Cherries: Delicious and Medicinal
Cherries, also known as Ying Tao, Han Tao, Niu Tao, or Niu Ying, are alternatively called Zhu Tao or Mai Ying. Anciently referred to as Xie. A deciduous shrub or tree in the Rosaceae family. Cherries are not only hailed as the "first branch of fresh fruit," but also serve as an effective medicinal herb. According to *The Emergency Thousand Gold Prescriptions*, "Cherries are sweet, neutral, and slightly astringent, regulating the middle energizer and benefiting qi... enhancing complexion." *The Herbal Medicine of Yunnan* records cherries as "treating all deficiencies, greatly replenishing vital energy and moisturizing the skin." Folk remedies using cherry juice, pits, and leaves for healing are numerous. Here are a few examples:
Diarrhea: Use fresh cherry leaves and branches, decoct in water, and drink. This remedy also treats cough.
Albino spots: Take dozens of cherries, place in a glass bottle, extract juice and apply to affected areas.
Measles: Drink one small cup (about 40 g) of cherry juice warm. This helps the measles break through.
Lower back and leg pain: 1000 g fresh cherries soaked in 2000 g 40-degree alcohol for 7 days, drink twice daily, 50 g each time.
Chalazion: Grind cherry pits into a thick paste, apply to the affected area three times daily.
Arthritis: Researchers at Michigan State University found certain substances in cherries are more effective than aspirin. Eating 20 sour cherries daily can suppress pain caused by arthritis and gout.
Hernia pain: 100 g dried cherry pits (stir-fried with vinegar), ground into fine powder, take 10 g each time with warm water.
Burns and scalds: ① Crush several cherries, apply juice to the affected area. ② Place fresh cherries in a jar, seal tightly, bury underground 1 meter deep, after 10 days they turn into cherry water. Store for future use to treat burns and frostbite.
Roundworms and pinworms: 9–19 g of cherry tree roots, decoct in water and drink. By Tang Zhihong