Editor's Notes:

[Health Byte] is your insider guide to navigating Shanghai's health maze. From the labyrinth of public and private healthcare options to the pulse of cutting-edge medical services, we've got you covered. Each bite-sized article ends with a health tip, making wellness in the city more accessible than ever. Wondering about hospital features, where to find bilingual medics, or the scoop on insurance coverage? "Health Byte" breaks it down, offering clear, actionable insights.

More young people are getting rid of milk tea and sodas and have turned to drinks with more health benefits. And among these, herbal tea is gaining increasing popularity.

Dr Ma Ying from the pharmacy department of Shanghai Yueyang Hospital said her hospital is also following the new trend and has developed recipes for herbal tea for the four seasons.

"Each recipe is created after detailed discussion and repeated tasting to strictly clarify its composition, efficacy, suitable groups, contraindications, and brewing methods. Herbal tea is different from herbal soup, where there's not much need to bother about the taste. We have spent much efforts to balance the effect with taste and even outlook. Herbal tea is not only for health care but also a path to a healthy and even beautiful lifestyle," Ma remarked.

"We started to develop herbal tea last summer and received an unexpected response, so we continued our efforts to complete the recipes for the four seasons, allowing people to enjoy herbal tea throughout the year."

Spring

Spring is a transitional season between winter and summer, characterized by rising temperatures, increased rainfall, and relatively high humidity. This damp climate can lead to excessive internal dampness in the body. The hospital has developed the "Three Beans Reflecting Sunset Dampness-Relieving Drink" to align with seasonal health practices.

Components: Hyacinth Bean, Red Bean, Roasted Coix Seed, Euryale Seed, Tangerine Peel

Efficacy: Relieves dampness, promotes diuresis, strengthens the spleen, and replenishes qi and blood.

Suitable for: Ideal for individuals experiencing fatigue, sticky stools, eczema, or skin inflammation. It also helps boost immunity and enhance physical constitution.

Summer

Summer is the season of peak yang energy, characterized by heat and dryness. The key to summer health is to counteract heat with coolness and dispel dryness with clarity. Therefore, clearing dryness and eliminating heat is the key to health in summer.

The hospital has developed the "Yueyang Summer Heat-Relieving Formula."

Components: Patchouli, Mint, Cogongrass Root, Dendrobium, Honeysuckle, Tangerine Peel

Efficacy: Relieves summer heat, cools the body, refreshes the mind, clears heat and toxins, promotes fluid production, and nourishes the skin.

Suitable for: Those with poor appetite due to summer heat, internal heat, bad breath, or those looking to boost immunity.

"Plus, as the Dragon Boat Festival is one of China's four major traditional festivals in the season, we have introduced a folk accessory — the 'Yueyang Mosquito-Repellent Sachet'," Ma added.

Components: Angelica Dahurica, Acorus Calamus, Mint, Honeysuckle, Clove, Mugwort, Patchouli

Efficacy: Repels insects, relieves itching, dispels wind and pain, clears nasal passages, refreshes the mind, and enhances mental clarity.

Suitable for: Individuals suffering from headaches, nasal congestion due to allergic rhinitis, or those seeking mental refreshment and fatigue relief.

"We will introduce sachets with more types of fragrance this year and welcome people from home and abroad to have a try," she said.

"For summer, when people wear lighter clothing to showcase their figures, we have developed the 'Yueyang Lightness Formula' tailored for beauty-seekers and those with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar."

Components: Lotus Leaf, Glehnia Root, Scrophularia Root, Salvia Root, Licorice Root, Astragalus Root, Jujube

Efficacy: Reduces body fat, lowers lipid levels, aids weight loss, strengthens the spleen, and dispels dampness.

Suitable for: Particularly effective for managing symptoms of the "three highs." Ideal for office workers and others who are sedentary, overweight, or have excessive dampness in the body.

Autumn

Health preservation in autumn focuses on nourishing yin and preventing dryness. As yang energy gradually recedes and yin energy grows during autumn, the primary task is to nurture the body's yin energy. Medical experts introduced the ethereal "Rose Fairy Abode Formula."

Components: Rose, Tangerine Peel, Poria, Monk Fruit, Dendrobium, Goji Berry

Efficacy: Clears heat, moistens the lungs, nourishes yin, promotes fluid production, quenches thirst, beautifies the skin, and delays aging.

Suitable for: Individuals with emotional instability, excessive phlegm and cough, sore throat, hoarseness, dry mouth, thirst, or those seeking beauty and skincare benefits.

