Chinese Medicine

Shou wu, also known as He shou wu or Fo ti, is considered as one of the four most revered herbs for immortality in ancient China. Nowadays, He shou wu is also one of favorite herbs in China, which is commonly used in Chinese medicine therapies for aging, alopecia, graying hair and hair loss etc.

He shou wu in Ben Cao Gang Mu

According to Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), He shou wu was acclaimed as “genuine immortal herb” and “lucky herb” by Li Shizhen.

“He shou wu is a tonic herb of balanced nature, which works to nourish blood and benefit liver, tonify kidney to control nocturnal emission, strengthen bones and muscles, and blacken hair and beard. Clinically, He shou wu can do much more than Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix) and Tian Men Dong (Tuber Asparagi Cochinchinensis). “

The legend about He shou wu

Actually He shou wu was originally a man’s name. It was said that He shou wu lived in Nanhe, Shun State (now Lu Chuan West, Guangxi) in Tang dynasty. His grandfather’s name was He Tian-er, who did not marry a woman until 58 year old due to ill-health. One night, he got drunk half way back home and slept in the wild, seeing two wild vines having sexual intercourse. He felt strange and decided to dig up the vine and root, and then brought them back home. After drying them by sun, he ground them into powder. To his surprise, he gradually grew stronger and stronger enough to marry a woman after taking this powder accompanied with wine for a period of time. Subsequently he renamed himself as He Nengsi, which means he was capable of fertility, after he got marry and had a son. His son named He Yanxiu also took the powder and both of them lived to 160 years old. His grandson named He shou wu inherited this recipe and his beard and hair were still black even when he was 130 years old. Li An, one of He shou wu’s friends, was very curious about the long lives of his family, and managed to steal some of the wild vines. Sure enough soon he also became physically stronger. Later Li An passed this recipe to his villagers too. As they had no idea what name was this vine, they called it as He shou wu.

Difference between raw shou wu and prepared shou wu

He shou wu can be divided into red shou wu and white shou wu, of which the tube of red shou wu is used for medicine.

And He shou wu also can be divided into raw shou wu and prepared shou wu. Raw shou wu refers to sliced He shou wu, which is used directly for medicine. While prepared shou wu refers to those used for medicine after steaming with black bean juice and drying.

The functions between raw shou wu and prepared shou wu are different.

• Raw shou wu works for detoxification, eliminating carbuncle, relaxing bowel, which is commonly used in treatments of scrofulaceum, sore, rubella itching and constipation etc.
• Prepared shou wu works to benefit liver and kidney, invigorate essence and blood, blacken beard and hair, and strengthen bones and muscles, which is commonly used in treatments of blood deficiency, dizziness, tinnitus, graying hair, hair loss, limb numbness, uterine bleeding, plenty of vaginal discharge, and physically weakness due to long-term malaria.

How to consume He shou wu

Modern pharmacological studies have shown that He shou wu can work as anti-aging, antibacterial and laxative, while enhance immune function, and reduce blood fat.

The most popular way of consuming He shou wu is to cook He shou wu with egg, which is a very simple and effective fitness diet. The steps are as follows:

• First wash 100 grams of prepared shou wu and cut them into long strips;
• Put He shou wu in a pot and soak He shou wu in appropriate water for 15 minutes;
• Add two eggs and appropriate onion, ginger, salt, cooking wine and so on;
• Boil the soup with strong fire first, and then continue with slow fire after it is boiling;
• Pick the eggs after it is done and peel them;
• Put the peeled eggs into pot and cook them for another 2 to 3 minute;
• Consume the shou wu soup and eat the eggs.

He shou wu soup is recommended to consume once a day, which is ideal for those of deficiency but having hard time absorbing the valuable ingredients.

In addition, for graying hair, hair loss and some other diseases, He shou wu is a relatively simple and reliable recipe too.

For hair loss, the steps are as follows:

• Prepare 100 grams of prepared He shou wu;
• Crumble them into small pieces and place them into a vacuum bottle;
• Soak He shou wu for a half day and begin to serve till the water turn brown-red;
• Keep adding water till the color turn light, then replace the new He shou wu;
• During serving period, rub the scalp where suffering from hair loss with ginger tablets for several times a day.

For graying hair, the steps are as follows:

• Prepare 30 grams of prepared He shou wu, 30 grams of Shu Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix preparata) and 15 grams of Dang Gui (Angelicae sinensis Radix);
• Soak them in 1000 ml of grain alcohol for 10 ~ 15 days;
• Consume about 15 ~ 30 ml per day.
• Continue drinking for a period of time.

Side effects of He shou wu

It should be noted that He shou wu should not boil with any utensils made of iron.

After consumption of He shou wu for some time, it is reported that some individual patients would have following symptoms:

• Shortness of breath;
• Palpitation
• Dull pain in upper abdomen;
• Itchy rash;
• Drug fever;
• Acute liver injury and other symptoms.

Shou wu is a rejuvenating herb, which is used very often to restore vitality clinically. So I think it is worth a try if you some problem with your hair. Actually He shou wu has been used for many years in China.