🌿 Folk Prescriptions

During summer, as dry heat waves sweep in, people sweat heavily, easily triggering symptoms like dizziness, headaches, insomnia, palpitations, poor appetite, and fatigue—requiring timely rehydration. Professor Zheng Shaowei, a nationally renowned TCM physician and chief physician at the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, believes that although today’s market offers many drinks, sugary sodas like cola are unsuitable for middle-aged and elderly people, and many green tea beverages contain oxidized tea components. Instead, China’s long-standing tea culture allows personalized tea therapy based on individual constitution using 3–4 herbs, significantly enhancing health improvement and disease prevention. Based on common clinical symptoms, he categorizes people into four constitutional types and prescribes four herbal teas for regular consumption.
1. Yin Deficiency with Fire Excess Type: Recommended to nourish Yin and clear heat
Professor Zheng explains that individuals with this constitution show red tongue with little coating, dry mouth and nose, hot palms and soles, irritability, dizziness, palpitations, and insomnia—symptoms worsen in dry, hot, rainless summers.
Recommended herbal tea: Ophiopogon tuber 15g, gardenia 10g, American ginseng 10g.
Additions: For sore throat due to fire, omit gardenia, add shegan and Isatis root; for yellow urine and difficulty urinating, add white rush root and bamboo leaf; for dizziness, add chrysanthemum; for oral ulcers, add lotus seed heart and honeysuckle; for poor sleep, add bitter tea. Professor Zheng specifically notes that bitter tea clears heart fire, calms the spirit, and lowers lipids, counteracting caffeine’s stimulating effect. Generally, people with poor sleep should avoid tea; if they love tea, adding bitter tea is acceptable.
2. Liver Yang Rising Type: Recommended to pacify liver and subdue Yang
These individuals often experience dizziness, tinnitus, irritability, elevated blood pressure, flushed face, insomnia, vivid dreams, bitter taste, and dry mouth—symptoms worsen in prolonged high temperatures.
Recommended herbal tea: Chrysanthemum 10g, Gastrodia 3g, Uncaria 10g.
Additions: For blurred vision or constipation, add cassia seed; for high cholesterol or obesity, remove chrysanthemum, add hoelen and hawthorn; for red eyes, add sophora flower. Professor Zheng notes that while many people habitually add goji berries to tea, those with Yin deficiency and fire excess can use them in spring, autumn, and winter, but not in summer.
3. Phlegm-Dampness with Heat Accumulation Type: Recommended to resolve phlegm and drain dampness
Individuals with this constitution show thick, greasy tongue coating, dizziness, chest tightness, poor appetite—symptoms worsen in hot, rainy, continuous weather.
Recommended herbal tea: Artemisia capillaris 10g, trachelospermum 12g, magnolia bark 10g.
Additions: For severe dizziness, add calamus; for nausea, remove artemisia, add agastache and patchouli; for recurrent urinary tract infections, remove magnolia bark, add plantain seed and bamboo leaf; for constipation, increase rhubarb. If damp-heat persists chronically, add coix seed and hoelen. Professor Zheng says these phlegm-dampness herbs generally lower blood viscosity and improve microcirculation. Prepare by adding 1500ml water to a clay pot, simmer briefly, strain, discard residue, pour juice into cup, add rock sugar, and consume in portions.
4. Qi Deficiency with Blood Stagnation Type: Recommended to tonify Qi and resolve stagnation
These individuals show shortness of breath, weakness, poor appetite, and signs like large, tooth-marked tongue and pale dark tongue. Excessive sweating leading to fluid loss exacerbates symptoms.
Recommended herbal tea: Angelica 15g, Astragalus 15g, Ophiopogon tuber 15g.
Additions: For heavy dizziness, add ge gen—this herb selectively improves microcirculation in heart and brain, safe for long-term use. For chest pain and purple tongue, add red peony root—also clears heat and detoxifies.
Professor Zheng emphasized that historically, tea and medicine were inseparable. The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing records: “Shen Nong tasted a hundred herbs, encountering seventy-two poisons, and found tea could neutralize them.” Early tea-drinking methods involved boiling tea leaves in a cauldron, similar to modern decoction practices. By the Song Dynasty, with the popularity of tea appreciation among literati, the method evolved into directly placing tea leaves in a bowl and pouring boiling water—our current steeping method. Thus, these herbal teas can be steeped with boiling water, lightly boiled, or ground into coarse powder, placed in a filter bag, and soaked in a cup. Adjust sweetness with a little rock sugar as desired. If unsure of one’s constitution, best consult an experienced TCM physician for pulse diagnosis and a customized tea therapy plan to achieve effectiveness.