Beetroot Mai Dong Tea For Mouth Ulcer and Eliminate Body Heat

Chinese Traditional medicines always find the solution of balancing and restore, adjust in harmonies the Yin and Yang. Disharmonious of “heat”, “fluid”, “blood” and “qi” circulation within our body caused stagnation of heat affect the 5 organs system of lungs, liver, heart, stomach, and kidney.


As always, using “cooling” measure to treat the “heat” by home remedies method to reduce body heat. To determine what is the actual cause then gets the treatment with suitable remedies, or herbs by alternative medicine to restore and balance with physical, emotional and spiritual aspect.

Many Chinese herbs can treat and reduce body heat, to release the “fire” or “heatiness” and clean “heat” from the heart, stomach and liver. The causes of body heat can be aggravated by heat producing foods or drinks such as coffee, spicy food, sugar and strong heating and pungent spices, and alcohol. The excessive of heat arise in response to an acute feverish and illness. Some cooling food or herbs that is useful to remove of “body heat”.


This cooling herbal drink can be used to eliminate heat. The “Cooling” remedy such as "Mai Dong and Beetroot" cook it as soup or herb drink helps in recuperates deficiency-fire, and this herbs drink has the soothing and cooling effect to sedates heat in the heart nourishes lungs and stomach Yin.

In TCM what is heat (fire) actually mean? Body heat (Fire) we normally called it “body heat or Fire”, the 6 external energies categories as Cold, Dampness, Dryness, Heat (Fire), summer heat and Wind, each of the influence varies throughout the day, month, from year to year by 4 seasonal.

Actually what causes pathogenic body heat? There are relatively influences and causes due to disharmony in Yin or Yang in the human body organ system. The human body 5 internal organ systems are the lungs, liver, heart, stomach, and kidney in channel.

The entire body system is interconnected and corresponds with the vital energies, which is the fundamental essential substance is composed by blood, energy (Qi), essence and body fluids. And the meridians or channel flows throughout the body.

It works in relationship to each of the other organs. The Yin and Yang together it creates a balancing and harmony with the whole body system. The Yin and Yang in human Organ, each of Yin organ is paired with a Yang organ like this:

Yin <<< >>>Yang

Heart <<< >>>Small Intestine

Spleen <<< >>>Stomach

Lungs <<< >>>Large Intestine

Kidney <<< >>>Urinary Bladder

Liver <<< >>>Gall Bladder

Pericardium <<< >>>San Jiao


Note:
San Jiao is translated as "triple heater," triple warmer (or three warmers)," and "triple burner," There are three "burning spaces":

The San Jiao has 3 “burning spaces”:

• Upper Burner (Shang Jiao) – corresponds to thoracic cavity, the space includes of Lungs, Heart and is associated with respiration.

• Middle Burner (Zhong Jiao) – corresponds to upper part of dorsal cavity, The space includes of Stomach, Spleen and is associated with digestion.

• Lower Burner (Xiao Jiao) – corresponds to lower part of the doarsal cavity. The space includes small intestine, large intestine, kidneys bladder and is associated with elimination.


The pathogenic body heat is either exogenous (internal) and endogenous (external) pathogenic influences. The Pathogenic heat due to body endogenous “the fire” invades the body; external pathogenic heat causes disease or illnesses by attacking human body through mouth, nose and skin.

When heat attacks the body, heat arises or excessive cause fever, thirst, headache, excessive perspiration and rapid pulse. Heat is one of the Yang pathogen, when Yang is pertains and the heat or in the case of high fever tends to consume and replenish Yin-fluid, when the body feels hot, and drive body fluid out of the body by sweating and extreme thirst, fever arise.

Likewise, when “Yin” in the present of excessiveness consumes “Yang” and “Yang” in the present of excessiveness consumes “Yin”. Yin photogenic is “Cold and Dampness heat”, Yang Photogenic is refer to “Dryness and Wind Heat”. In turn, Yin in excess will get “cold” syndromes, and Yang in access and causes “heat” syndromes.

