Coughing and Phlegm in Dog Days of Summer? One Slice of "Chinese Cough Treasure" - Hualiu Hong - Does the Trick!

Coughing and Phlegm in Dog Days of Summer? One Slice of "Chinese Cough Treasure" - Hualiu Hong - Does the Trick!The dog days of summer are here, and with them come an increase in coughing and phlegm. Are you also bothered by this? In fact, the frequent occurrence of coughing and phlegm during the dog days has a reason: the hot and humid environment makes the body sweat profusely, losing fluids and leading to insufficient lung fluids; dampness invades the body, obstructs the spleen and stomach, and accumulates phlegm, ultimately affecting the lung qi, triggering coughing and phlegm

Coughing and Phlegm in Dog Days of Summer? One Slice of "Chinese Cough Treasure" - Hualiu Hong - Does the Trick!

The dog days of summer are here, and with them come an increase in coughing and phlegm. Are you also bothered by this? In fact, the frequent occurrence of coughing and phlegm during the dog days has a reason: the hot and humid environment makes the body sweat profusely, losing fluids and leading to insufficient lung fluids; dampness invades the body, obstructs the spleen and stomach, and accumulates phlegm, ultimately affecting the lung qi, triggering coughing and phlegm. So how do we deal with coughing and phlegm caused by phlegm dampness during the dog days? Today, let's share with you a traditional Chinese medicine - Hualiu Hong!

Hualiu Hong, also known as "Chinese Cough Treasure" and "Southern Ginseng", even boasts the reputation of "one slice worth a gold coin", is the dried outer peel of the unripe or nearly ripe fruit of Citrus grandis, a Rutaceae plant, and is a specialty of Huazhou City, Guangdong Province. It is not only a precious food that is both food and medicine, but also a "star" in the field of traditional Chinese medicine for treating cough and phlegm!

Hualiu Hong, "The Ultimate Phlegm Dissolver" in the eyes of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Zhao Xue Min's "Bencao Gangmu Shiyi" (Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica) in the Qing Dynasty records that Hualiu Hong "treats phlegm symptoms as if by magic", highlighting its effectiveness in treating phlegm-damp cough. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that Hualiu Hong is warm in nature, pungent and bitter in taste, and enters the lung and spleen meridians. It has the following four main functions:

1. Cough Suppressant and Phlegm Dissolver: Hualiu Hong's pungent and warm medicinal properties are slightly drying, and it has a significant therapeutic effect on symptoms such as yellow or white phlegm, coughing and wheezing, chest tightness and abdominal distention caused by cold invasion or dampness accumulation. Many traditional Chinese medicine preparations, such as Juhong Pills and Juhong Tandan Granules, all contain Hualiu Hong, demonstrating its powerful function in suppressing cough and dissolving phlegm.

2. Tonifies Spleen and Eliminates Stagnation: Hualiu Hong has a fragrant, drying aroma, entering the spleen meridian, and can dispel stagnant Qi with its pungent action. It is effective in treating dampness stagnation of the middle Jiao (the middle burner of the body - spleen and stomach), hiccups, diaphragm qi stagnation, etc., caused by food accumulation. It can be combined with Hawthorn, Citrus aurantium, and Malt according to the degree of food accumulation to digest food and eliminate stagnation.

3. Regulates Qi and Expands the Middle: Hualiu Hong is pungent and bitter in taste. The pungent property allows its fragrant aroma to permeate freely, and the bitter property promotes downward movement and eliminates turbidity. It has a good effect on the ascending and descending function of the spleen and stomach, as well as the smooth circulation of Qi, and can effectively address liver Qi stagnation and chest tightness and nausea, and harmonize the stomach Qi.

4. Dries Dampness and Warms and Opens: Hualiu Hong enters the spleen and lung meridians. The spleen and stomach are mutually connected as yin and yang. The spleen governs the Yuan Qi (primordial Qi), which is the foundation of the acquired nature; the lungs govern the intake of Qi, and are the ministerial organ that assists the spleen. Hualiu Hong can strategize the key organs of Qi, and when used well, it is a versatile medicine. Combined with tonifying agents, it becomes a tonifying agent; combined with purging agents, it becomes a purging agent; combined with ascending agents, it ascends; combined with descending agents, it descends.

From ancient times to the present, Hualiu Hong has demonstrated remarkable efficacy in clearing the lungs and throat, expelling phlegm and suppressing cough, and has been used as a tribute to the imperial court in ancient times. Even today, it continues to be widely used as a traditional Chinese medicine that is both food and medicine.

Hualiu Hong: Multiple Uses, Easily Addressing Cough and Phlegm Dampness

Let's share the specific methods of using Hualiu Hong in detail. They are simple and easy to learn, and you can try them easily at home!

1. Brewing Tea:

• Direct Brewing: Take 3-5 grams of Hualiu Hong slices, brew with boiling water, let it steep for a while before drinking. You can brew it repeatedly. This can dissolve phlegm, suppress cough, and aid digestion!

• Combined Brewing: Hualiu Hong + Astragalus + Chrysanthemum: 1 slice of Hualiu Hong, 5-6 slices of Astragalus, 5-6 blossoms of Chrysanthemum. Method: Brew with boiling water or boil. Drink as tea. Efficacy: This combination is suitable for wind-cold cough. Hualiu Hong dissolves phlegm and regulates Qi, while Astragalus tonifies Qi and raises Yang. The combination of the two can dispel wind and cold, dry dampness and resolve phlegm. However, Hualiu Hong and Astragalus are both warm in nature, and excessive consumption can cause heatiness. Therefore, you can add 5-6 blossoms of Chrysanthemum to clear wind and heat, soothe the liver and improve eyesight.

2. Congee:

• Hualiu Hong Red Bean Congee: 10 grams Hualiu Hong, 30 grams red beans, 50 grams glutinous rice, appropriate amount of rock sugar. Method: Add Hualiu Hong, red beans and glutinous rice to an appropriate amount of water and simmer into congee. Add rock sugar to season after cooking. Consume 1-2 times a day. Efficacy: Helps to regulate Qi and dissolve phlegm. (Diabetics should not consume this.)

3. Stewing:

• When stewing meat soup or pork rib soup, add 5 grams of Hualiu Hong, 10 grams of Ophiopogon japonicus, and 10 grams of Radix Adenophorae, which can nourish yin and moisten the lungs, dissolve phlegm and suppress cough. This is suitable for cough caused by lung yin deficiency.

Although Hualiu Hong is both food and medicine, please remember the following points when consuming it:

1. Hualiu Hong is not Citrus aurantium. These two are "cousins". Citrus aurantium is recorded in "Bencao Gangmu" and refers to the peel of oranges; Hualiu Hong is the peel of pomelos, and the two cannot be confused or used interchangeably.

2. Hualiu Hong cannot be used with fried, spicy, and irritating foods, which will significantly reduce its effectiveness. The dosage for medicinal use should be followed under the guidance of a doctor and should not be taken in excess.

3. Patients with blood in phlegm, persistent cough, Qi deficiency, yin deficiency and dry cough, etc. belong to lung heat and Qi deficiency, and Hualiu Hong cannot be used. Diagnosis by a TCM practitioner is required. Special groups such as children, the elderly, and pregnant women should not use it without permission.

During the dog days of summer, coughing and phlegm, try a slice of "Chinese Cough Treasure" - Hualiu Hong, easily bid farewell to phlegm dampness and enjoy a healthy and refreshing summer!

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