Winter

Winter is characterized by cold weather, which can cause stagnation in the body's qi and blood circulation. The principle of winter health preservation is to conserve yin and store yang, benefiting the heart and spleen. The "Four Ginseng Heart-Moistening Formula" is developed to support winter health.

Components: Codonopsis Root, Glehnia Root, Scrophularia Root, Salvia Root, Licorice Root, Jujube

Efficacy: Replenishes qi, promotes fluid production, calms the mind, improves symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, and enhances overall vitality and mental state.

Indications: Fatigue, low energy, suitable for individuals with high work pressure, frequent late nights, palpitations, and insomnia.

Contraindicated patients: Although the ingredients in these herbal tea formulas are common medicinal herbs, they may not be suitable for everyone. Pregnant or breastfeeding women, as well as individuals with specific medical conditions, should consult a doctor or health expert before consumption to ensure safety and efficacy. Plus, it is important to control the dosage to avoid gastrointestinal discomfort caused by excessive intake.

Brewing and Decoction Methods for Tea Formulas:

"To enhance the quality of the tea formulas, medical staff carefully select refined herbal slices. So there is no need to rinse the slices to remove impurities or dust before brewing or decocting," Ma said.

For brewing, use a lidded large-mouth cup (preferably a large-mouth insulated cup) or place the herbal slices in a health pot for decoction.

If brewing, use 1,000ml of boiling water and steep for 20-30 minutes before drinking.

If decocting in a health pot, use 1,500ml of water and decoct for 30 minutes before drinking.

New Package, New Recipe, New Tea and New Flavor

"We are always updating our herbal teas all the time. The new composition of the Yueyang Lightness Formula and the Rose Fairy Abode Formula are under development for better effect and better taste. We are also developing a herbal tea to help those with hangover. These will be put on the shelf very soon," Ma revealed.

"Moreover, we have started to introduce a new package with more environmentally-friendly materials, which can become transparent after it is soaked in water."

The size of each pack of tea is also reduced from 20 grams to 10 grams for the sake of brewing while the price has been cut, based on feedback from users.

The herbal teas are sold on the hospital's public WeChat account. The price for a one-month dosage (28 packs) is between 50 yuan (US$6.88) and 100 yuan.

Medical Breakthrough in Shanghai

Meanwhile, medical experts from Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital have developed a new tool for early diagnosis of oral cancer while improving the biopsy accuracy for oral cancer and pre-cancerous changes from the current 72 percent to 91 percent.

About 7.9 percent of oral potentially malignant disorders will develop into cancer. Early detection and intervention for these orders are extremely crucial for cancer prevention and control and the main current tool is biopsy guided by conventional oral examination. This method is invasive and depends highly on the doctor's own experience.

Dr Tao Xiaofeng at the hospital led a team to design and evaluate a targeted near-infrared fluorescence imaging (NIRFI) probe for biopsy site. The test is not invasive but shows lesion location by asking patients to rinse their mouth.

In a clinical trial with 50 patients, the NIRFI-assisted biopsy achieved significantly higher diagnostic accuracy compared to traditional biopsy. These findings show the importance of NIRFI in enhancing diagnostic precision, supporting early detection and enabling timely and accurate treatment interventions for patients with oral potentially malignant disorders.

The study was published in the leading journal Cell Reports Medicine.

Health Byte Tips

Fever of unknown origin is an important and alarming symptom for some diseases, which can be very serious such as cancer, and people shouldn't ignore the issue and must visit doctors for diagnosis and treatment in time, according to experts from Huadong Hospital, which specially shot a micro movie to disclose the magic behind fever of unknown origin and showcase the importance of multidisciplinary cooperation to identity the reason for the fever and offer proper treatment.

"There is a high misdiagnosis rate for cases with fever of unknown origin and we want to show the proper process of diagnosis, especially for grassroots facilities and the public," said Dr Shen Lin from the hospital's hematology department and one of the main creators of the short movie.

"We show two typical cases in the movie, as elderly people don't tell their children and fail to visit the hospital in time and young people are blissfully unaware about their fever."

In the movie, the two patients are finally diagnosed with blood cancer, which is in the very early stage and fever with unknown origin is an important indicator of the disease.

"(In the movie) we urge the public to be aware about fever of unknown origin and highlight that each fever is a cry for help from the body," Shen noted.

Upcoming Topics

It is getting hot and many people are starting to worry about the weight gained in winter. We will share with you TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) and Western medicine methods to help regain good shape through a healthy process. Stay tuned!

About the Author

Cai Wenjun is a seasoned health reporter with Shanghai Daily. With extensive experience covering the local medical system, hospitals, health officials and leading medical experts, Cai has reported on major pandemics, including SARS, swine flu and COVID-19, as well as developments in the local health industry.