Medicinal wines have remained a favourite drink for many Vietnamese mendespite serious warnings of potential risks from doctors and herbalists.
"Drinking these wines are in theory like taking medicine, so peoplereally should seek out expert advice in order to avoid unexpectedconsequences," said Tran Van Quang, a herbalist of Vietnam OrientalMedicine Association.
However few heed this kind of warnings.
Most of 30 men randomly surveyed by Vietnam News said they knew aboutthe advantages of medicinal wines by word of mouth and had tried them.
"I drink different kinds of medicinal wines,especially snake wine, to help improve my health," said Nguyen VanVuong, 48, of Hanoi.
"I don't think there's any harm drinking medicinal wines unless you drink too much," Vuong said.
But herbalist Quang disagrees.
He said medicinal wines could cause problems if taken in excessiveamounts. He cited the case of one of his patients who became ill afterdrinking deer antler wine which is widely believed to promote goodhealth.
A 50 year-old man from Hanoi's Tay Hodistrict experienced high blood pressure, had an acute reaction whichled to his skin constantly peeling off and died shortly after.
According to Quang, the patient had regularly drank antler wine. Themedicine would work only when it suited to the patient's illness andwhen taken in the prescribed amount, he said.
Whenit comes to medicinal wines, the two main ingredients are wine and"medicines", which can include herbs or insects, reptiles, and mammalsthat had been soaked in wine. Therefore, the effectiveness and qualityof the wines also depended on the quality of ingredients and the liquor,said Bach Mai Hospital's Vietnam Poison Control Centre deputy directorNguyen Kim Son.
He warned against substandard orfake wines which were made with methanol. In some localities, wineproducers even added urea fertiliser, he added.
"Methanol poisoning can cause serious consequences such as blindness,liver failure, kidney failure or even death because it consists of asolvent to make paint, glass cleaner and photocopier ink," said Son.
"Ignoring the basic issue whether medicinal wines are good for thehealth or not, we should certainly be concerned about the vague originsand improper production process that are employed as they could provepoisonous," Son said.
Snake, gecko, tryonychidturtle are popular ingredients in medicinal wines but Quang said mostreptiles and insects contained toxins that could harm human health.
For example, gecko wine is dangerous for people who suffer from kidney failure, colds or asthma.
Mashed bee wine was definitely dangerous because the bees contain toxic substances.
Doctor Son suggested people should not drink more than 15-30ml of these wines a day.
Oriental medicinal wines have long been believed to help promote bloodcirculation, with the alcohol helping the body absorb the medicinalcontent. Some recipes are believed to help prolong human life or improvemen's sexual stamina./.
"Drinking these wines are in theory like taking medicine, so peoplereally should seek out expert advice in order to avoid unexpectedconsequences," said Tran Van Quang, a herbalist of Vietnam OrientalMedicine Association.
However few heed this kind of warnings.
Most of 30 men randomly surveyed by Vietnam News said they knew aboutthe advantages of medicinal wines by word of mouth and had tried them.
"I drink different kinds of medicinal wines,especially snake wine, to help improve my health," said Nguyen VanVuong, 48, of Hanoi.
"I don't think there's any harm drinking medicinal wines unless you drink too much," Vuong said.
But herbalist Quang disagrees.
He said medicinal wines could cause problems if taken in excessiveamounts. He cited the case of one of his patients who became ill afterdrinking deer antler wine which is widely believed to promote goodhealth.
A 50 year-old man from Hanoi's Tay Hodistrict experienced high blood pressure, had an acute reaction whichled to his skin constantly peeling off and died shortly after.
According to Quang, the patient had regularly drank antler wine. Themedicine would work only when it suited to the patient's illness andwhen taken in the prescribed amount, he said.
Whenit comes to medicinal wines, the two main ingredients are wine and"medicines", which can include herbs or insects, reptiles, and mammalsthat had been soaked in wine. Therefore, the effectiveness and qualityof the wines also depended on the quality of ingredients and the liquor,said Bach Mai Hospital's Vietnam Poison Control Centre deputy directorNguyen Kim Son.
He warned against substandard orfake wines which were made with methanol. In some localities, wineproducers even added urea fertiliser, he added.
"Methanol poisoning can cause serious consequences such as blindness,liver failure, kidney failure or even death because it consists of asolvent to make paint, glass cleaner and photocopier ink," said Son.
"Ignoring the basic issue whether medicinal wines are good for thehealth or not, we should certainly be concerned about the vague originsand improper production process that are employed as they could provepoisonous," Son said.
Snake, gecko, tryonychidturtle are popular ingredients in medicinal wines but Quang said mostreptiles and insects contained toxins that could harm human health.
For example, gecko wine is dangerous for people who suffer from kidney failure, colds or asthma.
Mashed bee wine was definitely dangerous because the bees contain toxic substances.
Doctor Son suggested people should not drink more than 15-30ml of these wines a day.
Oriental medicinal wines have long been believed to help promote bloodcirculation, with the alcohol helping the body absorb the medicinalcontent. Some recipes are believed to help prolong human life or improvemen's sexual stamina./.