When the Yin and Yang is impaired and the sensation of obvious symptom, due to impairment of body fluid similarly excessive of heat occurrence in body causes by “body heat”, high intake of hot spicy foods and hot foods caused heat (Fire), ingestion problem, restless sleep or insomnia due to pathogenic heat in the liver and gallbladder, heart and kidney can causes thirst and irritability.

If deficiency of Heart-Yin, the insomnia may occurrence, and feeling restlessness and feeling of heartburn, dry cough and mouth ulcer, the photogenic heat can leads to sickness usually feeling extreme thirst, such as mouth ulcer, sore throat, and bad breath. Besides, lack of Vitamin B, thus, they may be other reasons that caused in some cases.



The benefits of taking Beetroot with Mai Dong Herbs drink:

• It raises the effect of promotes saliva or body fluids and slakes thirst.
• Relieve of dry cough, mouth ulcer, dry mouth and sore throat
• Clear away heat in the heart, rid of phlegm heat,
• Improves of insomnia
• Relieve of hard stools and improve constipation problem.


Ingredients:

• Beetroot 25g
• Mai Dong 15g
• Brown sugar 15g
• 500ml of water

Method:

1. Peel beetroot skin, wash and cut into smaller pieces.
2. Place water to boil and add in Beetroot and Mai dong to cook for 30 mins.
3. After decoction, the herbs are strained, take the water only, and add in brown sugar to serve warm.

Dosage: continue taking this herb drink for 3 days. Once daily











Alternatively, Mai Dong might be used for this purpose of treating those with hard stools and constipation may also try this to add a little bit of Mai Dong with Chrysanthemum (ju hua) make it as herbal Tea.

Mai Dong (Radix Ophiopogonis) also known as Mai Meng Dong in Chinese, it is diuretic, expectorant, cardio tonic and tonifying properties. It nourishes the heart and detoxifies the liver, clears liver heat and disperses wind-heat of the body. This herbs tea is ideal for women suffer with night sweats and hot flush; add in wolfberries to it for better result.





Ingredients:

Mai Dong – 10g
Chrysanthemum – 10g
Wolfberry (Goji) - Optional
Honey

Method:

• Wash and cook Mai Dong in boiling water for 15 mins.
• Turn the heat off and add in Chrysanthemum, and then pour all ingredients into infuser, and let is sit in simmer for 10 minutes or half an hour.
• Serve with honey (Optional)






Caution:

This is slightly laxative herbal tea. The dosage recommended by practitioners usually from 5 – 10g, combined with other herbs or foods decocted as herbal drink. Over-consumption may causes loose-motion, for those with spleen deficiency Yin may result in diarrhea form of stools. Take in moderation and consume it once a while as natural laxative herbal tea.


What is Mai Dong

Chinese Name: Mai Dong or Mai Meng Dong

Scientific name: Radix Ophiopogonis, Ophiopogon root

Nature is cold and slightly sweet and bitter, non-toxic, usually use to treat injured fluid from deficient of Yin and get rid of heat. Use cooked Mai Dong in water as gargle to treat mouth infections, sore throat and ulcer.

The channel enters: heart, lungs and stomach.

The benefits of taking Mai dong is to improve immune system, anti bacteria, improve contraction of heart muscles, in folk medicinal used by Chinese home remedy for children as anti shock herbs, help improves toleration of lack of oxygen, moisture intestine for constipation and slightly laxative effect, It reduces damp heat in stomach, used as tonic. To sooth the throat especially to dry cough.

Caution when taking Mai Dong:
Do not used in cases of diarrhea, due to cold from deficiency and fluid retention, not compatible to cook with white fungus (bai Mu Er).
Dosage to use is about 6 to 15g.

In the meridians channel and human organ system, these refer to the aspect of meridians and human internal organ system which the food can act. Beetroot is heart healthy food that benefits heart and nourishes Yin invigorates the kidney. It is neutral food that balances Yin and Yang.

In Chinese traditional medicine it is been part of folk medicinal food as blood building food, stimulating effects on liver’s detoxification process. Also alternative medicine to treat mouth ulcer, Beetroot is high in vitamin B, and the magnesium assist with sleep as well. Lacking of vitamin B can also be the reason of causing restless sleep, mouth ulcer.

