TCM Herbs - Why make a tea?

[Lukks]

Hello everyone, I want to know why can't we just eat the herbs? Like Goji Berries, Black Sesame Seeds, all of these can be eaten to get the same benefits as a herbal tea or it's not the same?

 

I can't find this information anywhere 

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

Adding heat or boiling a substance changes, activates or releases different properties. Some things are better raw, some cooked, depends on the substance and purpose of taking it. Best to just follow the recipe. 

[Nungali]

 

 

as above , also

 

Try this ;   drink a shot of vodka

 

now drink a shot of hot vodka    

[Lukks]

5 hours ago, -ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ- said:

Adding heat or boiling a substance changes, activates or releases different properties. Some things are better raw, some cooked, depends on the substance and purpose of taking it. Best to just follow the recipe. 

 

What about Goji Berries, do you think ppl get the same benefits eating them?

 

 

Just now, Nungali said:

 

 

as above , also

 

Try this ;   drink a shot of vodka

 

now drink a shot of hot vodka    

 

Wait, is this serious? What does it works for?

[Nungali]

6 hours ago, QiBob SquareGong said:

 

Wait, is this serious? What does it works for?

 

What does it works for ? 

 

Sounds like you already had some vodka ! 

 

Semi serious , the point was , heat makes some things more 'volatile'  .

 

There are ingredients but there is also the 'alchemy' of the preparation .

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

How about we make this very simple. Is eating tea leaves the same as boiling tea in water and then drinking it?

[Taomeow]

Goji berries have some rare carotenoids that get activated by heat and become more bioavailable.  

Black sesame seeds aren't to my knowledge an ingredient in herbal teas, they are used differently.

As for the rest, there's a lot of Chinese herbs that are pre-treated a certain way (cooked, steeped in wine, etc.) before being used, and some of them come in both forms -- cooked and raw (e.g. rehmannia) and act differently, though most need to be boiled and can't be just eaten.  (Try eating coptis -- a powerful natural antibiotic and antiviral -- a broken tooth is guaranteed, it's hard as stone and bitter as sin.)   

[Maddie]

Aside from some of the good points that have already been mentioned. Human beings have been cooking long enough that it is part of our evolution now and this is why we can't get away with eating raw food in the same way that animals do. Our digestive systems have literally evolved to "pre-digesting" our food before eating it. 

[Cobie]

21 hours ago, Nungali said:

….

now drink a shot of hot vodka    

or of hot stroh 80 

 

 

Edited August 22 by Cobie

[Lukks]

13 hours ago, Nungali said:

 

What does it works for ? 

 

Sounds like you already had some vodka ! 

 

Semi serious , the point was , heat makes some things more 'volatile'  .

 

There are ingredients but there is also the 'alchemy' of the preparation .

 lmao haha I asked because I've read somewhere that alcohol is the best thing for transportation in TCM so I tought you meant something like that when you mentioned "vodka" haha

 

 

 

12 hours ago, -ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ- said:

How about we make this very simple. Is eating tea leaves the same as boiling tea in water and then drinking it?

 

4 hours ago, Taomeow said:

Goji berries have some rare carotenoids that get activated by heat and become more bioavailable.  

Black sesame seeds aren't to my knowledge an ingredient in herbal teas, they are used differently.

As for the rest, there's a lot of Chinese herbs that are pre-treated a certain way (cooked, steeped in wine, etc.) before being used, and some of them come in both forms -- cooked and raw (e.g. rehmannia) and act differently, though most need to be boiled and can't be just eaten.  (Try eating coptis -- a powerful natural antibiotic and antiviral -- a broken tooth is guaranteed, it's hard as stone and bitter as sin.)   

 

3 hours ago, Maddie said:

Aside from some of the good points that have already been mentioned. Human beings have been cooking long enough that it is part of our evolution now and this is why we can't get away with eating raw food in the same way that animals do. Our digestive systems have literally evolved to "pre-digesting" our food before eating it. 

 

Ok that makes sense,  now I understand it, thx everyone

 

Just another question:

Once I read here in TTB but I don't remember who wrote it, but it was something like this:

 

"Young people shouldn't use tonic herbs(Panax Ginseng as an example) because since you don't need to tonify Qi when your young you will just be adding more fuel to the fire and burn your Jing faster instead of building more of it"

 

I don't know if I got this right but it doesn't make much sense too me, why would I be burning my jing faster with tonic herbs since they tonify, shouldn't I have EXTRA jing????

