🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Any dietary remedy that nourishes blood and primarily aims to eliminate or improve symptoms of blood deficiency is called a blood-tonifying formula. Blood deficiency commonly presents as sallow complexion, pale lips and tongue, dizziness, blurred vision, palpitations, insomnia, forgetfulness, numbness in limbs, dry bowels, delayed menstruation, scanty pale menstrual flow, pale tongue, and fine weak pulse. Here are some common blood-tonifying soups.
Angelica, Ginger, and Lamb Soup
Composition: 30g angelica, 60g ginger, 500g lamb.
Preparation: Wash and slice angelica and ginger. Remove tendons and membranes from lamb, blanch briefly in boiling water, cool, then cut into manageable pieces. Place lamb, ginger, and angelica in a clean clay pot, add sufficient water, boil over high heat, skim off foam, then simmer over low heat until lamb is tender. Drink soup and eat lamb.
Benefits: Nourishes blood, regulates menstruation, dispels cold, relieves pain.
Indications: Blood deficiency with emaciation, dizziness, blurred vision, palpitations, shortness of breath, soreness in waist and knees; or abdominal cold pain due to blood deficiency with cold, dysmenorrhea, or postpartum cold abdominal pain.
Discussion: Lamb is sweet and warm in nature, entering spleen and kidney meridians—effective for tonifying qi, nourishing deficiency, warming the center, and relieving cold. It is rich in nutrients including protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, and iron, with tender texture and delicious flavor. Angelica is pungent, sweet, warm, moistening—nourishes blood, activates blood, relieves pain, dispels cold. It is essential for treating pain due to blood deficiency or blood stasis with cold. Ginger also warms the center and dispels cold, enhancing lamb’s ability to warm the stomach and reduce odor. Together, they synergistically tonify deficiency and dispel cold.
If cold predominates, increase ginger dosage. If pain is severe with nausea, add tangerine peel and white atractylodes.
Longan, Red Date, and Pig Liver Soup
Composition: 15g longan flesh, 6 red dates, 100g pig liver.
Preparation: Remove cores from red dates, wash longan and red dates. Slice pig liver. Combine all ingredients with sufficient water and stew for 30 minutes. Season, drink soup and eat longan and liver.
Benefits: Nourishes blood, strengthens spleen.
Indications: Blood deficiency with weakness, dull complexion, fatigue, dizziness, palpitations.
Discussion: Longan nourishes blood and spleen. As recorded in *Suixi Ju Yinshi Pu*: “Longan flesh is sweet and warm, nourishes spleen yin, enriches body fluids”—specifically nourishes heart and blood, calms the spirit. Red dates remove cores, nourish without drying, tonify qi and blood, enhancing tonic effect. Pig liver is sweet in taste, warm in nature, enters liver meridian—tonifies blood, strengthens spleen, nourishes liver and improves eyesight. Effective for anemia, dizziness, blurred vision. As stated in *Bencao Gangmu*: “Pig liver nourishes blood”; *Qianjin Yaofang·Shi Zhi* says: “Pig liver treats eye disorders.” For anemic patients with pale face, dizziness, palpitations, fatigue, this soup shows good efficacy. Long-term use promotes health and longevity.