22 JUNE 2018

First of all. A disclaimer. I am NOT a medical professional, so don’t take this blog post as medical advice. This is just what my experience of taking ba zhen, a Chinese herbal soup that’s been touted to do many great things.

I’ve been more and more aware of what hormonal fluctuations can do to a female, and it’s really fascinating. Did you know these hormonal fluctuations can cause bloating, gut issues, back pain, joint pain?

Early 2017, I started to track everything: from the food I ate and the symptoms I have. 

After a few months, I noticed something interesting. My gut issues seem to be at its worst two weeks before my period (around ovulation time). I also noticed that my moods become really dark during that crucial week before my period. I’m talking about “I hate my life” or “I effing hate everyone and everything” moods. And when my period hits, it’s like someone flicks the off switch and the world is sunny and bright again. It’s like, WEIRD, man. I wondered – could my digestion problems be linked to PMS? 

When I told my friend about my theory, she told me that she had similar symptoms until she took the Chinese herbal soup “ba zhen”. I was incredibly skeptical though. Despite being Chinese and all, I was a modern medicine kinda girl and herbal remedies seem to belong in hipster, frou frou territory.

 But apparently Chinese mums have given their daughters traditional herbal remedies to fix this for generations. I thought, well, no harm trying, really.

So, I headed to a Chinese medicine shop, bought a packet for about RM8. I was told to boil the concoction until only a small bowl of liquid remained. Also, I was to take this a few days after my period ended.

I did so. And the drink was awful. It was coal black; I pretended it was coffee. It was anything but that.

So, I waited. I braced myself for the inevitable discomfort two weeks after my period ended.

And you know what happened?

My PMS symptoms decreased dramatically the first cycle after I took it. The second cycle, that ever-persistent gas, joint pain, extreme fatigue a week or two before my period was almost gone.

One month, I neglected taking ba zhen on time, taking it during ovulation time. My PMS symptoms were bad that month. Not as terrible as the time before ba zhen, but definitely not as good as when I was on time drinking it.

So I’m putting this post out there so that it can help someone else. Ba Zhen alleviated a lot of my gut issues. I can now eat anything I want (sigh, which is not great for my weight haha). It has made me a true believer in Chinese medicine. Our ancestors do know what they were doing. But of course, with everything, consult your doctor first.

Subscribers to the mailing list will notice that they’re receiving this post “twice”. Apologies for that! I’m not sure what happened with Squarespace – although it was scheduled to be published on this day, it was released on the day I saved it to Squarespace. And yet Squarespace says it’s scheduled. Weird as. This post is slightly different than the one you received. Apologies again!