Chrysanthemum tea is a very common herbal drink that almost every family will know and drink for ‘cooling’ purposes. But do you know what are the exact effects of the different types of chrysanthemum?
Read the following to find out!
The thermal nature of the chrysanthemum is slightly cold. This means it is very suitable for someone who is heaty right now.
In general, chrysanthemum benefits the lungs and liver Meridien and hence, it is used to clear the heat in the lungs and liver.
From the TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) perspective, liver affects the eye health. Thus, poor eye health may reflect that the liver’s health needs to be improved too.
The general properties of the chrysanthemum are that it can expel heat in the liver, prevent and relieve eye issues, and detox.
There are a few kinds of chrysanthemums in the market so which type should you choose? I have listed the main difference below so you can choose what is more suitable for you.
Yellow Chrysanthemum
This is the most common type of chrysanthemum you can see in most TCM retail stores.
Yellow chrysanthemum is mainly used to expel heat in the body. Use this type of chrysanthemum if the person is having heat-type flu (fever, blocked nose, yellow phlegm, dry mouth, and sore throat).
White Chrysanthemum
White chrysanthemum is used for clearing liver-yang condition (肝阳上亢). It is best used for people who have pain around the eye area, are hot-tempered, and have high blood pressure.
Wild Chrysanthemum
Wild chrysanthemum is not so common but almost all TCM retail shops should have these if you ask around.
The main property of wild chrysanthemum is detox.
One of the liver’s functions is to detox and wild chrysanthemum excels in helping the liver in detoxing.
Wild chrysanthemum is used when a person has heat-poison (热毒). It is not easy to tell if a person has heat poison, hence, it is better to seek a TCM physician for this case.
Fetal Chrysanthemum
Fetal chrysanthemum is mainly used to relieve eye problems such as dry eyes, blurry vision etc.
In recent years, you might have noticed that there is a lot of fetal chrysanthemum being sold in the market. I believe this is because more and more people in this era are having eye issues before reaching elderly age.
If you have some eye issues and often feel heaty, then you can make some fetal chrysanthemum tea drink at home.
Who Should Not Drink Chrysanthemum Tea
As chrysanthemum is cold in thermal nature, it is not suitable for people with weak spleen. If after drinking chrysanthemum tea, you experience stomachache or discomfort, this means you should avoid drinking chrysanthemum tea.
Sidenote: Most commercial chrysanthemum drinks or chrysanthemum tea that got served in cafes and restaurants are prepared with minimal dosage, so most people should feel ok after drinking those.
Tip For Consuming Chrysanthemum Tea
One tip for consuming chrysanthemum tea is that the person should drink the tea while it is warm (especially if that person is having heat-type flu).
Drinking cold chrysanthemum tea for someone who is having heat-type flu may worsen the symptoms. In all cases, avoid drinking cold beverages when you are feeling unwell.
The dosage recommendation per person is 10g.
How To Prepare An Effective Chrysanthemum Drink
Chrysanthemum is not meant to be cooked for long period. In fact, all flower-type herbs should not be cooked for a long period because their medicinal effects will be greatly reduced.
The simplest way is to add some chrysanthemum into a teapot (and keep refilling the water once it is finished) and you can just drink the tea to replace your daily water intake.
Avoid drinking chrysanthemum tea every day as it may hurt your spleen if you do not have any heaty symptoms.
I hope this post about chrysanthemum will help some of you in choosing the right type and deciding when to drink it!