Use of fresh beetroot with Mai dong has revealed many amazing result of get rid body “stomach-heat” help relieve constipation and “heat in the heart” to improve the quality of sleep.

Beetroot also help in metabolism, it improve the quality of sleep for restless sleep people, and also mental health by elevate mood by the mood enhancing know as serotonin, which is the awaken hormone, serotonin is found in the brain and central nervous system, it is implications on behaviors, sleep and mood. Serotonin can be converted by the pineal gland into melatonin, melatonin is the sleep hormone, it is good to taking at night to improve restless sleep or insomnia, it sways the minor acid balance to improve and in favor of sleep. When heat is trapped in the heart, beetroot is a good alternative home remedy to treat stomach ulcer, dry cough and heartburn, and helps to cure persistent dry cough and harness of voice.



There are many beverages and recipes when taken to eliminate heat:

• Drink more water or fluids intakes, like Vegetable or Fruit juices such as Lemon Juice, apple, celery, grapefruit and pear.
• Salad or Fruit Salad like Lettuce, mixed bean salad
• Herbal infusions or Tea such as Peppermint or Chrysanthemum
• Taking fruit mixed with Agar-agar or jellies, or Sea Bird Nest or Eucheuma Seaweed.

Replenishing Beet Herbal Tea

When think of the grey hair, first I think of “He Shou Wu”.

He Shou Wu (Plygonum Multiflorum) is black in color.
Black in 5 elements is for “Kidney”.

What about Red in color Beetroot?
The red color beet is for Heart, blood and circulation.
Important for cardiovascular health to lower blood pressure.


This fancy “Black and Red in color” combination makes a simple traditional herbs drink to replenishing and invigorating the kidney to strengthen the “Yang”, nourishing the “Yin” by ways of improving the Kidney “Qi” and ”Blood”.

With the nature of “Yang” and “Yin” in this herbs tea to treat deficiency of the Kidney and blood, something like immerse a pot of “He Shou Wu and Beetroot” herbs tea come naturally and easily to prepare for health purpose.


This shocking reddish in color herbal tea is kind of aroma soothing and sour in taste yet not the least, it works wonderful kidney and hair tonic also as a “blood builder” and “youth preserver” to promote of blood circulation for skin plus good stimulates of hair growth. Help with keeping healthy arteries to prevent hardening of arteries.


Constrained flow due to stressful and emotional constrains that cause restricts the flow. If kidney “Qi” and “Blood” is insufficient this aspect will also influence to bad blood circulation. That will eventually affect to the skin complexion, not only which, it may also link to other illnesses. Certainly some due to bustle about stressful work lifestyle and it disturbs the hormone secretion, metabolism, insomnia and headache.


Ingredients:

• He Shou Wu – 10g

• Beet – 14g

• Rock sugar – 1 tbs. (optional)

* Beet is high sugar content.

Method:

1. Wash Beetroot and He Shou Wu. Peel Beetroot skin and cut into smaller slices.

2. Immerse both ingredients into tea pot or infuser with boiling water.

3. Simmer for about ½ hour. Serve warm.






Simple and yet it’s nutritious and healthy for:

• Stimulates hair growth.

• Anti aging formula

• Improves insomnia

• decrease hardening of the arteries,

• Improve immune function.

• greatest estrogenic activity


What is He Shou Wu (Plygonum Multiflorum)

He Shou Wu is a Chinese medicinal herbs and important longevity herb which is derived from the dried tuberous root of the plant Plygonum Multiflorum.

Nature is mild and slightly warm. It is painstakingly astringent and tastes a bit bitter and sour sweet.

Used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, stimulates hair growth as hair tonic, restoring hair color and preventing hair loss, this herbs contains laxative compound to treat constipation, menstrual and menopausal complains also it is a youth preserver.

Meridian channel: to the liver, the kidney, the heart, the lung.



"He Shou Wu" combination with other ingredients benefits:

• Boil with black soybean for strengthen kidney and improve vertigo.

• "He shou wu" with mulberry leaf or fruit used for preventing grey hair too.



Caution when use of He Shou Wu:

• Skin Rashes and numbness may occurred to certain people if overdoses of "He Shou Wu".

