Pan Jinyao reminds us that Chinese herbal soups can be used for disease prevention, intelligence enhancement, and body strengthening. Their main benefits include preventing diseases, assisting in the treatment of certain ailments, and being commonly used for recuperation after illness or for managing chronic conditions. Their effects are targeted, so it is best to choose individualized soup ingredients after a TCM expert has assessed your body constitution through the "four diagnostic methods": observation, listening/smelling, inquiring, and pulse-taking.
So how do you choose suitable herbs for your soup? First, select based on syndrome differentiation. This involves analyzing and identifying symptoms of cold, heat, dryness, and dampness, and understanding the properties of Chinese herbs—such as their cold, hot, warm, or cool nature. Based on this, you can then select the appropriate herbs that address your specific condition. When choosing herbs, it's best to select authentic, widely recognized varieties, such as Chinese yam (Huai Shan), Euryale ferox seeds (Qian Shi), Glehnia root (Sha Shen), Solomon's seal rhizome (Yu Zhu), Astragalus root (Huang Qi), goji berries (Gou Qi), Chinese yam (Shan Yao), or lily bulb (Bai He).
Based on syndrome differentiation, determine the formula of herbs for your soup. For example, for those with Qi deficiency, ginseng and chicken can be used; for Blood deficiency, Angelica sinensis (Dang Gui) and lamb can be used; and for both Qi and Blood deficiency, Angelica sinensis and sea cucumber can be used. Chinese yam and Euryale ferox seeds are both sweet and neutral in nature, with the effect of strengthening the spleen, benefiting the kidneys, and removing dampness. When making soup, a small amount of dried tangerine peel (Chen Pi) can be added to promote Qi circulation. The recommended dosage is 15-30 grams, suitable for those with slightly weak digestion and soft or loose stools. Glehnia root and Solomon's seal rhizome are sweet, neutral, and slightly cool, with the effect of nourishing Yin, moistening the lungs, and soothing the stomach. They are suitable for those with a Yin-deficient constitution and dry stools. Furthermore, different herbs should be chosen according to your body's condition. If you have excessive internal heat, you can choose cooling and moistening herbs like mung beans or lotus seeds. If your body has excessive cold, you should choose warming herbs like ginseng.
Second, select according to the four seasons. The art of health emphasizes that the approach should differ with each season. Changes in climate have a certain impact on both physiology and pathology, so supplementation should be seasonal. In winter, when it is cold, it is advisable to use pungent, warm, and hot tonics, primarily for strengthening Yang and nourishing the kidneys. Choose ingredients with warming properties to make soups that help store energy and enhance the body's resistance. Additionally, it is not advisable to consume the same medicinal soup for long periods; it should be changed according to solar terms and changes in your constitution. Moreover, a soup is not the better the longer it is simmered. Overly long cooking can destroy active ingredients and reduce nutritional value. Finally, Pan Jinyao suggests that before choosing herbs for your soup, it is best to first consult a doctor for a syndrome differentiation analysis of your body constitution, and then use Chinese herbal cuisine for regulation and treatment—it is never too late.
Netizen views:
@Zhong Yi: "Medicines borrow the strength of food, and food enhances the power of medicine." For a long time, medicated diets have been widely advocated for their function of "integrating medicine into food." However, from the perspective of TCM, which emphasizes syndrome differentiation, when you strip away the glamorous packaging of medicated diets, their effect is not so mysterious, and medicated diets are not suitable for everyone.
@Wu Yan: Actually, soups made from Chinese herbs don't taste very good. The reason people still choose to eat them is mainly for health benefits. A medicated diet restaurant I often go to often requires reservations on weekends and holidays.
@Guo Lina: Chinese herbs have four medicinal natures: hot, cold, warm, and cool. They cannot be randomly combined, as this can reduce their effectiveness or even have the opposite effect. Some people experience symptoms like internal heat, a dry mouth, and throat; others may experience dizziness, nausea, or abdominal pain.