[Taomeow]

1 hour ago, QiBob SquareGong said:

 

Ok that makes sense,  now I understand it, thx everyone

 

Just another question:

Once I read here in TTB but I don't remember who wrote it, but it was something like this:

 

"Young people shouldn't use tonic herbs(Panax Ginseng as an example) because since you don't need to tonify Qi when your young you will just be adding more fuel to the fire and burn your Jing faster instead of building more of it"

 

I don't know if I got this right but it doesn't make much sense too me, why would I be burning my jing faster with tonic herbs since they tonify, shouldn't I have EXTRA jing????

 

It's one of the urban legends about ginseng that probably got repeated here.  What is true, however, is that ginseng has been shown (in a few countries that have studied it instead of creating urban legends) to be more efficient in older people than in younger ones.  A good dose can boost physical performance in younger people -- e.g. there was an experiment where it was given to soldiers on the march and they were able to march faster and longer before experiencing fatigue -- so, yes, it can be stimulating, but there's no significant effects on the baseline health parameters in young folks.  Whereas in older one it acts on the baseline, normalizing some of those parameters long term.  

 

To affect jing, however, one would have to have 20+ year old ginseng, whereas younger specimens (which is what you get on the market -- 6 years old tops if you're lucky) are not able to reach the level of jing and act only on qi. 

 

Very old people can expect miracles from very old ginseng.  Wild 60+ year old panax roots sell at prices exceeding their weight in gold, however...  so, not very practical. 

 

In Korea, where most of panax is grown these days, people (young and old alike) are in the habit of using it daily, and not worrying about the dose that much.  Those who have access to fresh roots munch on them the way we might eat a carrot.  

[ChiDragon]

On 8/21/2024 at 3:27 PM, QiBob SquareGong said:

What about Goji Berries, do you think ppl get the same benefits eating them?

Yes, sometimes, the Chinese eat them raw or dry or make tea or put in herbal soup.

[ChiDragon]

On 8/21/2024 at 7:40 AM, QiBob SquareGong said:

Hello everyone, I want to know why can't we just eat the herbs? Like Goji Berries, Black Sesame Seeds, all of these can be eaten to get the same benefits as a herbal tea or it's not the same?

 

I can't find this information anywhere 

The herbs are normally combined in dried form. PPL take them home and boiled in three bowls of water or more. Served when it went down to one bowl.

[Lukks]

2 hours ago, Taomeow said:

 

It's one of the urban legends about ginseng that probably got repeated here.  What is true, however, is that ginseng has been shown (in a few countries that have studied it instead of creating urban legends) to be more efficient in older people than in younger ones.  A good dose can boost physical performance in younger people -- e.g. there was an experiment where it was given to soldiers on the march and they were able to march faster and longer before experiencing fatigue -- so, yes, it can be stimulating, but there's no significant effects on the baseline health parameters in young folks.  Whereas in older one it acts on the baseline, normalizing some of those parameters long term.  

 

To affect jing, however, one would have to have 20+ year old ginseng, whereas younger specimens (which is what you get on the market -- 6 years old tops if you're lucky) are not able to reach the level of jing and act only on qi. 

 

Very old people can expect miracles from very old ginseng.  Wild 60+ year old panax roots sell at prices exceeding their weight in gold, however...  so, not very practical. 

 

In Korea, where most of panax is grown these days, people (young and old alike) are in the habit of using it daily, and not worrying about the dose that much.  Those who have access to fresh roots munch on them the way we might eat a carrot.  

 

Hmm got it, thanks, that makes a lot more sense

 

 

 

1 hour ago, ChiDragon said:

The herbs are normally combined in dried form. PPL take them home and boiled in three bowls of water or more. Served when it went down to one bowl.

 

1 hour ago, ChiDragon said:

Yes, sometimes, the Chinese eat them raw or dry or make tea or put in herbal soup.

 

Thanks! I'm still a beginner in this topic

[Neirong]

On 21/08/2024 at 5:40 PM, QiBob SquareGong said:

Hello everyone, I want to know why can't we just eat the herbs? Like Goji Berries, Black Sesame Seeds, all of these can be eaten to get the same benefits as a herbal tea or it's not the same?

 

I can't find this information anywhere 

 

Human body like most mammals cannot digest seeds, they will come out the same way they came in.

 

It doesn't matter what valuable stuff and nutrients is inside, if you absorb zero of it.

[Gerard]

Goji berries can be eaten as food. Is one of the very few that are absorbed without needing a decoction (boil). Usually in a porridge form, eg:

 

https://www.kuali.com/recipe/stay-at-home-cooking/goji-berries-porridge/