• Not for Acute hepatitis and stomach inflation people.



About Beetroot

Beetroot is rich in folate and vitamin C, potassium, calcium, iron, beta carotene. A good colorants use as a natural food coloring or dye from the red pigment (Betacyanin) in beetroot. Its nature is cold, taste of aroma sweet. Good blood purifier for treating pimple and skin disease.

Beets are considered aphrodisiac and it plays an important role in human sex hormones. Good for treating menstruation and menopausal problem.

Beetroot combined with He Shou Wu (polygonum multiflorum) as therapeutically herbal drink, it is a stamina builder and helpful to kidney "Qi" and "Blood" which makes up the body to be insufficient with, and a tonic to increase vitality and energy, strengthen the blood, kidneys and liver.

Healthy Beets Figs Homemade Jam

I discovered taking organic fresh and nature best food like black olives from a friend's organic fruit farm is really excitement to me. 

Not only that, this wonderful friend of mine having many types of fruit trees in his fruit farm. 

I started making pickles and simple cooking of fresh olive with all sorts of fresh Olive recipes and try to do it in different methods.
Again more variety of fruits like Figs, Longan and Durians. With the EM Microbes enzymes organic fertilizer this year really a fruitful harvest year to him. 

Last week I brought some fresh figs to start writing something new recipes for my blog. I rarely see fresh figs selling in the grocery store. Last time we can only buy and used dried figs to cook soup, making salad and fruit wine, pickle or dried it as snack, it is ideal for making dessert and fruit jam.

I know the figs having great value of therapeutic benefits for our human body. I like Figs sweet flavor and its great color. But this figs do not taste good. 

At first I do not know what to do with this small quantities of fig. It looks beautiful in dark red color. So I just keep it in refrigerator for 2 days, I know it can't keep for long there. Out of sudden I got my hands on of making my own homemade fruit jam with it. Beetroot combined with Figs the red dramatically in color combination really makes me feeling yummy.

Beets fig Jam

• 2 beets
• 10 figs
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp of Maltose or malt sugar
• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• 1 cup of water

Method:
1. Peels beets skin, wash figs and remove stems and bottom of the fig, and cut into small pieces.

2. Squeeze Lime and Orange Juice and set aside ready for use. Keep the orange peel and cut into thin slices.












3. Add water, sugar and malt sugar to fig, and bring to boil for 20 minutes, stirring until sugar dissolves.










4. Heat slowly to boil. Remove from heat. Set aside and let it cool then blend it with blender.








5. After blended into puree, pour it back to pot adds in Lime juice, Orange juice and orange peel slices and cook for a further 20 minutes until consistency of the fig and beets mixtures turn thicken.










6. Let it cool then fill into sterilized jars.


Why used orange peel slices for beets and figs jam

I choose beets, figs and orange that really makes wonder flavors and color for all in one tasty fruit jam. It’s just brilliant and delicious taste. Beetroot is wonderful cleansing and blood tonic. Figs also claims to be one of the blood building diet and purifier for energy and vital. This jam serve with toast really increased my appetite.



The taste of beets and figs both are slighly sweetened stuff, adding in orange juice and orange peel slices creates a little bit of sweet sour in taste, also balance the sweetness of the jam (sugar added). You may need to adjust the sugar depends on individual sweetness in taste.
This beets and figs jam without adding pectin, so I used malt sugar to bind its thickness plus let it boil until the desired thickness. I found that added malt sugar and lime juice used as a preserving agent without adding pectin still can make homemade jam last much longer. 

Usually making homemade jam with last stage of steam the filled jar in boil water bath, is just for keeping this jam to store in longer period of consumption, but if you do not intend to keeping it for very long. Consuming it as fast as possible.
The nutrients and therapeutic healing in figs

Figs is sweet in taste, high in natural sugar of "dextrose".it is highly recommended in Chinese traditional as alternative medicine herbs. 

In cooking or making dishes in soup. Other than this Fig is great dietary foods and taking it as snack, it is rich in high fiber may help in losing weight. It contains of potassium, Vitamin A, D and calcium, Mineral substance and phosphorus, iron, copper, zinc, essential of 17 kind of amino acid content is very rich for human body. And rich in trace mineral helps to control blood pressure. Which aids in digestive system to ease constipation, treating heart-related disease, natural healing for dry cough with phlegm and soothing sore throat inflammation, Also includes of hyperoxide mutase, it improves and activate in immune system cell.

