Should I drink lotus leaf water every day?
In life, many people have the habit of using lotus leaves to make tea, boil water to drink instead of filtered water every day, with the desire to improve health. So is this habit good?
Lotus leaves are one of the traditional Vietnamese medicines with high applicability, widely used in daily life. The majority of people often think that lotus leaves are good, but to truly understand the benefits of lotus leaves for health, not everyone knows.
Using the right herbs for the right disease and the right medicine is the most appropriate treatment regimen, shortening the treatment time.
Therefore, we need to understand clearly the information about lotus leaves to use them at the right time, for the right disease. Use lotus leaves effectively, avoid overusing or using them incorrectly because it can directly affect health.
1. Characteristics of lotus leaves
Lotus leaf or also known as Folium Nelumbinis.
Dried lotus leaves are round, wrinkled, crushed, and 30-60cm in diameter. The upper surface of the leaves is ash green and slightly rough; the lower surface is brown green, smooth and shiny, with intact edges. Lotus leaf veins have about 17-23 veins radiating like spokes of a wheel. The leaves have a fragrant smell.
Properties: Bitter, slightly astringent, neutral. Meridians: Liver, spleen, stomach.
Effects: Clears heat, relieves heat (treats diseases caused by hot weather), removes stasis (breaks up stasis), stops bleeding (stops bleeding).
Treatment for cases of: Heatstroke, summer fever, nausea with diarrhea in summer... treatment of bleeding when combined with some other heat-clearing herbs...
2. Uses of lotus leaves
Lotus leaves are fragrant, cool, and have a refreshing taste; drinking lotus leaf water creates a feeling of relaxation, eliminates "heat accumulation" and eliminates toxins in the body. Lotus leaves are cheap, we can buy them anywhere and anytime.
Therefore, in today's folk life, there is often a habit of using lotus leaves to make water to drink every day, for a long time with the desire to improve health.
However, in oriental medicine, lotus leaves are a medicinal herb used to treat diseases. In other words, lotus leaves have medicinal properties, helping to relieve heat, cool the blood, stop bleeding, clear heat, and laxative...
Lotus leaves are very good for people suffering from heatstroke, summer fever, heatstroke leading to both vomiting and diarrhea... In cases where you do not experience these symptoms but drink lotus leaf water, I am afraid that the medicinal effects of lotus leaves will not only not improve your health, but also cause the body to become unbalanced, forming new diseases.
3. Who should not use lotus leaves?
Lotus leaves are contraindicated for women who are menstruating, pregnant and breastfeeding. Because lotus leaves have the property of removing stasis, making blood circulation "smooth", if people who are menstruating use lotus leaves, the medicinal properties of lotus leaves will cause menorrhagia, heavy and persistent menstruation... leading to blood loss, anemia... making the body tired.
Pregnant and lactating women should not use lotus leaves because it has negative effects on the fetus or the baby's health.
Using lotus leaves for people with cold constitution, fever due to cold, vomiting and diarrhea due to causes other than heatstroke... will not only not improve the condition, but also prolong the illness, possibly making the condition worse.
Furthermore, special attention should be paid to patients with internal medical conditions such as kidney failure, liver failure, etc. Because lotus leaves are medicine, have medicinal properties, and will more or less have an impact on the body. Therefore, caution should be exercised when using them.
In short, using lotus leaves to make tea or boil water to drink instead of filtered water every day needs to be appropriate for the specific health condition.
Lotus leaves in particular, and medicinal leaves in general, all have pharmacological properties, so when using them, it is necessary to use them for the right person, the right disease, and at the right time.
You should consult a traditional medicine practitioner when using any herbs, including lotus leaves, to avoid unwanted side effects caused by lotus leaves.