Medication shows that ginger, as a traditional Chinese medicine, is generally divided into ginger and dried ginger. Ginger and dried ginger are very particular in traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. Some prescriptions can only use dried ginger, while others can only use ginger, and the two cannot be mixed. So what's the difference between ginger and dried ginger? Many people are familiar with ginger, and now it is either ginger or fresh ginger harvested after one year of planting. But dried ginger is rare in the market. This kind of Jiang Ye is called mother ginger, and it is usually a kind of ginger that has sprouted twice and grown for three years. From the growth characteristics of ginger and dried ginger, we can know that the taste of ginger is relatively direct and spicy, while dried ginger has been buried underground for three years and has a strong smell. This characteristic leads to the different applications of two kinds of ginger in traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. Ginger: Strong divergence. When someone feels cold, old people always say, just drink some ginger juice. Use ginger when cooking ginger juice. Because the growth period of ginger is only one year, its spicy taste is relatively complete, so it has a strong repellent effect and can dredge the stagnation of turbid yin in meridians. So it is very effective to drink ginger and brown sugar water when you feel cold, especially when you are top-heavy, stuffy nose and weak limbs. In addition, there is a representative prescription with ginger as the monarch medicine, namely Wuzhuyu Decoction. This prescription is used to treat chronic gastritis, pregnancy vomiting, nervous vomiting, nervous headache and other diseases related to phlegm. All these diseases have a common feature, that is, the meridians are blocked by "water vapor". Traditional Chinese medicine believes that many diseases of modern people are related to "dampness", that is, moisture, especially in the south, and the body is wet in nine cases out of ten. Therefore, at this time, most Chinese medicine practitioners will add ginger to the prescription to dissipate moisture. Dried ginger: keeping warm is the most important thing. If ginger is compared to fire, then dried ginger is charcoal without an open flame, which can be heated slowly and will not lose water so violently. For example, there is a prescription "Sini Decoction", which is used for first aid and treatment of critical diseases. This recipe uses licorice, dried ginger and aconite. Why use dried ginger instead of ginger? Chinese medicine explained that the qi and blood dredging system of critically ill patients is very weak. If ginger with strong divergent effect is used, it can help the efficacy of licorice and aconite to reach the focus quickly, but the patient may aggravate the condition because he can't stand such a violent impact. Therefore, the substitution of dried ginger, which is good at warming, can make the drug effect evaporate slowly and effectively in the body, and the conflict between good and evil will not be too intense. Ginger governs the stomach and dried ginger governs the spleen. There is a saying in China that "ginger governs the stomach and dried ginger governs the spleen". However, Chinese medicine believes that it cannot be interpreted literally, and that ginger is used for stomach diseases and dried ginger is used for spleen diseases. This is actually one-sided. According to the theory of viscera in traditional Chinese medicine, the stomach belongs to the viscera, and the spleen belongs to the viscera. In the meridians, they are both exterior and interior, and the viscera belongs to exterior and interior. Ginger is more divergent and has a more thorough effect on the surface, so it is more effective in treating fu-organ diseases, and it is more inclined to treat stomach diseases with both spleen and stomach. However, the nature of dried ginger is warm, and the medicinal properties gradually penetrate into the "interior", that is, dirty disease, so it has a great influence on the spleen. However, in fact, both kinds of ginger can warm the middle and dispel the cold. "Warm middle" means warm middle jiao, and the spleen and stomach belong to middle jiao. Many spleen and stomach diseases will consider using ginger, but different ginger is used according to different situations. It is best to eat dried ginger in summer. Many people know that "eat radish in winter and ginger in summer". Due to the humidity in summer, many people will be disturbed by the humidity, and have symptoms such as drowsiness, insomnia, depression and laziness. At this time, you can eat some ginger to adjust, and it is best to choose mild dried ginger. Some people eat nourishing supplements to improve their immunity, such as Guyuan ointment, longan and Radix Rehmanniae Preparata. At this time, it is best to eat a little dried ginger to warm up. Just like the transpiration of trees, if you don't give enough sunshine, the water won't melt after drinking, and the whole body fluid won't open, so you need dried ginger to warm from the middle coke. Office workers who are often sleepy in summer can buy some dried ginger slices and brew them with black tea. Drinking this kind of ginger tea often can refresh your stomach and is also good for regulating sub-health status. (Wang Lu)