A lady makes candied ginger, which is believed to lessen inner heat.

Pieces of candied ginger.

Turtle jelly is rumored to reduce acne, though many people are dubious about this.

Ejiao (donkey hide) is meant to be good for dizzy spells. Photos: CFP

Wan Xiaoyang from Wuhan, Hubei Province, broke out in an allergy on her face during the National Day holiday, which had the appearance of acne. Instead of seeking medical help, she adopted a do-it-yourself approach by avoiding spicy food, drinking ginger-soaked water and, more aggressively, eating lots of guilinggao (turtle jelly), a dark-colored Chinese herbal jelly that is believed to relieve heat and toxins and dispel acne. It has been a few days now and Wan is still waiting for the dessert to take effect.

Charlene Huang, 25, who has a desk job at an IT company in Shanghai, eats candied ginger seasonally as it is said to dispel cold because of the warming properties of ginger. Huang enjoys its pungent and sweet flavor, but as for warming her up, that has yet to manifest.

It has been a long tradition to use Chinese medical herbs in cooking or processed food products for the health benefits they are believed to possess. And the herbal snacks, usually packaged, easily portable and more durable, have been gaining more popularity in recent years. But do they really have any effect?

A healthy tradition

"As more people are concerned with healthcare, the snacks with Chinese herbs in them have been gaining popularity among consumers. A lot of young people, who are unclear of their health benefits, are simply following suit," said Li Chun, a Beijing-based nutritionist. "Some even consider the snacks with herbal ingredients as superior to average snacks, therefore more people like to try them out."

Popular herbal snacks on the market include turtle jelly, candied ginger, ejiao (donkey-hide gelatin) honeyed date and popular beverages such as plum syrup and honeysuckle flower tea. Containing widely used herbs in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), they are said to nourish organs, rid the body of toxins, accelerate metabolic function and improve the immune system.

"Chinese diet therapy has been practiced for a long time. Some herbs have been proven to relieve certain symptoms thanks to the different properties they have," said Liu Xianli, a TCM doctor at the Beijing Yuyuantang Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic.

For example turtle jelly, made of a precious turtle spice and other herbal products such as dandelion and honeysuckle flower, can release heat into the body and is beneficial to those who are easily irritated and often feel thirsty, Liu noted.

The ejiao honeyed date, made of gelatin obtained from the skin of the donkey and Chinese date, can help nourish the spleen and stomach and is a good supplement after experiencing symptoms of bleeding and dizziness.

Know your herb

However, the snacks often lack strict instructions for use and are not for everyone. An inappropriate intake can cause side effects, warned both Liu and Li.

"From the perspective of clinical medicine, it is not advisable to mix Chinese medicinal herbs into food products as TCM always prescribes very precise TCM formulas to patients, some of which differ even with patients with the same symptoms," said Liu.

Prescriptions of TCM formulas are based on diagnosis of ailments in the body. One classic herb formula can vary by adding or reducing some herbs depending on the body conditions and the stages the treatment goes through, noted Liu.

For those who are weak and those who are pregnant, an excessive intake of turtle jelly might have a negative effect on their body and won't do them any good, said Li by way of example.

"The effects of different herbs are more complicated than Western medicine and it takes longer to tell their side effects," Li also noted.

Li has not read of side effects that longtime consumers of these snacks have experienced, but people should be aware of the potential problems they might cause in the long term.

When buying such snacks, people should check the instructions on the package to see which category of person the snack is suitable for, said Li.

She also suggested people should seek a balanced diet instead of eating snacks. After all, even if they say they have special health herbs in them, they are still snacks and thus ultimately junk food with little nutritional value.