Precautions Related to Consuming Medicinal Congee

When applying medicinal porridge therapy in clinical practice, attention should also be given to the following considerations:

1. Select porridge according to syndrome differentiation and apply it appropriately.

As a dietary therapy method in traditional Chinese medicine, when using medicinal porridges, one should also “choose porridges based on syndrome differentiation according to the patient’s condition.” For instance, for a patient with stomach pain, if it is stomach cold pain caused by cold exposure, they should consume Zingiberis Rhizoma (dried ginger) porridge or Evodiae Fructus (evodia rutaecarpa) porridge to warm the stomach and disperse cold. If the pain is due to indigestion with fullness and distension, they should have Crataegi Fructus (hawthorn) porridge or Arecae Semen (areca nut) porridge to eliminate food stagnation and guide out retention. For patients with a weak constitution, it is crucial to use medicinal porridges that respectively tonify qi, blood, yin, or yang according to the different types of qi deficiency, blood deficiency, Yin Deficiency, or yang deficiency. One must not simply apply the general principle of “tonifying when there is deficiency.” If a patient with qi deficiency consumes Polygonati Rhizoma (polygonatum) porridge or Asparagi Radix (asparagus cochinchinensis) porridge, which are intended to tonify yin, not only will the desired tonifying effect not be achieved, but it may also cause stagnation, leading to a feeling of fullness in the chest and diaphragm and a decreased appetite after consumption.

2.Attention should be given to the seasonal and regional considerations when applying medicinal porridges.

Since traditional Chinese herbs possess properties of cold, heat, warmth, and coolness, when using them, attention should be paid to consuming cool-natured porridges in summer and warm-natured porridges in winter. For example, during the sweltering summer heat, consuming bamboo leaf porridge (Zhu Ye Zhou) and fresh reed rhizome porridge (Xian Lu Gen Zhou) can clear heat, helps with occasional occasional summer heat, generate body fluids, and quench thirst. In the cold winter months, choosing to eat cistanche and mutton porridge (Rou Cong Rong Yang Rou Zhou) and deer antler glue porridge (Lu Rong Jiao Zhou) can achieve the effects of warming and tonifying the primordial yang and warming the middle-jiao to resist cold. Additionally, dietary habits differ between the north and the south. When adding ingredients to prepare medicinal porridges, appropriate attention should also be paid to the characteristics of “sweet in the south, salty in the north, spicy in the east, and sour in the west.”

3. Preparation and Decoction Methods of Medicinal Porridge

Whether the preparation and decoction methods of medicinal porridge are scientific not only relates to the therapeutic effect but, more importantly, make it easier for patients to consume. Based on the properties and characteristics of different medicinal herbs, the following are several common decoction methods:

(1) Prepare porridge by directly boiling traditional Chinese medicine with rice and grains. Any traditional Chinese medicine that can be used as food can be prepared using this method. For example, longan, mulberry, Chinese yam, coicis seed, and biota seed can all be boiled with rice to make porridge.

(2) First grind traditional Chinese herbs into a fine powder, then cook it with rice or grains to make porridge. Examples include Trichosanthes Kirilowii Maxim Root (Gualougen) Porridge, Tetradium Ruticarpum (Atractylodis) Fruit (Wuzhuyu) Porridge, and Piper Nigrum L. (Pepper) Noodle Porridge.

Cook porridge with the original juice and rice, such as milk porridge, duck porridge, pig’s trotters porridge, and carp porridge to help helps maintain miscarriage.

Decoct the Chinese herbal medicine to obtain a concentrated decoction, remove the dregs, and then cook it with rice or grains to make porridge. This method is the most commonly used. Examples include Buxu Zhengqi Porridge (Buxu Zhengqi Zhou), Shenling Porridge (Shenling Baizhu Zhou), Tusizi Porridge (Cuscutae Semen Porridge), and Fahan Chi Porridge (Ephedrae Herba and Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata Porridge).

4. Selection of Seasonings

Seasonings for medicinal porridge generally include brown sugar, white sugar, rock sugar, honey, ginger, white part of scallion, and salt. When selecting these, it is necessary to cater to the patient’s preferences and, more importantly, take into account the nature of the health condition. The functions of various seasonings are briefly introduced as follows:

Brown sugar: It contains a brown substance called “molasses,” as well as chlorophyll, xanthophyll, carotene, and iron. In traditional Chinese medicine, brown sugar is considered warm in property and has the functions of replenishing qi, warming the middle energizer, aiding digestion, and alleviating pain. Therefore, as a condiment, brown sugar is often used in medicinal porridges to support wellness in cases of deficiency-cold patterns.

