"Shuowen" of the Eastern Han Dynasty said: "Osmanthus, a tree in the south of the Yangtze River, is the best of all medicines." The "osmanthus" here is cinnamon, which is mainly distributed in the south of the Yangtze River, and now it is mainly produced in the Xijiang River Basin of Guangdong and Guangxi.
The ancients listed the fine cinnamon as a tribute and a tonic for the emperor.
The first prescription of Zhang Zhongjing's "Treatise on Febrile Diseases" "Guizhi Decoction" is the first in the group, and its king medicine is Guizhi. Not only that, Guizhi also appeared in Zhang Zhongjing's prescriptions many times.
"Shen Nong's Materia Medica" says that cinnamon "controls all kinds of diseases, nourishes the spirit, and improves the color".
Ge Hong's "Baopuzi" records: "Zhao Tuozi served laurel for twenty years, traveled five hundred miles a day, and lifted a thousand catties."
Zhao Tuozi refers to Zhao Tuo, the king of Nanyue in the Han Dynasty. He was originally a general of Qin and later ruled in Lingnan. He died of illness at the age of 103 when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty died.
Traditional Chinese medicine classics and myths and legends reflect the medicinal and health value of cinnamon. Overall, the ancients believed that cinnamon was beneficial for the body and anti-aging.
In ancient times, the bark and branches of cinnamon were used as medicine. The medicines are called cinnamon and cassia twigs. Whether it is the bark or the branches is still being researched.
The current Chinese Pharmacopoeia has listed the two separately: the bark is used as cinnamon, and the twigs are used as cinnamon.
Both cinnamon and cassia twig have the effect of warming yang and dispelling cold.
The difference is that cinnamon (bark) has a strong spicy fragrance and is even warmer. It can nourish the kidney and yang when it settles down, and is a commonly used medicine for warming the inside; Anemofrigid and cold, it is a commonly used medicine for relieving symptoms.
Use cinnamon skillfully to treat deficiency and cold
Cinnamon and cassia twigs are both warm. People who are usually afraid of cold, cold hands and feet, cold pain in the waist and knees, rheumatoid arthritis, and cold pain in the lower abdomen of women during menstruation can use it to make soup or tea on weekdays to recuperate discomfort.
According to the different characteristics of cinnamon and cassia twig, they should be differentiated in application.
Cinnamon Lamb Soup
Preparation method: 5 grams of cinnamon, 300 grams of mutton, appropriate amount of ginger and salt. Wash the mutton and cut into large pieces, blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes, remove and wash. Put the ingredients into a casserole, add an appropriate amount of water, boil on high heat and turn to low heat for 2 hours.
Efficacy: Warming the middle and invigorating the stomach, warming the waist and knees, it can be used to treat abdominal cold pain and flatulence.
Cinnamon Ginger Black Tea
Preparation method: 3 grams of black tea or 1 tea bag of black tea, 3 slices of ginger, 1 gram of cinnamon powder, pour in hot water and stew, instead of tea.
Efficacy: Improve symptoms such as cold hands and feet, abdominal pain, cold stomach, etc. It can also warm cold phlegm, warm meridians and open channels.
Guizhi Tea
Preparation method: 3 grams each of osmanthus twigs, peony, licorice, and ginger, 3 jujubes, and 5 grams of green tea. Boil cassia twigs, peony, jujube, and ginger in 250 ml of water until the water boils, then take the hot soup to brew licorice and green tea, as a substitute for tea.
Efficacy: It is suitable for drinking at the beginning of a cold or when rheumatic joints are not feeling well.
What needs to be reminded is that it is not suitable for those who have dry throat, sore throat, red eyes and sore eyes; various acute diseases, bleeding, dry stool, hemorrhoids, pregnant women and menorrhagia. take.
The older the cinnamon bark, the more fragrant it is, and the tenderer the cinnamon sticks, the better
The value of cinnamon lies in its "oldness", and people even "rank seniority" for it based on the age of the tree.
For example, a tree that is five or six years old is called Guangui, and because the bark is thin, it is often in the shape of a roll, also known as Guitong, which is the most common specification on the market.
For more than 10 years, it is often pressed into half rolls during processing, which is called Qibiangui.
The older and thicker ones will be pressed into a plate shape, called Guiban.
The older the cinnamon tree, the thicker the "skin" that is peeled off, and the better the medicinal effect. When purchasing cinnamon, "thick skin, more meat, and oil marks are better when scratched."
Guizhi is the opposite, "it is better to be tender, hard and brittle".