curing pills

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Pill Curing.  Culing Pills.  Kang Ning Wan.  Po Chai Pills.  Bao Ji Pian.  All names for another little miracle remedy – for stomach troubles (acute gastrointestinal disorders): indigestion, abdominal pain, bloating, belching, reflux, nausea, vomiting, even diarrhea – from overeating, excessive drinking and/or food poisoning! That’s a lot of good work! (AND, they are GREAT for HANGOVERS!) It is one remedy to take with wherever you go.

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The Curing Pill formula originated a century ago in Southern China where the weather is hot and humid, especially during the summer, where people drink cooling herbal teas to combat the heat and aid digestion. There are several stories as to how this remedy came to be. One tells of a plague in China during which the people suffered from vomiting and diarrhea. A formula to cure the plague came to a doctor in his dreams and then became the famous Curing Pill or Po Chai (‘Protecting the People’) formula. Another story says that a Buddhist monk prepared an herbal digestive cooling tea and offered it freely to anyone, and to one certain Mr. Li (Li Shiu Ke) who turned the formula into a teapill preparation. When Mr. Li and his family left mainland China during the Civil War, they took the formula to Hong Kong and established a new company. The manufacturing company they left behind was nationalized. Now there are two manufacturers. On the mainland, the formula is called Kang (healthy) Ning (tranquility) Wan (pills) - Healthy Tranquility Pills, better known as Curing Pills. In Hong Kong, the formula is known as Po Chai Pills. 

In 'TCM speak', the 16 herbs that constitute the Curing Pill formula work to relieve ‘exterior’ symptoms (chill, fever, headache), remove ‘dampness’ (nausea, queasiness, phlegm), reduce ‘food stagnation’ and ‘harmonize’ the stomach. These functions direct your digestive system to overcome all the above-mentioned conditions. Because several of the herbs also have the properties of ‘calming the Liver’ and ‘dispersing the Wind’ (meaning they work together to relieve headache and dizziness as well as stomach discomforts), this formula is an excellent choice to prevent and remedy motion sickness. Take it along on your next road trip – or cruise!