In traditional Chinese medicine, red dates are one of the most common food-medicine ingredients. Sweet and warm in nature, their primary functions include tonifying the middle energizer, boosting qi, nourishing blood, and calming the spirit. Clinically, they are mainly used to treat spleen-stomach qi deficiency, blood deficiency with pallor, and blood deficiency with insomnia and frequent dreams. For example, regularly drinking red date water can improve pale complexion and cold hands/feet in women with anemia caused by excessive menstrual bleeding.
Practical Red Date Contraindications:
However, as a medicinal ingredient, red dates have contraindications. For instance, during menstruation, some women may experience eye or foot swelling—a manifestation of dampness accumulation. Such individuals should avoid consuming red dates. This is because red dates' sweetness can promote phlegm and dampness production, leading to fluid retention and exacerbating edema.
Additionally, women with a dry-heat constitution who take red dates for tonification should avoid them during menstruation, as this may cause excessive menstrual bleeding and harm health. Furthermore, due to their high sugar content—especially in snack-processed forms—red dates are unsuitable for diabetics to avoid elevated blood sugar.
Excessive consumption of raw red dates can cause diarrhea and damage the spleen. Therefore, individuals suffering from colds or fevers due to external wind-heat invasion, as well as those experiencing abdominal distension and qi stagnation, should avoid eating raw red dates.
Generally, boiling red dates is a wise choice, as it preserves their medicinal properties while avoiding the diarrhea associated with raw consumption.
Besides red dates, nourishing qi and blood can also be achieved by drinking Lily and Jujube Seed Soup.
Method: Take 20g each of lily bulbs and sour jujube seeds,15g each of poria and longan, 10g each of goji berries and wheat. Lightly toast the jujube seeds, soak the poria and lily bulbs beforehand, then simmer all ingredients together. Drink the decoction half an hour before bedtime. For convenience, opt for bagged teas with similar formulations.