Chinese Mugwort (Ai Cao) has been well-recognized in China as a healing herb that is both food and medicine. Fresh mugwort leaves are a delicious food with a unique fragrance. Fresh mugwort leaves can be boiled with eggs or made into a glutinous rice cake as food dishes. Dried mugwort can be stored for the long term and used to treat diseases, as recorded in the herbal medicine of all dynasties for more than 2,000 years.

    Mugwort has the functions of regulating qi and blood, dispelling cold and dampness, warming menstruation, hemostasis, and skin protection. Mugwort is a warming tonic, so eating mugwort leaves can play a role in repelling cold. For example, if you suffer from cold in winter, you can drink some mugwort leaf water to get rid of the cold in the body, which can achieve a therapeutic effect. In addition, mugwort has the effect of warming the meridian and stopping bleeding. Boiled eggs with mugwort leaves is a commonly used home-cooked dish, which has the functions of dispelling cold and stasis, removing dampness and relieving itching, and warming the uterus. It is natural health food for women.

    The substances contained in mugwort have antibacterial, antifungal, antipruritic, skin beautifying, and other effects. You can drink boiled water with either fresh or dried mugwort in order to achieve these benefits. Many people use mugwort to boil water for bathing or fumigation, and some people use it to soak their feet, all of which can have the same effect. A mugwort bath can treat eczema and also relieve itchy skin.

    Boiled mugwort to soak your feet can activate the blood vessels and help to calm the nerves, and improve the quality of sleep. If you put the dried mugwort leaves into a cloth bag or pillow, seal them to make a mugwort bag and a mugwort pillow. Sleeping on a mugwort-filled pillow can calm the nerves and help you fall into sleep.

    Mugwort bags can be put in the closet to repel insects. There is a fragrance in mugwort that mosquitoes dislike, so in summer, mugwort water can be used as a natural protector to the skin to repel mosquitoes and avoid mosquito bites.

    Mugwort can also be made into moxa sticks. Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine moxibustion method, which uses moxa sticks to burn the acupoints of the human body to cure diseases. Moxibustion has health care functions such as warming the meridians, dispelling cold, promoting qi and blood circulation, and strengthening the body.

    Due to the many health benefits of eating and using mugwort, there is a saying in China that "with three years of mugwort in the house, the disease will not come again", and there is also the custom of picking mugwort and hanging it at the door to avoid "evil" during the Dragon Boat Festival.

    Mugwort is an easy-to-grow perennial. It has many health benefits, such as antibacterial, antiviral, hemostasis, increased immunity, antipyretic, sedative, etc., and is truly a gift from nature.