Alcohol and Health (Chinese)

[kfson]

Do the Chinese use alcoholic drinks for health purpose?

One DOM told me to drink wine with some pills he gave me.
Years later another DOM told me never to do that. He also said the Chinese are some of the heaviest drinkers in the world. By the time they are 50, they have developed joint problems as a result.

[uki]

moderation is the key...

[kfson]

moderation is the key...

Do the Chinese see any benefit drinking alcohol besides the Western take?

[Lee Chiang Po]

In moderation it is a good stimulant. In excess it will destroy your mind and body over time. Not to mention it will also destroy all who are close to you. It is the enathema of all races.

[David Jamieson]

In moderation it is a good stimulant. In excess it will destroy your mind and body over time. Not to mention it will also destroy all who are close to you. It is the enathema of all races.

while being drunk might be stimulating, alcohol is technically a depressant.

Anyone who gets carried away with over consumption of anything will pay the price for that.

the more trips you take around the sun, the more likely you are to see the fallout of injuries you caused yourself but were unable to feel in your youth due to youthful vigour.

[Lucas]

alcohol is also so closely related to social and public goings on in many cultures, which imo scews that line of drinking for health and then drinking a more than can be considered healthy. most cultures also have some sort of 'healthy habit' regarding drinking, but the people that drink for those reasons are few and far between i would imagine. its one of those substances that has an addictive quality all on its own, pretty easy for people to get out of moderation.

myself, i have an addictive personality so i tend to stay far away from the evil fire water, many in my family are alcoholics.

most of us have read how a glass of wine is good for you on a regular basis.

[Skip J.]

alcohol is also so closely related to social and public goings on in many cultures, which imo scews that line of drinking for health and then drinking a more than can be considered healthy. most cultures also have some sort of 'healthy habit' regarding drinking, but the people that drink for those reasons are few and far between i would imagine. its one of those substances that has an addictive quality all on its own, pretty easy for people to get out of moderation.

myself, i have an addictive personality so i tend to stay far away from the evil fire water, many in my family are alcoholics.

most of us have read how a glass of wine is good for you on a regular basis.

That would be me.... I take one or maybe two drinks a week now, but not two together at the same time... And some weeks none at all.

In my younger days I did overstress my liver a bit .... can't turn back the clock tho... It took me a long time for the need to go away... say decades....

[dirtyrat]

I knew a taijiquan instructor and practitioner of TCM who had a bottle of some kind of wine with a number of herbs and (?)berries of some kind. He would take a shot every night. He seems to think it was healthy.

[Lucas]

skip:

that doesnt suprise me, you strike me as a very sensible person.

dirtyrat:

my old sifu always had a bottle of some wine in his office, that stuff full of herbs and with a cobra in it. not sure if thats a viet thing or more of a widespread kind of wine. supposedly this particular wine helped recoup after work out, and re energize you.

[dirtyrat]

dirtyrat:

my old sifu always had a bottle of some wine in his office, that stuff full of herbs and with a cobra in it. not sure if thats a viet thing or more of a widespread kind of wine. supposedly this particular wine helped recoup after work out, and re energize you.

I must admit, I did enjoy our post workout chats.... ;)

[Lucas]

haha i bet!

[Skip J.]

skip:

that doesnt suprise me, you strike me as a very sensible person.



Well, I'll try to live up to that....

[GeneChing]

He needs to add cordyceps (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56597).

Chinese medicine meets western beer (http://www.mercurynews.com/food-wine/ci_14477434)

Though not strictly a spring seasonal, a new beer by Marin Brewing in Larkspur bears mentioning, especially if you're a fan of herbal medicine. Brewmaster Arne Johnson worked with herbalist Dr. Yen-Wei Choong, who runs the Yellow Emperor Natural Healing Center and Zen Garden in San Anselmo, to create a new beer using his ESB as the base beer.

For 20 years, Dr., Choong has been working on perfecting a combination of Chinese herbs to improve beer and make it more balanced, at least from the perspective of Chinese medicine. So Johnson added 38 pounds of Dr. Choong's proprietary blend of herbs to the beer, creating E.S.Chi. Given all the herbs, the nose is surprisingly subtle with herbal aromas, almost gruit-like. (Gruit, as you may recall, is an old-school herb blend whose use pre-dates hops in beer, but is still made today by a very few brewers, including Moonlight Brewing in Santa Rosa.) The Chinese herbs are there but never overpowering the beer, and in fact the two integrate together quite well. It made for smooth and easy drinking, almost like a session beer, though the beer is 5.5 percent a.b.v.

There are three more reasons a trip to Marin Brewing might be a good idea this month, as their recent Spring releases include three Belgian-style beers: Witty Monk, witbier made with Trappist yeast and grains of paradise, Dirty Blonde, a Belgian-style pale ale and Tripel Dipsea.
I'll have a witty monk and a dirty blonde please.

