Source: Oral transmission during lecture
Category: Formulas that Clear Heat
Pattern: Spleen and Kidney deficiency with Toxic Damp-Heat or Summerheat
Key Symptoms: Fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, diarrhoea, numbness of the extremities, skin irritation and rashes
Tongue: Pale red
Ingredients
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Lu Dou
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Pinyin: Lu Dou
Chinese: 綠豆
Pharmaceutical: Vigna radiata
Taxonomy: Vigna radiata
English: Mung Bean |
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Tastes: Sweet, cold
Meridians Entered: Heart and Stomach |
Actions & Indications:
- Resolves Summerheat and relieves thirst
Summerheat patterns of irritability and fever, especially when thirst is an important symptom. Often made into a tea in summer to prevent Summerheat
- Clears Heat and resolves Toxicity
Toxic sores and swellings (ground and applied externally)
Skin eruptions and rashes in children (ground into a powder and take as a tea)
- Detoxifies poisons
Poisoning from toxic herbs such as Fu Zi, Chuan Wu, Ba Dou or alcohol
Countering the side-effects from toxic medicines, such as chemotherapy
Poisoning from organophosphorus pesticides and lead
Mung bean soup is also used in China as an emergency medicine for all kinds of poisoning while awaiting hospital treatment (A+ Medical Encyclopedia).
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Standard Dosage: 15-30g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated for deficiency-cold of spleen and stomach.
Beans generally have a high FODMAP score (George Eats, April 2024). Mung beans have a low FODMAP score in serving of around 50g, suggesting that they should still be eaten with caution in cases of abdominal distention and swelling due to Spleen Dampness. |
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Chi Xiao Dou
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Pinyin: Chi Xiao Dou
Chinese: 赤小豆
Pharmaceutical: Vigna angularis
English: Adzuki Bean / Rice Bean |
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Tastes: Sweet, sour and neutral
Meridians Entered: Heart and Small Intestine |
Actions & Indications:
- Promotes urination and reduces oedema
Abdominal swelling and fullness due to oedema, urinary difficulty and leg Qi
- Clears Damp Heat
Mild jaundice due to Damp-Heat
- Disperses Blood Stasis, reduces swelling and reduces Fire toxicity (dispels pus)
Chuang Yung (sores, carbuncles, furuncles)
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Standard Dosage: 10-30g in decoction.
Cautions: Although acting to drain Dampness, Adzuki beans have a high FODMAP score (George Eats, April 2024) suggesting that they are contraindicated in abdominal distention and swelling due to Spleen Dampness. |
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Hei Dou
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Pinyin: Hei Dou
Chinese: 黑豆
Pharmaceutical: Semen Sojae nigrum
English: Black Soy Bean |
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Tastes: Sweet, warm
Meridians Entered: Spleen, Stomach and Kidney |
Actions & Indications:
- Tonifies the Kidneys and relieves low back and knee pain
Low back and knee pain and arthralgia
Fidgeting, night sweats and Heat sensations due to Yin Deficiency
- Nourishes the skin and muscles
Physical appearance
- Clears Heat and relieves toxicity
Poisoning, hyperhydrosis
Overdose
- Nourishes Blood and Jing and clears vision
Dizziness
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Standard Dosage: 15-30g or up to half a cup, eaten as food.
Cautions: Beans generally have a high FODMAP score and soy beans in particular have no low FODMAP threshold (George Eats, April 2024) and so should be avoided in cases of abdominal distension due to Spleen Dampness. |
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Preparation: All the ingredients are soaked in water and then boiled until soft and eaten whole.
Actions: Tonifies the Spleen and Kidneys, drains Dampness, clears Heat and Summerheat, resolves toxicity
Notes:
This was a suggestion for an example of herbs being used as food therapy for the side effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy but A+ Medical Encyclopedia also includes it in a reference to treating indigestion, summerheat, skin diseases and measles in children.
Research Links:
Reference Notes: (click to display)
Most formulas are found in Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet (2009): Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies and Chen & Chen (2015) Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications. Others are from translations of primary sources. It is recommended that the original material is cross-referenced for mistakes and additional information.
Substitutions have been taken from Ken Lloyd & Prof. Leung (2004): Mayway UK Substitution List or the above publications and are intended as suggestions to help navigate the tight restrictions in the UK quickly. More applicable substitutions may be appropriate in specific situations.
Individual herb information has initially been sourced from TCM Wiki and American Dragon for basic data and then updated manually with my own notes.
These pages are intended to assist clinicians and are not intended for self-diagnosis or treatment for which a qualified professional should be consulted.