White sugar: It is refined from brown sugar through processes such as sugar washing, centrifugation, and separation to eliminate molasses and impurities. In terms of nutritional value, white sugar is inferior to brown sugar; however, white sugar has a cold nature and is more effective than brown sugar in moistening the Lungs and promoting body fluid production.

Rock sugar: It is a crystalline substance shaped like ice cubes, refined from white sugar. It is neutral in nature and has the functions of invigorating the Spleen and replenishing qi, harmonizing the Stomach and moistening the Lungs. Therefore, it can be selected for use in many medicinal porridges, but of course, it should not be consumed in excessive amounts.

Honey: Its nature is neutral, though some consider it “cool when raw and warm when processed.” It functions to tonify the middle-jiao, moisten dryness, helps with occasional pain, and detoxify. It has good therapeutic effects on Lung dryness cough, intestinal dryness constipation, and stomach pain. The primary components of honey are fructose and glucose, with small amounts of sucrose, maltose, dextrin, various vitamins, and multiple trace elements, making it comprehensive and nutritionally rich. For patients with general weakness, honey can be used to flavor medicinal porridges. Based on clinical experience, it should be avoided by those with excessive internal damp-phlegm, abdominal distension and fullness, and diarrhea.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe, common name: Ginger); It has a pungent taste and warm property. It is a commonly used seasoning for dispelling cold, relieving nausea and vomiting, detoxifying, and warming the stomach. For all medicinal porridges used to support cold syndromes, it can be used to improve the taste and also has an auxiliary therapeutic effect. It should not be selected for febrile conditions.

Scallion bulb (Allium fistulosum L.): It is a commonly consumed food item, pungent in taste and warm in nature. It has the effects of inducing perspiration and warming the middle energizer. As a seasoning, it is suitable for use in yang-tonifying medicinal porridges and cold-dispelling medicinal porridges.

Edible salt: Its main component is sodium chloride, and it also contains small amounts of potassium, magnesium, calcium, and other substances. In traditional Chinese medicine, edible salt has a salty taste, and “the salty taste can enter the Kidney channel.” Therefore, for all medicinal porridges used to nourish the Kidney, such as sheep bone porridge, Cistanche and mutton porridge, and Lycium barbarum and sheep Kidney porridge, a small amount of salt can be added for both seasoning and as a “herb to guide the formula to the meridian.” However, patients with nephritis are an exception.

In short, the choice of seasonings not only influences the therapeutic effect but also determines whether patients are willing to consume the medicinal porridge over the long term. Therefore, attention should be paid to this aspect during the cooking process. Additionally, some individuals have the habit of adding edible alkali when cooking porridge, which is inappropriate. Since it can destroy the nutritional components of the food, the use of edible alkali should be strictly avoided when cooking medicinal porridge.

5. Selection of Containers

According to traditional Chinese medicine practices, it is optimal to utilize an earthenware pot for decocting herbal medicines, as this enables the complete extraction of the active ingredients from the herbs and helps maintain adverse chemical reactions that might arise when using an iron pot. Given that medicinal porridge is ultimately prepared by decocting Chinese herbs with grains, it is also recommended to use an earthenware pot. If an earthenware pot is unavailable, an enamel container can serve as an alternative.

6. Matters Concerning Dietary Restrictions

Among the general public, it is widely recognized that one should appropriately “abstain from certain foods” when taking medication for wellness purposes, which is scientifically valid. After a person becomes ill, a series of complex pathological changes occur within the body. Some foods are beneficial for wellness, while others may produce adverse effects when consumed. Therefore, when consuming medicinal porridges, one should also pay appropriate attention to food restrictions. For specific applications, refer to the “Precautions” in each porridge recipe.

7. Matters concerning the progression of support measures

Based on the analysis of the medicinal porridge recipes selected in this book, they can be fundamentally categorized into two types: one is the nourishing and strengthening type; the other is the type that helps maintain and support wellness. For nourishing medicinal porridges, a course of supports generally lasts 5 to 10 days. Regular consumption can yield remarkable benefits. For medicinal porridges used to support wellness, a course of supports generally lasts 3 to 5 days, and they can be discontinued once wellness is achieved.