Can medicine be used during the confinement period be supplemented?
Recently, a news about confinement intake has become a hot search and has caused considerable controversy. The Ningbo Branch of Zhejiang Ciyue Health Management Co., Ltd. was established on January 17, 2017 and is a confinement club. During the inspection, the Municipal Supervision Bureau of Haishu District, Ningbo City found that a can of Chinese medicines such as motherwort , Ophiopogon japonicus, and Codonopsis pilosula were placed in the kitchen of a confinement center. In addition, the party’s package service project has “Qi and Blood Soup”, which is when the party added Codonopsis and Tangerine peel to the chicken soup and took it to the mother.
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Since Codonopsis is currently a drug, the party involved was fined 30,000 yuan for illegally adding drugs in production and operation, violating the relevant regulations of the Food Safety Law.
Many netizens also drank it themselves, and expressed their confusion: "I feel very shocked."
Some people also think that this practice is reasonable from the perspective of laws and regulations and medicine: "From the current documents, Codonopsis is indeed not recommended to mothers of confinement period ", " lactation period should be cautious, and the addition of various medicinal materials should be considered clearly."
So, according to the current regulations, which drugs can be added and which ones cannot be added? What are the considerations for formulating such regulations? Will the future change?
medicines cannot be added to food, but they are not "iron-piece"
The biggest controversy is that traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes "food and medicine are of the same origin", and many foods are also medicines at the same time. Is it illegal to use them in production and business premises?
■Chinese medicinal materials Picture: Hero Creative
Regarding this issue, we can refer to three lists, namely the "Chinese Pharmacopoeia", "Regulations on the Management of Materials Catalog of Traditional Food and Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials", and "Notice on the Pilot Work of the Management of Materials of Codonopsis and 9 Substances, such as Codonopsis, are both food and traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials".
Let’s first look at the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The substances included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia are all pharmaceutical . According to a search by Morning Post reporter, motherwort, Ophiopogon japonicus, Codonopsis pilosula and Tangerine peel used in confinement centers, and garlic, ginger, chili pepper, pepper and wolfberry are among the most commonly used in daily life. According to the provisions of the Food Safety Law, "drugs shall not be added to food produced and operated."
However, it is hard to imagine that ginger, garlic, chili, and pepper cannot be used when cooking in restaurants. Therefore, this regulation is actually patched: "It can be added according to tradition, which is both a food and a Chinese medicinal material." According to the "Regulations on the Management of Contents of Materials that Are Both Food and Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials" formulated by the National Health Commission, the former "Notice on Further Standardizing the Management of Raw Materials for Health Food" issued by the former Ministry of Health in 2002, ginger, pepper, dates, red beans and other substances are on the list.
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From 2002 to the present, has this list been updated? In 2019, the Food Safety Standards and Monitoring and Evaluation Department issued the "Notice on the Pilot Work of the Management of 9 Substances, including Codonopsis, and Psychiatrics, which are both food and Chinese medicinal materials in accordance with tradition." On this list, we can see Codonopsis pilosula, Dendrobium officinale , American ginseng , Astragalus , Cornus , Gastrodia , etc.
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Clean these files, and it can be seen that although the list is updated frequently, the health and regulatory authorities recognize that "medics and food are the same" is a major trend. According to an interpretation article on the website of the Food Safety Standards and Monitoring and Evaluation Department, "In my country's traditional food culture, some Chinese medicinal materials are often widely eaten as food ingredients among the people." Moreover, the newly revised "H Food Safety Law Implementation Regulations " stipulates that according to the traditional catalog of substances that are both food and Chinese medicinal materials, the State Council's health administrative department, together with the food safety supervision and administration department, should update it in a timely manner.
Special groups are not recommended for consumption, and it is recommended to scientifically " confinement "
However, does this mean that it is feasible to add Codonopsis pilosula in chicken soup in confinement centers?
First of all, from the perspective of laws and regulations, Codonopsis can be regarded as a substance that is both a food and a Chinese medicinal material. It is still in the pilot stage, and production and operation sites must be used with caution.Not to mention that there are some toxic substances in Chinese medicinal materials. The Office of the Food Safety Committee of the Kunming Municipal People's Government recently issued a prevention and control warning, reminding that toxic Chinese medicinal materials such as Caowu , Aconite cannot be used as food or ordinary medicinal food. If any unit or individual needs to use chauma or aconite, they should be used correctly under the guidance of a doctor.