The figs in traditional Chinese medicine

In TCM used the fig leaves for treating diabetes, as it shown great result of anti-diabetic properties to those needed regular insulin injections, using fig leaves to make tea help to maintain insulin level, as well as fig leaves inhibited the growth of certain types of cancer cells.
Figs has iron which enriches and help in blood production that benefits women and to those lacking of blood (anemia). Thus, it improves blood circulation. In Chinese alternative medicine usage, figs have the wonderful healing benefits for decreases and reduce of blood stagnation, they believed blood stagnation causes diseases, irregular menstruation and pain in menstruation, tumors and edema.

Alternative healing by using Figs in cooking

Mix fresh or dried figs into cooked cereal, oatmeal, or cooked with porridge. This recipe is good for the spleen the profit to raise the blood to pass effect of the breast. As in TCM this is one healthy food good for pregnant, post natal maternity and confinement women help to produce more milk. It is natural and excellent laxative for children too. Be careful do not take too much of figs it may cause diarrhea.

Taking fresh figs may also help in healing Hemorrhoids hemorrhage, the fig includes one kind of special enzyme namely ficin, which has stimulation and promoting digestive disorder. which can dissolve toxin in blood, also includes Serotonin, it high sugar content stimulates brain may strengthen the mental ability and the physical strength.

For coughing, sore throat and improve digestive system by taking fresh figs that cooked with rock sugar, cooked it into syrup based to replace a natural cough syrup. 

I like making natural herbs syrup partly due to my asthma and sore throat. With the knowledge and alternative healing methods in making all sorts of herbs syrup like this, it relieves my asthma problems. Therefore, my herbs syrup and "granny ways of healing background" kept me thinking of other uses of it, by "learning through my illness" inexperiments and needs passing on for sharing.

How to make Figs Cough Syrup

Ingredients:

• 12 Fresh figs
• 250g of brown rock sugar.
• 2 cups of water

The preparation is quite simple:

1. Melting rock sugar with 2 cups of hot water. Set aside and let it cool.

2. Wash figs and with the bucket each fruit compressing, mix compressed fresh figs and soaks the fig with melted rock sugar water for overnight.

3. Puts in the pot, after treating the fruit to percolation syrup.

4. Bring to boil to the juice concentration in thickness form like syrup.

5. Let it cool, and keep in sterilized jar and store in refrigerator for several day then edible.

This figs fruit syrup helps in digestion trace for those with a poor appetite, effect on soothing the swollen and painful pharynx and larynx. Mainly treats the weakness of spleen and stomach, the stagnation of flow of vital energy chest to be stuffy and improve circulation.


The beetroot

Beetroot is claims a blood-building herb that detoxify the liver and renews it with minerals and natural sugars. The beets juice contains betalains (pigment of beets) may exhibit anti-cancer activity which also stimulate the function of liver cells, bile ducts and spleen. It supporting role as blood purifier for detoxifies.
Beetroot is high carbohydrates and low in fat. It contains phosphorus, fiber, vitamins A and C, niacin, folic acid, biotin, .sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, and potassium. It has highest folic acid and in curing poor blood circulation, Anemia, constipation, piles and digestive trace system disorders.

I remember when young I got a lot of pimples on my face, irregular menstruation and pale looking complexion. My granny taught me how to cook a bloody red in color soup (beets soup with herbs) with the fresh or dried beetroot (Shu ti) to nourish the blood that cooked with Mugwort (Ai Cao) and brown sugar. Strain the soup and taking it 7 days before menstruation is due and as soon as menstruation period is over. She claimed that can help in detoxifying “blood” and purifying my pimples on face. The funny sweet taste combined with little bitterness works great as blood cleansing soup. Plus having good improvement in blood circulation with a very remarkable result at last.

But be careful do not over consumption big amount of beetroot as it will make your stools and urine turns red. It maybe harmless but make sure it is not mistaken as blood.