DANDELION: DETOX WITH THIS YELLOW CHARMER

Dandelions are known as Pu Gong Ying (蒲公英) in Chinese and are used frequently in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The name comes from the French “dent-de-lioun,” which translates into “tooth of the lion” due to its sharp looking leaves. In Chinese medicine herbs are used to heal, this includes flowers, bark, roots, and seeds. Dandelions are known to aid the liver, kidneys, and gallbladder in particular.

Dandelion is considered a cold, bitter and slightly sweet herb. Its milky juice clears heat, helps to detoxify the blood, reduces swelling and helps the early stages of a cold. Dandelion can help the liver and gallbladder by increasing bile production and helping in cases of jaundice. Often dandelion is combined with licorice, milk thistle, and fennel.

Here are some other key benefits of this flower:

• • It is a diuretic and aids the kidneys, urinary disorders, and may prevent kidney stones
  • Lowers blood pressure (as a diuretic)
  • Weight loss (as a diuretic)
  • Helps digestion, promotes appetite, increases bile, is a mild laxative
  • Stimulates the production of insulin by the pancreas for diabetes
  • Has iron, vitamins, and protein to help anemia

Dandelion can be eaten, drank as a tea or as a supplement. Be careful of picking dandelion on your own and ingesting it, the area it grows in may be sprayed with harmful chemicals.

It is not recommended to start taking dandelion without consulting a healthcare professional. Dandelion is considered safe but may cause digestive upset if taken in large quantities. It is also not recommended to combine dandelion with other herbs without consulting an herbal specialist. In TCM, the practitioner will record a patients history and make a careful diagnosis before prescribing an herbal formula designed specifically for your constitution.

Smile next time you walk by a field of dandelions; these little beauties are lovely to our bodies.