[Dale Dugas]

The best herbs to add to a good rice vodka are:

Ren Shen
Hai ma
Da Tzao
Er Jiao
Huang Qi
Nu Zhen Zi
Fu Pen Zi
Ge Jie
Gou Zi


Great tonic herbs.

Only to be taken in winter and cold weather as its too warming.

[kfson]

The best herbs to add to a good rice vodka are:

Ren Shen
Hai ma
Da Tzao
Er Jiao
Huang Qi
Nu Zhen Zi
Fu Pen Zi
Ge Jie
Gou Zi


Great tonic herbs.

Only to be taken in winter and cold weather as its too warming.

Why is this so?

[Dale Dugas]

Most of the herbs that I listed are very warming.

Most people think you can take anything anytime and its okay.

That is not true at all.

Herbs have temperatures.

Hence you use cooling herbs when you are wanting to cool the internal heat that someone has or you want to warm them them if they are cold from lack of yang Qi. Or as usual, a very complex mixture of signs and symptoms

You can hurt people or yourself by self medicating the wrong way.

Ginseng as taught to us in graduate school is never used by anyone under 30. And most teachers said that another herb was used in place of ginseng. Dang Shen is used much more to supplement people than ginseng itself in China.

If you are under 30 and are wanting to supplement your energy you would use Huang Qi.

Too many people in the USA, think that if one pill is good then three is better. That ignorance can hurt you. and it has hurt people in this nation when it comes to using certain OTC products.

You would not want to be ingesting this form of tonic formula in the summer as it would increase the internal energy and make you not feel very good. too much internal heat would occur, you would get dry mouth, and feel too hot from the inside out. In summer you want to release internal heat, hence most cultures would eat spicy food to open the pores and sweat out the heat.

[GeneChing]

...why don't you tell us about how you violate single malts? :p

[Dale Dugas]

So I brought this nice single malt with a very nice piece of Chang Bai Ginseng that a friend of mine sent me. So I added it and let it sit for a while and brought it to the Zhang San Feng Festival.

I like ginseng in my scotch. At least Gene tried it, and reported that it was the foulest swill he had ever tasted. I think there were some swear words attached as well, but you can just imagine how our fearless leader responded....

My teacher likes to put coke in single malt.

To each his own.

Can you infer from this and all the mention on the forum here and there that Gene does not like adulterated single malts?

[GeneChing]

I've drank plenty of swill more foul. Remember, I've drank more than my share of Chinese liquors.

Messing with a nice single malt so.
It was an abomination against your kilt wearing roots.
I will never let you live that down, bro. Never. ;)

[Dale Dugas]

Brother,

Being that Im French Canadian/Canadian Indian on my Dads side and English, Irish, Scottish and Dutch on my mothers side; mixing it up is not all that bad....

[GeneChing]

...you'll be donning a cheongsam with your kilt. :eek:

;)

[Dale Dugas]

LMAO

I think that would offend the fashion gods a little too much and they would strike me dead.....

[uki]

alcohol adds power.

[GeneChing]

If they haven't done you already, I think you're safe. ;)

[GeneChing]

I've always wondered why North America wasn't more into tonics.


Chinese medicine, alcohol an exotic mix (http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Chinese+medicine+alcohol+exotic/2706722/story.html)
By Joanne Sasvari, Special To The SunMarch 20, 2010

There's nothing like a spring tonic to get you energized. And it's all the better when that tonic comes in the form of a ****tail based on ancient Chinese herbal medicine.

That's just what bar manger Danielle Tatarin is shaking up at the stylish ****tail lounge and Asian tapas bar at the new chic-boutique Keefer Hotel in Chinatown, which opened just before the Olympics started.

"Chinatown has elements of rawness, realism and history all wrapped into one," says Tatarin. "I think the Keefer Bar squeezes in quite nicely."

The neighbourhood's traditions were also an inspiration when it came to creating her drinks list. In her past gigs -- most recently at DB Bistro Moderne -- the talented Tatarin has developed an expertise in classic ****tails and played with trends like molecular mixology. But the Keefer gave her an opportunity to try something completely fresh.

"Incorporating Chinese medicine into ****tails is pretty out there and some people are, like, really?" Tatarin says. "But to me it was a no-brainer. I found that the herbs used in Chinese medicine are often incorporated into teas and tinctures and that made it easy for me to work with in my ****tail formulas."

While it may seem unusual to mix health and alcohol, in fact, that's exactly how the original ****tails came about.

"I love the history of ****tails and when [owner Cam Watt] approached me to run the bar, he mentioned apothecary. I got so excited -- the first person I thought of was Antoine Amedee Peychaud," Tatarin says, referring to the 19th-century New Orleans apothecary who famously mixed his curative bitters with cognac to create the iconic ****tail called the Sazerac.

