Codonopsis pilosula / Dang Shen / Tong Sum / poor man’s Ginseng is no stranger to most Chinese since this herb is a common ingredient in everyday recipes of soups and steamed dishes. In China it is better known as Dang Shen, a major tonic for nourishing the vitality.

Dang Shen’s health benefits are similar to that of Ginseng. It is sold at a more affordable price, thus it is also known as the ‘poor man’s Ginseng’.  Dang Shen is commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to correct ‘Qi’ deficiency and improve blood circulation to revitalise the body.

Dang Shen also possesses other health benefits such as:

• Stimulates appetite
• Improves blood circulation
• Stimulates the central nervous system and increases endurance
• Boosts immunity by increasing white blood cells, activating macrophages and other key components of the immune system
• Treatment of chronic upper respiratory tract infection
• Reduces fatigue and increases white blood count in patients who are undergoing chemotherapy

However, if Dang Shen is used excessively, it may interfere with blood clotting and is best to be avoided prior to surgery.

This is the Dang Shen + red dates + blue dates tonic that the mil prepared in a crockpot for me today to nourish me back to health after a laproscopic myomectomy surgery that I underwent just 2 days ago: