Honey Milk, Bitter Medicine

by A. Liu


Honey milk. Only now as a working adult have I heard of the supposed wonders of a cup of warm milk with honey at bedtime. Insomnia? Indigestion? Cough? No problem. A cup of warm milk with honey at bedtime will cure all, my patients tell me.

This initially baffled me. Growing up in a Chinese family, I have always associated healing remedies with bitterness. After all, we have a saying “ku kou liang yao,” which quite literally means “good medicine is bitter to the taste.” Even now, years later, I still remember being subjected to bitter concoctions whenever I had a cough. “It’s good for you. Ku kou liang yao,” I was always told. I endured it. Maybe it helped. Maybe it didn’t.

But now as a medical professional, I know that it likely did help. The Chinese view of medicine is different from the American view of medicine and even the bitterest of American medicine cannot compare to the simple Chinese brew for cough and cold. But it is not only a difference in taste; it is a difference in ideology. Chinese medicines focus on healing the cause; American medicines focus on healing the symptom. Despite their differences, though, they can work together, as they did in me.

I was not one of those children blessed with a strong constitution at birth. My lungs were weak, resulting in frequent bouts of coughing, wheezing, and general lethargy. My American pediatrician diagnosed me with asthma, provided me with the standard slew of inhalers for asthmatics, and sent me on my way. Back then, rescue inhalers possibly saved my life more than once. But thinking that those were not a permanent solution, my mother introduced me to Chinese herbs. They were, to say the least, the least favorite part of my daily life. I can’t say what was in those bitter concoctions, only that they did eventually work. My use of inhalers decreased precipitously and soon, I was playing dodgeball and kickball with no problems. Nowadays, I still carry my inhaler with me and faithfully renew it every year, but other than during seasons of cold and flu, I thankfully haven’t had problems with my lungs since grade school.

I have been fortunate to experience the best of both worlds. True, American medicines and Chinese medicines work differently. The effects of Chinese medicines might not be seen for weeks to months, whereas American medicines can work in minutes to days. American medicines can be honeyed milk, sweet and soothing; Chinese medicines are frequently bitter to the point of nausea. But despite the differences, they can work together, meld together in a person. Am I American? Or am I Chinese? Honey milk? Or bitter medicine? Does it matter? I’ll take them both.

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