Now her back bar is lined not just with premium spirits, but with jars filled with spiky, spiny things steeping to become syrups, teas, tinctures (based on a single herbal ingredient) or bitters (made of a mix of ingredients).

They include the yun zhi mushroom, magnolia bark, wolfberry, ginger and a dried root called astragalus, which the Chinese use in teas and tinctures to boost the immune system and vitality. Tatarin has transformed the tea into a simple syrup.

"The flavour of the tea syrup is very earthy and the drink we blend it into, Tiger's Tail, is a combination of bitter, earthy, tart, sweet and spicy," she says.

It might be just the cure for what ails you as the city recovers from the 17-day party that was the Olympics. After all, a little healthy tonic can't hurt.

[David Jamieson]

So I brought this nice single malt with a very nice piece of Chang Bai Ginseng that a friend of mine sent me. So I added it and let it sit for a while and brought it to the Zhang San Feng Festival.

I like ginseng in my scotch. At least Gene tried it, and reported that it was the foulest swill he had ever tasted. I think there were some swear words attached as well, but you can just imagine how our fearless leader responded....

My teacher likes to put coke in single malt.

To each his own.

Can you infer from this and all the mention on the forum here and there that Gene does not like adulterated single malts?

You put ginseng in Scotch?

In a single malt no less?

You're not gonna get invited to any more Burns nights if you tell anyone else that!

feckin blasphemy!

No Oban for you!!!!

[Dale Dugas]

I like what I like.

good scotch and better ginseng.

Not drinking anymore, so its a moot point.

[GeneChing]

This one is slightly off topic for our hBusted TCM practitioners (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?55120-Busted-TCM-practitioners) because it's a western doc being busted for slamming a Chinese health liquor (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?56335-Alcohol-and-Health-(Chinese)) tonic.

Anyone familiar with Hongmao wine?


Doctor arrested for describing Chinese medicinal tonic that was banned for false advertising as ‘poison’ (http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2141944/doctor-arrested-describing-chinese-medicinal-tonic-was-banned)
Medic placed under investigation after company that has been repeatedly censured for misleading claims complained to police
PUBLISHED : Monday, 16 April, 2018, 5:55pm
UPDATED : Monday, 16 April, 2018, 6:30pm
Louise Moon

https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/04/16/9abe34b4-4129-11e8-ab09-36e8e67fb996_1280x720_182828.jpeg

A Chinese doctor is under investigation for describing as “poison” a “medicinal liquor” that has repeatedly been banned over false claims about its health benefits.

On Sunday police in Inner Mongolia confirmed they had detained Tan Qindong after receiving a complaint from the Hongmao Wine company, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The police statement said the company had complained about a blog post that “maliciously discredited” the wine, which can be bought in some areas.

In February, the company’s advertisements were banned in the neighbouring province of Shaanxi as part of a crackdown by the Bureau of Press, Publication, Broadcasting and Television on food fraud and false advertising, the report added.

In 2016, the company was ordered by authorities in Korla, Xinjiang, to suspend sales of the product for exaggerating its benefits, according to an article on Sina.com.

Three years earlier it was included on a blacklist of companies found guilty of false advertising issued by the food and drug administration in Zhejiang province.

And in 2010, regulators in Hainan ruled that the company had misrepresented comments by experts and customers to exaggerate the benefits of its product.

Tan, 39, was detained in January, but police only confirmed his arrest on Sunday.

Police from Liangcheng county in Inner Mongolia began investigating the case on January 2, before detaining Tan eight days later.

Beijing Youth Daily said the detention was because his comments had “damaged the reputation of the business”.

Accountants hired by police to assess the company’s losses concluded that the defamation resulted in a direct loss of just under 1.3 million yuan (US$207,000) – a figure Tan’s lawyers contested, saying that more evidence was needed.

On March 12 Tan submitted a petition to the Liangcheng county police stating his post was published to advise elderly people against believing Hongmao’s advertising.

He accepted that his use of the word “poison” could be inappropriate, but insisted his post was factually correct.

His case had been passed to China’s state organ for legal supervision for review, the report said.

Tan’s article was published in December and said the liquor, which is popular with the elderly, contained 67 different Chinese herbal medicines, many of which were toxic.

The doctor also highlighted a list of illnesses the wine claimed it could cure, including coronary heart disease and hardening of the arteries, and questioned the evidence behind the claims.

China’s top court and prosecutor announced in 2013 that creators of online rumours viewed by more than 5,000 people or reposted more than 500 times would be charged with defamation.

Many people have questioned Tan’s arrest including his wife, Liu Wei, who told the newspaper his blog post had received just over 2,000 hits.

She was quoted as saying that she was surprised a post with that number of readers could result in detention.

Hongmao wine is listed under the State Food and Drug Administration as a Chinese medicine. The company, which traces its origins back to 1739, could not be reached for comment.