The winter is cold, and for strengthening the body and nourishing the constitution, the medicinal food "San Yuan Tang" (Three-Element Soup) is highly recommended. It is a nourishing food that is very suitable for the elderly and patients with chronic illnesses, helping to prevent and treat diseases, and enhance physical fitness during the harsh winter.
The so-called "San Yuan Tang" is a soup made from boiling red dates, lotus seeds, and longans.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, red dates are sweet in taste and neutral in nature, and they act on the spleen and stomach meridians. They can be used to treat symptoms such as weakness of the spleen and stomach, fatigue and lethargy, poor appetite, and loose stools. Regular consumption of red dates can tonify the spleen and stomach, nourish yin and blood, protect vital energy, increase serum total protein and albumin, and treat malnutrition-related edema, anemia, and thrombocytopenic purpura.
The combination of red dates, lotus seeds, and longans has the effects of warming and tonifying qi and blood, and nourishing the heart to calm the mind. It is suitable for conditions such as post-illness weakness, postpartum blood deficiency, vexation and insomnia, neurasthenia, kidney-deficiency lower back pain, dizziness, and tinnitus.
The method for making San Yuan Tang is as follows: First, soak the lotus seeds in clear water for 1-2 hours. Then, place them together with the washed red dates in a pot to boil. Finally, add the longan meat and continue to cook until the ingredients are soft and the soup is thick. Add an appropriate amount of sugar to taste, and it can be served warm or cool. The general dosage for each serving is 3-10 red dates, 9-15 grams of lotus seeds, and 6-12 grams of longan meat.