the blood and stopping dysentery, and has the effect of detoxifying, stopping dysentery, cooling the blood, and soothing the throat for heat-toxin dysentery, dysentery with pus and blood, damp-warmth obstructing the throat, and sore and swollen throat.
Finally, special attention should be paid to the fact that honeysuckle is cold in nature, so for some people with deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach, it is not suitable to drink too much, otherwise it will increase the burden on the spleen and stomach.
Is drinking honeysuckle steeped in water good for you
1. After being brewed with boiling water, honeysuckle tastes sweet and has a rich, sweet fragrance, and has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying and dispersing wind-heat. It has a remarkable effect on treating summer-heat syndrome, diarrhea and dysentery, flu, acute and chronic tonsillitis, periodontitis, and other diseases. Whether in the hot summer or the "eventful" autumn, this cup of tea can always bring a healthy life.
2. Honeysuckle steeped in water also has the effect of dispersing heat and dispelling pathogens, and has a certain effect on externally contracted wind-heat or the early stage of warm disease, with body heat and headache, restlessness and difficulty sleeping, and dry mouth and tongue. When autumn first arrives, the climate changes abruptly and unpredictably, and the human body has poor immunity and is very susceptible to viruses, while regularly drinking honeysuckle tea can form a protective layer for the body's defenses.
3. The pharmacologically active components contained in honeysuckle, such as chlorogenic acid and luteolin, have bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects on pneumococcus, meningococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, tubercle bacillus, and others, and have the effect of unblocking meridians and activating collaterals. Regular drinking steeped in water can also produce a certain inhibitory effect on influenza virus, orphan virus, herpes virus, and Leptospira.
4. Drinking water steeped with honeysuckle can have the effect of cooling the blood and stopping dysentery, and has the effect of detoxifying, stopping dysentery, cooling the blood, and soothing the throat for heat-toxin dysentery, dysentery with pus and blood, damp-warmth obstructing the throat, and sore and swollen throat. If you have a sore and swollen throat due to internal heat in the body, two cups of honeysuckle tea a day can bring recovery without treatment in a few days.
5. Regularly drinking honeysuckle steeped in water naturally gives the body's systems an anti-pathogenic microorganism effect, and has a certain inhibitory effect on many pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, hemolytic Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi, and others.
Contraindications for drinking honeysuckle steeped in water
First: Never take an excessive amount
Honeysuckle is cold in nature, and taking an excessive amount can easily cause discomfort in the stomach and intestines. Some people, in order to enhance honeysuckle's effects on the body, take a large amount of honeysuckle at one time, which brings the body no benefit and only harm.
Second: Do not take it during menstruation
Menstruation is the most special period for all women. At this stage, women must take good care of themselves and eat or come into contact with fewer cold foods or objects. Honeysuckle is cold in nature, so it is best not to take it during menstruation to avoid adverse effects on the body.
Third: Patients with deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach should take it with caution
Honeysuckle is cold in nature, so if the patient's body originally has a deficiency-cold constitution and is prone to weakness and illness, then drinking honeysuckle steeped in water will not only fail to nourish and protect the body, but will instead increase the burden the spleen and stomach must bear, which is very unfavorable to health.
Fourth: Choice of season for taking it
It is not suitable to take honeysuckle in all four seasons. Experts suggest that if you want the body to obtain the best health care, then the time to take honeysuckle is best chosen in summer. Because the summer weather is hot, the body is very prone to heatstroke and thirst, and taking honeysuckle at this time can very well play a role in promoting fluid production and quenching thirst as well as clearing heat and detoxifying.
Fifth: Do not drink honeysuckle steeped in water overnight
Veteran TCM doctors suggest that drinking honeysuckle steeped in water is actually the same principle as daily tea brewing: steeping it two or three times is enough, and after it has sat overnight it is best not to drink it, to avoid affecting health due to spoilage.
Sixth: Honeysuckle is not suitable for cold drinks
Special attention should be paid to the fact that when drinking honeysuckle steeped in water in daily life, it is best not to drink it cold, because this can easily cause diarrhea. If you want to take honeysuckle correctly, then you can brew it with boiling water and drink it while hot, so that the medicinal effects and nutritional value of honeysuckle can be better brought out.
Instead, it will increase the burden the spleen and stomach must bear, which is very unfavorable to health.Fourth: Choice of season for taking it
It is not suitable to take honeysuckle in all four seasons. Experts suggest that if you want the body to obtain the best health care, then the time to take honeysuckle is best chosen in summer. Because the summer weather is hot, the body is very prone to heatstroke and thirst, and taking honeysuckle at this time can very well play a role in promoting fluid production and quenching thirst as well as clearing heat and detoxifying.
Fifth: Do not drink honeysuckle steeped in water overnight
Veteran TCM doctors suggest that drinking honeysuckle steeped in water is actually the same principle as daily tea brewing: steeping it two or three times is enough, and after it has sat overnight it is best not to drink it, to avoid affecting health due to spoilage.
Sixth: Honeysuckle is not suitable for cold drinks
Special attention should be paid to the fact that when drinking honeysuckle steeped in water in daily life, it is best not to drink it cold, because this can easily cause diarrhea. If you want to take honeysuckle correctly, then you can brew it with boiling water and drink it while hot, so that the medicinal effects and nutritional value of honeysuckle can be better brought out.