When we read a Chinese medicine book about Chinese medicine, we always say: the taste of Chinese medicine is sweet, or bitter, or spicy ... this "taste" is what I want to say today.

As the saying goes, medicine and food are homologous, just like food, Chinese medicine also has its own "taste", that is, pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Strictly speaking, Chinese medicine also has a light taste, which means tasteless. But traditionally we only call it "five flavors", not "six flavors". In terms of yin and yang attributes, pungent, sweet and light belong to yang, while sour, bitter and salty belong to yin. Different flavors of traditional Chinese medicine have different functions and are suitable for the treatment of different diseases.

Huangdi Neijing holds that "medicine is sour, salty, sweet, bitter and pungent". The production of five flavors is first tried through people's mouths. It is a response to the real taste of drugs, and it is also a high summary of the role of drugs. Chinese medicine accurately summarizes the functions of the five flavors as follows: "pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and firm, salty and soft."

So, specifically, what are the skills of these five flavors?

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇ such as ginger, angelica dahurica, dried tangerine peel, angelica, dodder and so on. A pungent smell enters the lungs. Under the guidance of Chinese medicine theory, eating some spicy food or medicine can nourish the lungs.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇967 Sweet into the spleen, so the sweetness of traditional Chinese medicine not only means that it tastes a little sweet, but more importantly, it has the function of nourishing the spleen and stomach. We usually eat a little more sweet Chinese medicine or food to replenish the spleen.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇967 These are all medicines with sour taste. The astringent drugs such as Os Draconis and Oysters can stop spermatorrhea and stop disability, while Halloysitum rubrum can astringent intestines and stop diarrhea. Acid enters the liver, and we can nourish the liver by eating sour food or medicine.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇ Bitter rhubarb can relieve constipation; Atractylodes lancea is bitter and warm, and can dry dampness and transport spleen. In addition, according to past experience, bitterness also has a strong yin effect. For example, Cortex Phellodendri and Rhizoma Anemarrhenae are used for flaccidity syndrome caused by deficiency of kidney yin and excessive fire, which means purging fire and nourishing yin (strong yin). Bitter into the heart and spleen, eating some bitter drugs or food in summer can nourish the heart. Bitter Chinese medicine has the functions of clearing away heat and toxic materials, diminishing inflammation and purging fire. Judging from the five elements, the heart belongs to fire, and more fire will turn into inflammation.

Inflammation consists of two fires, and more fires become inflammation. If the heart is inflamed to the head, there will be problems such as redness and swelling of the mouth and tongue, sores and even redness and pain. At this time, we can eat some bitter drugs or food at the doctor's suggestion.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇ Glauber's salt can soften hardness, moisten dryness and relieve constipation. Salty into the kidney, that is to say, salty drugs or food are most likely to act on the kidney, and moderate salty taste can nourish the kidney. In addition to the above five flavors, there is also a light taste. It is light in taste, can permeate dampness and promote diuresis, and is often used to treat edema and dysuria. For example, bland Polyporus and Poria cocos are beneficial to water infiltration. Generally speaking, different flavors of drugs have different effects and are also suitable for different diseases.

If you master the different tastes of various drugs, you will know their functions roughly, which is very helpful for treating diseases.

However, it should be pointed out that many traditional Chinese medicines often have more than two flavors and have a wider range of adaptation to diseases. Therefore, you must not "draw a gourd ladle" during use. And the nature and taste of each drug are closely related. Only by combining the two can we fully and correctly understand and use drugs.