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TCM Treasures-Lychee

By Zhang Qian | August 4, 2013, Sunday | Print Edition

Simplified Chinese: 鑽旀灊 Pinyin: lì zh墨
Sweet and juicy lychee is favored by many as a tasty fruit, but it is also a multifunctional medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine. The flesh, peel and core of lychee can all improve health.

Lychee grows in the southern part of China and matures in May and June. When the fruit leaves the tree, its color changes in one day, its shell changes in two days, its taste in three days, and in four or five days, it’s gone. Thus it’s called li zhi, which means “leaving the branch.”

The lychee’s flesh is a “warm” herb in TCM that helps nourish blood, promote body fluid, benefit the spleen and halt bleeding. It is used for health problems like a weak digestive system, bad appetite, poor memory, sleepless and weakness from insufficient energy and blood.

The core of lychee helps dispel pathogenic cold, regulate energy, remove energy stagnation and relieve pain. It is used for hernia pain, menstrual pain, stomachache and postpartum abdominal pain.

Considering the “warm” character of lychee, it is advisable not to eat too much of it, which may risk pathogenic heat-related problems like ulcers and acne. The maximum portion for adults is 300g everyday, while children and the old should eat less.

Drinking some herbal teas made from lychee’s shell, however, can help with reducing the risk of causing pathogenic heat-related problems.

Prescriptions & Usage:

Lychee and jujubes soup
Boil to extract flavor from 30g dried lychee and 30g jujubes. Eat once a day.
Benefits: Helps nourish blood and relieve anemia, uterine bleeding and heart throbs.

Lychee wine
Cook five lychee fruits with 50ml white wine for 10 minutes. Divide it into three portions and eat all within a day.
Benefits: Improves the digestive system, and relieves stomachache and repeated hiccups related with pathogenic cold inside.
Lychee congee
Cook congee with 10g dried coreless lychee and 100g rice. Add sugar to sweeten.
Eat once a day.
Benefits: Helps relieve frequent diarrhea.

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