The following are some of the top herbs that are commonly used especially in tropical countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Taiwan (Southern part).
1. Dried Orange Peel
I always carry dried orange peels around whenever I leave the house for classes, appointments, or meetings.
The reason because dried orange peels (ready-to-eat kind) can help to relieve stomach discomfort especially after eating or drinking foods that are not suitable to your body type. For example, sometimes when I drink latte, I will feel indigestion in my stomach and dried orange peels can really help to relieve the discomfort after a few burps!
You can easily buy those ready to eat dried orange peels in TCM retail shops or online here.
Find out more about the dried orange peel benefits in this detailed post.
2. Green Bean
Green beans are another very useful herb (or grains). Not only they are very affordable but also they come with a property that is much needed by people nowadays.
One of the properties of green beans is that they can help in detox. Nowadays the foods we eat are more or less populated by mankind (antibiotics, growth hormones, plastic etc). Drinking green bean water regularly can help to detox and reduce the toxic materials in our bodies.
You can easily buy organic green beans in supermarkets or TCM retail shops.
Click here to learn how to prepare an effective cup of green bean water.
3. Luo Han Guo (Monk Fruit)
Luo Han Guo or commonly known as Monk Fruit. It is a dried fruit that is effectively used for sore throat.
The best time to drink Monk Fruit water is when you are feeling a sore throat coming up. Once that feeling comes up, you may drink Monk Fruit water once a day for two to three days consecutively and the sore throat will be cured before it happens.
You can buy Monk Fruit herbal tea (comes in a plastic bottle) in some of the TCM retail shops or you can learn to prepare an effective Monk Fruit drink in this post.
4. Chinese Yam
Fresh Chinese yamChinese Yam or known as Shan Yao (山药), is a very potent herb to help strengthen spleen.
Nowadays a lot of people have weak spleen because of the foods we eat (highly processed, icy drinks, raw food etc).
People with weak spleen will experience poorer digestion and need to make more trips to the toilet after eating cold foods. And most importantly, the body couldn’t absorb the nutrients fully of the food we eat.
Read this post to learn what are the types of chinese yam and how to eat them effectively.
5. Chinese Barley
Chinese barley water (you can add some lemon slices to flavor)Chinese barley is a very good grain for people living in tropical countries.
Chinese barley can help to relieve dampness (祛湿) in our bodies. It can also relieve water retention in the body (especially in the lower part of the body) but you will need to drink barley water regularly in order to see the effects.
Read this post to learn how to prepare an effective barley drink.