Onions, ginger, and garlic cure all diseases: English

Author: Chief Editor: Wang Fuchun et al
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-01-01
Features: Excerpt: Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION
1. Development
Green onion, ginger, and garlic have pungent odors and warm natures and are capable of expelling cold and improving the appetite. In daily life, they are indispensable flavorings for cooking delicious food. At the same time, they are valuable herbs with an important role in the prevention and treatment of diseases, used for thousands of years. As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D. 25-220), green onion had been used by physicians as a common herb to treat many conditions. As mentioned in the Shen Nong's Materia Medica, the earliest extant medical treatise, the white stalk of green onion is indicated for febrile infectious diseases with chills, fever, sweating, and edema of the face and eyes. The adoption of this herb for medical use began in very ancient times because it was a plant easy to grow and widely distributed in China. As a herb, it has been mentioned in many medical and herbal books since Shen Nong's Materia Medica was written. In the Informal Records of Famous Physicians, written centuries ago, we read that it can be used to treat headaches due to febrile infectious diseases. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Li Shizhen, the great medical scholar, widely expanded the clinical application of green onion by incorporating the experiences of medical specialists in previous dynasties and accumulating his own knowledge after clinical practice and observation. In the Yuan and Ming dynasties (1271-1644), the white stalk of green onion was used for many medical, surgical, gynecological, and pediatric diseases. By the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the functions of different parts of the green onion had been clearly distinguished. As stated in the New Compilation of Materia Medica, written by Wu Yiluo, the green onion is used to promote sweating and the circulation of qi (vital energy). It is also used to remove stagnation in blood vessels and restore yang, especially in patients with a flushed face, vomiting, and retention of urine and stool. He also pointed out the differences between the white stalk and green leaf: "The white stalk has a pungent odor and a warm nature; the green leaf also has a pungent taste, but a cold nature." Therefore, they are used to treat different diseases. After the extensive application of green onion in clinical practice over a long period of time, physicians found it to be incompatible with honey in the same prescription, but a mixture of these two herbs is an effective preparation for infection of the gums.