A walk in the apricot forest: the ancient recipe "Three Beans Drink" relieves heat and dampness

This year 2023 is the year of Guimao. There is insufficient fire energy in the five elements, and excessive metal and water suppress fire. Therefore, the summer is cooler, there is too much rain, and the humidity is heavy. It is like entering the plum rain season in advance, which can easily cause poor transportation of the spleen and stomach, resulting in gastrointestinal diarrhea. Such lesions are more common than in previous years. Here I would like to introduce to you an ancient dietary prescription that strengthens the spleen, removes dampness, clears away heat and detoxifies, relieves summer heat without damaging righteousness, and can also remove acne - Three Bean Drink.

The origin of "Three Beans Drink"

"Three Bean Drink" is a famous prescription created by Bian Que, the pre-Qin miraculous doctor in China more than 2,000 years ago. It is mainly composed of three types of beans: mung beans, black beans and red beans. It is said that Bian Que used it to treat acne and edema in pregnant women. Therefore, This therapeutic recipe is actually a grain soup, which not only dilutes water and removes dampness, but also has significant heat-clearing and detoxifying effects, and anyone can take it with confidence.

This recipe was actually derived from Bian Que's discussion of the treatment method of "Wugu Decoction" based on the Huangdi Neijing. The "Nei Jing" mentions that ancient doctors often boiled soups made from grains to treat people's illnesses. It also mentioned that among grains, rice has the best effect and the most complete Qi of heaven and earth. It can be seen that thousands of years ago, people's concept of medicine was different from today's. Cereals were commonly used medicines. However, rice is mild and easy to obtain, the most earthy, very nourishing to the stomach, and can nourish the five internal organs. In the ancient times mentioned by Huangdi, grains were not only food, but also commonly used medicines.

So why is there such a thing as five grains? This is the embodiment and application of Five Elements Medicine. You can use any kind of grains in the "rice, wheat, beans, beams and millet" to make decoctions, but doctors during the Bian Que period often used five colors and the five internal organs, because grains of different colors must enter different internal organs. Green enters the liver, so mung beans can clear liver fire; black enters the kidney, so black beans can nourish the kidneys and diuresis, nourish yin and reduce fire. It is used for polydipsia, dizziness and red eyes caused by yin deficiency and internal heat, as well as physical weakness, excessive sweating, low back pain, edema, and drug and food poisoning. Symptoms can also lead to black hair. Therefore, it is also very suitable for modern people who stay up late and have strong anger, dry and itchy eyes, early gray hair due to kidney deficiency, and prone to hair loss and baldness. The red color penetrates the heart, so red beans nourish blood and nourish the heart, and at the same time have a strong effect of removing dampness and diluting water.

Therefore, according to the needs of different organs, you can know how to make a prescription by using the color of grains. Among grains, the most obvious color is beans. Therefore, Bian Que used red, black and mung beans to reconcile the heart, kidney and liver. The combination of three bean drinks has distinct colors and is very intuitive. The pharmacology can be understood at a glance.

People with spleen and stomach deficiency should use mung beans with caution

Beans almost all have the effect of removing dampness, diluting water and detoxifying, but their cooling properties are different, so the one that needs special attention here is mung beans. Black beans and red beans are both neutral in nature, neither cold nor hot. However, mung beans are cold in nature. In addition to entering the liver to clear liver fire, they also enter the heart, stomach and lungs. Therefore, they can also clear heart, lung and stomach fire. It is indeed a typical summer heat-relieving and detoxifying medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine is often used to treat summer heat, polydipsia, sores, acne and other symptoms. However, those with spleen and stomach deficiency should not eat too much, and it is not recommended to eat it alone. It may easily cause excessive coldness in the abdomen, abdominal pain and diarrhea, making the spleen and stomach's ability to remove dampness even lower. .

People with spleen and stomach deficiency can try to use half of the mung beans in proportion, such as 100 grams of adzuki beans, 100 grams of black beans, and 50 grams of mung beans. In addition, add 30 grams of licorice and an appropriate amount of water (if there is no licorice, it doesn’t matter if you don’t use it), and make it into porridge. Can. Or dry-fry mung beans until slightly yellow and then boil them to remove the coldness. Of course, you can also reduce it to 25 grams and adjust it according to your physical constitution. In addition, adding a few slices of ginger, sweet potatoes and a handful of rice is also a way to neutralize coldness, strengthen the spleen and stomach, and harmonize the five internal organs.

Under normal circumstances, adzuki beans, red beans, and mung beans are boiled together in the same portion of 100-150 grams until soft. When eating, add white sugar or brown sugar for seasoning, which is very appetizing. Of course, cooking it with a handful of rice is more nourishing for the stomach. Regardless of whether the spleen and stomach are weak or cold, rice can replenish essence and qi, and can quickly restore physical strength. It is the most peaceful and nourishing medicine.

Good medicine to remove acne

Bean and pox have the same pronunciation and shape. Chinese words and medicine have been believed to be passed down by gods since ancient times. Therefore, for all acne-like diseases, the word bean in the word has already indicated that beans can treat acne and are the best medicine. Therefore, three beans Drinking it can also be used to nourish skin and treat acne.