Secondly, some Chinese herbal medicines may not have any risks to most people, and their impact on special groups still needs to be studied. According to the interpretation of the "Notice on the Pilot Work of the Management of 9 Substances such as Codonopsis, which are both food and Chinese Medicinal Materials in accordance with the Traditional Chinese Medicine", it is recommended to eat these 9 substances in moderation according to traditional food and medicine. is not recommended for special groups such as pregnant women, breastfeeding women, infants and young children.
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Obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Chen, a tertiary specialist hospital, quoted a report from the Department of Biomedical Research at the University of Bern, saying that whether it is a pregnant woman or a postpartum woman, you should be cautious when taking Chinese herbal medicine. For pregnant women, foods from pure natural plant origin (including Chinese herbal medicines, dietary supplements, etc.) will produce new metabolites through the intestinal metabolism of the pregnant woman, and then enter the fetal circulation through the placenta to affect fetal development; for lactating women, the fat-soluble active substances in Chinese herbal medicines can be dissolved in milk and granted to fetal through breastfeeding.
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Morning Post reporters found that there are some Chinese herbal medicines that the older generation often used during confinement, which doctors do not recommend now. Guangzhou Women and Children Medical Center Deputy Chief Physician Xu Wenjing said in response to the patient's question that it is best not to eat Gastrodia elata during confinement. If you eat it, you should use it under the guidance of a doctor and stop breastfeeding. This is because Gastrodia elata is weakly toxic and does not have much impact on healthy adults, but it is not certain for pregnant women and newborns with weak constitutions.
So, what should you do if you want to take medicine while in confinement? The best way is to see a doctor and prescribe the right medicine. Yin Chuanmin, director of the Nutrition Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, recommend that you eat less spicy and hot foods, such as onions, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, and peppers in the first week after delivery. Overeating can cause heat. Starting from the second week, you can eat some blood-replenishing foods, including red dates and wolfberry.
The popular science article of the First Maternal and Infant Health Hospital tells everyone that for varieties with "medicine and food," confinement can be used to match Chinese medicine and foods with nourishment during confinement, but it varies from person to person, and should be eaten appropriately:
Each mother has different physical constitutions, and there are also some considerations for the choice of food, the way of supplementation and the selection of medicinal materials. It is recommended that you consult the Chinese medicine practitioners for relevant information before confinement, understand their physical classification, and select appropriate dietary therapy and medicinal foods to achieve twice the result with half the effort... While replenishing qi and blood , brown sugar also has the effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis , which will cause increased postpartum lochia and endless dripping. In severe cases, it causes excessive bleeding and hemorrhagic anemia, which can affect uterine recovery and physical health.
Can you take Codonopsis during the confinement period? Rather than saying that you can’t eat it in the future, this case is a warning - Chinese herbal medicine is not 100% safe, and it also requires appropriate amounts and follow medical advice.
Reference:
1. Former Ministry of Health: Notice of the Ministry of Health on Further Standardizing the Management of Raw Materials for Health Food http://www.nhc.gov.cn/wjw/gfxwj/201304/e33435ce0d894051b15490aa3219cdc4.shtml
2. Food Safety Standards and Monitoring and Evaluation Department: Interpretation of the "Regulations on the Management of Materials Catalogs of Both Food and Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials" http://www.nhc.gov.cn/sps/s7892/202111/0e3fe88120104fefa162517ee09c8704.shtml
3. Food Safety Standards and Monitoring and Evaluation Department: Notice on the Pilot Work of the Management of Substances that are both Food and Chinese Medicinal Materials in accordance with the Traditional Chinese Medicine http://www.nhc.gov.cn/sps/s7885/202001/1ec2cca04146450d9b14acc2499d854f.shtmlhtml
4. Food Safety Standards and Monitoring and Evaluation Department : Interpretation of the "Notice on the Pilot Work of the Management of Substances of Codonopsis and 9 Substances, including Codonopsis, is both food and Chinese Medicinal Materials" http://www.nhc.gov.cn/sps/s7886/202001/cd36fe79f7cb4313a99d9ef0772b37bf.shtml
5. Food Safety Standards and Monitoring and Evaluation Department: Interpretation of the "Regulations on the Management of Substances of Substances that are both food and Chinese Medicinal Materials" http://www.nhc.gov.cn/sps/s7892/202111/0e3fe88120104fefa162517ee09c8704.shtmlhtml
