What is the difference between burdock and yam?

Many people are familiar with burdock and yam. Some people even don’t know the difference between the two because they look similar. Essentially, burdock is more used as a traditional Chinese medicine, while yam is used for food. Secondly, the nutritional effects of the two are also different.

1. The difference between the effects of burdock and yam:

Burdock【Nature and flavor and meridians】Bitter, cold. Start with Taiyin meridian. 【Functions and indications】Dispel wind-heat, reduce swelling and toxins. It is used to treat facial swelling caused by wind poison, dizziness, hot and swollen throat, toothache, cough, thirst, carbuncle, scabies.

2. Medicinal Value of Burdock

The fiber in burdock can promote colon motility, help defecation, lower cholesterol in the body, reduce the accumulation of toxins and waste in the body, and achieve the effect of preventing stroke and preventing and treating stomach cancer and uterine cancer. Western medicine believes that in addition to its pharmacological effects such as diuresis, elimination of accumulation, expectoration and antidiarrhea, it is also used as a dietotherapy for constipation, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it has the effects of dispelling wind and heat, clearing the lungs and relieving rashes, detoxifying and relieving sore throat. It can be used for wind-heat colds, coughs with excessive sputum, measles and rubella, and sore throat.

3. Nutritional analysis of Chinese yam

Yam tastes sweet and is neutral in nature. It enters the spleen, lung and kidney meridians. Yam nourishes the spleen and stomach, promotes fluid production and benefits the lungs, nourishes the kidneys and astringes semen. It is used for weak spleen and stomach, decreased appetite, loose stools and diarrhea; cough and wheezing due to lung deficiency, spermatorrhea due to kidney deficiency; leucorrhea due to spleen deficiency in women; chronic cough and dry throat due to lung deficiency; spermatorrhea and frequent urination due to kidney deficiency; and polydipsia. Yam contains substances such as amylase and polyphenol oxidase, which are beneficial to the digestion and absorption function of the spleen and stomach. It is a medicinal and food product that can nourish the spleen and stomach. It can be eaten regardless of spleen yang deficiency or stomach yin deficiency. It is commonly used in clinical practice to treat symptoms such as spleen and stomach weakness, poor appetite, fatigue, and diarrhea;